Lifehouse "You and Me"

We already covered American Idol's influence on Adult Contemporary music and to further illustrate that point, let's take a look at the AC Top 20 this week in 2006. Three of the Top 20 songs came from Idol alum (Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Hicks and Bo Bice). Coincidentally, Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" topped the chart and, while he wasn't an Idol contestant, the show used the song to play off the week's losing contestant. Another ballad, "You and Me" from Lifehouse, also remained in the Top 5 despite having been released a year earlier.

Carrie Underwood "Inside Your Heaven"

Fresh off her American Idol win, Carrie Underwood released "Inside Your Heaven" in June 2005. Not to be outdone, Idol's Season 4 runner-up, Bo Bice, also released the same song a week later. Much like her Idol dominance, Underwood's version went to #1 on the Hot 100 while Bice's version fittingly peaked at #2. 

Kelly Clarkson "Miss Independent"

Fox stunned all the television networks when its reality singing contest American Idol: The Search for a Superstar caught fire during the summer of 2002. Rarely did summer television shows ever become a sensation, but Idol connected. The show made Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Ryan Seacrest household names. Season 1 of Idol culminated with Kelly Clarkson defeating Justin Guarini on September 2, 2002. While Idol went on to change the way television networks programmed their schedules, it also changed the music business. Artists regularly appeared on the show hoping to promote their new single and theme nights helped introduce older music to a new audience. No format seemed to benefit from Idol more than Adult Contemporary who embraced the show's winners (and losers). Names like Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, and Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson peppered the AC Chart. Clarkson alone charted more than a dozen AC singles including 2002's "Miss Independent" -- a song initially written for Christina Aguilera.

Bo Bice "The Real Thing"

"Please, God, don't let me win this thing."

-Bo Bice seconds before losing season 4 of American Idol to Carrie Underwood

U2 "Beautiful Day"

U2 struck gold in 2000 with "Beautiful Day" and, 10 years later, another artist would turn the song into a Top 40 hit. American Idol contestant Lee DeWyze won the ninth season of the reality show and chose to cover the song. It remains his biggest (and only) Hot 100 hit for the Mt. Prospect, Illinois native.

Bruce Springsteen "Human Touch"

Bruce Springsteen found himself on rock, pop and Adult Contemporary radio in 1992 thanks to "Human Touch". The song is proof that American Idol judge Randy Jackson is famous for something other than calling contestants "dawg". Jackson plays bass guitar on the tune.

Paula Abdul - "Rush Rush"

Paula Abdul released "Rush Rush" in 1991 -- her first ballad.  While the song was different from her previous upbeat pop singles, the soft violin-filled "Rush Rush" proved to be a huge success for the future American Idol judge -- the song topped the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary Charts for five consecutive weeks.  FUN FACT: Paula Abdul was the choreographer for the 1987 movie Can't Buy Me Love starring a very young Patrick Dempsey.

Aretha Franklin - "Freeway of Love"

Aretha Franklin's high-octane "Freeway of Love" dominated the music charts in 1985.  The pop song not only featured Clarence Clemons providing the requisite saxophone solo, but also Randy Jackson on bass.  Jackson would later become a household name 20 years later as a judge on American Idol.

Phillip Phillips - "Gone Gone Gone"

Aside from Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", American Idol utilized another former contestant for music to "play 'em off" the stage.  Phillip Phillips' "Gone Gone Gone" was the song that played during the elimination round of the twelfth season of the reality series.

Yael Naim - "New Soul"

Credit American Idol for creating dozens of hits during the 2000s.  Another hat tip goes to Apple for turning songs from their television commercials into radio hits.  Case in point: Apple used Yael Naim's "New Soul" in a commercial for MacBook Air in 2008.  The result: #7 on the Hot 100.

Kris Allen - "Live Like We're Dying"

Pop music in the 2000's owes so much to American Idol.  The reality show juggernaut introduced the world to so many different artists (remember Clay Aiken?) turning the radio into a non-stop promotional machine for the show and its many artists.  One such artist is Kris Allen.  Allen will forever be known as the guy who beat presumed winner Adam Lambert in the 2009 finale.  Allen's version of The Script's "Live Like We're Dying" turned out to be Allen's biggest post-Idol hit.

David Archuleta - "A Little Too Not Over You"

The year 2009 sounded a lot like this.

Daughtry - "It's Not Over"

I recall receiving a memo that former-American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry would be performing an exclusive concert for the radio station where I worked  back in the mid-2000s.  Among the details of when and where the concert would be held, a special mention was made that Chris Daughtry would no longer like to be referred to as "Chris".  Instead, we were only to promote him as "Daughtry".  Got it.

Jordin Sparks - "One Step At A Time"

Try to think of a song that features sound effects of footsteps.  Give up?  Someone please cue Jordin Sparks' "One Step At A Time" [sounds of footsteps].

Keane - "Somewhere Only We Know"

Along with American Idol, Fox's Glee helped introduce established songs to a whole new generation.  I was excited when I heard that Glee would feature Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" in an episode in 2010.  I felt Keane (both as an artist and the song itself) deserved bigger fame--especially in the States.  Little did I know that "Somewhere Only We Know" was already a huge global hit in 2004 (for whatever reason I first heard the song a year later when a friend told me I should rip the CD into my iTunes library).  It's pretty pathetic when you hope people discover a song that has not only been discovered, but embraced by an entire planet.  The bigger question is: what the hell was I doing in 2004 that I missed it?

The Script - "Breakeven"

Sometimes the song itself is good, but it's a memory attached that really strikes a chord.  America cried along with the story of a Chicagoan named Chris Medina.  Medina performed The Script's "Breakeven" during his American Idol audition in 2011 and managed to put tears in the eyes of judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.  Two years prior, Medina proposed to his girlfriend, Juliana Ramos, who happily said "yes".  Ramos was later seriously injured in a car accident just two months before their wedding date.  Medina put the wedding on hold to tend to his fiancee who was now wheelchair bound.  "What kind of guy would I be if I walked out when she needed me most," Medina said at the time.  (Every story has the "other" side to it, but I won't spoil this story with some not-so-flattering details of what else happened to the couple.)

Daniel Powter - "Bad Day"

You had to put forth an incredible effort to hide from Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" in 2004-2005.  Aside from the radio, the song found life on television commercials and even as the "you've been eliminated" song on American Idol.

Paula Abdul - "Blowing Kisses in the Wind"

Long before Paula Abdul was known for being the half-drunk American Idol judge, she was a successful singer and dancer who put out a string of pop hits in the late-80s and early-90s.  One such hit was 1991's "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" from her triple-platinum Spellbound album.  The ballad took a backseat to other singles from the album including "Promise of  A New Day" and the ballad "Rush Rush".  Unfortunately, she did not dance with an animated cat in the video.