With their weird time in the bubble of “American Idol” now over, this season’s finalists are finding that the music industry may not have agreed with how “Idol” voters ranked their talent.

Winner Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert both signed with 19 Recordings last week, with pop-oriented Jive Records picking up the rights to Allen’s debut and rock-leaning RCA Records landing rights to Lambert’s album. In a structured rollout, 19 announced that it signed fourth-place finisher Allison Iraheta, who also will release her debut through Jive, before revealing a deal, if any, for third-place finisher Danny Gokey.
So does the industry think “Idol” got it wrong? Lambert did win the sweepstakes to land the cover of Rolling Stone — something several of the “Idol” winners, including last year’s winner David Cook, have yet to accomplish — ahead of Allen. (Lambert also graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly this season.)
However, on the Billboard charts, Allen is king, with three songs — “No Boundaries” at No. 23, his version of Kanye West’s “Heartless” at No. 33, and “Ain’t No Sunshine” at No. 94 — ahead of Lambert’s two singles “Mad World” (No. 44) and “No Boundaries” (No. 95).
Expect the competition to continue in the fall, as Allen, Lambert and Iraheta’s debuts all drop.