American Idol exclusive offered

Quick. Name the winner of this past season’s American Idol.

Did the name Scotty McCreery immediately come to mind? The country crooner’s distinctive voice probably gives him a better chance of commercial success than some other recent winners, and Walmart is doing its part to jump start his career along with other Idol runners up.

McCreery performed live at the company’s shareholders’ meeting earlier this month and now the retailer is offering a five-song collection of his material for $5 as part of an exclusive arrangement with the 19 Recordings/Interscope label. The five for $5 offer also includes such other finalists as Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart and James Durbin.

Each season of American Idol brings a mixed bag of talent with some winners more easily forgettable than others, but this year’s crop looks to be enjoying some success which bodes well for the sell through of their material at Walmart.

McCreery’s song, “I Love You This Big,” had the highest-charting debut for a new artist in more than two decades when it debuted at No. 32 on Billboard’s Nielsen BDS-based Hot Country Songs chart after it was serviced to radio after McCreery debuted the song on American Idol. It was the highest debut for a new artist’s first single since the chart began using BDS data in 1990, according to Billboard. The song, which hit No. 1 on iTunes, also reached No. 3 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart.

Lauren Alaina’s song, “Like My Mother Does,” also had an impressive debut when it hit Number 11 on the Digital Songs chart and No. 49 on the Hot Country Songs chart.