Idol Billboard Update for Issue 10/11/08

Lovin’ the Bucky news!!

Me too. Go Bucky!

I am so happy for Bucky His latest single “i’ll Walk” is really a sensitive rendition which really grows on you.

I’lve always adore him. Honestly season 5 is my fave so far – you’ve got many of them with the X-factor (of different strength of course). Those whom I like in order of personal preference: Chris (my no 1), Elliot, Kellie, Bucky, Mandisa, Kat, Paris & Taylor. Each one is so unique Hope they will go far in their respective careers…

So, I wonder if Arch is going to release a new single before his album drops. It would make sense as Crush appears to be close to its peak, and it will be over three months from the day it premiered by the time his album does come out. It’s possible Crush may climb a bit higher, but with the ridiculous competition that is rolling out this season, it’s unlikely that it will make it back into the top ten. After it’s initial first week “crush”, it has never been higher than #15, if I’m not mistaken.

Note: this is not a slam on DA. Since he didn’t write his single, he did the best with what he had to work with, and exceptionally well at that, I might add. Give the boy a beautiful piano ballad for his next single, and I think he’ll have a bonafied smash on his hands, with the staying power to go with it.

Crush is stalling on the Top 40 chart at 14. It will be harder to move up due to all the new songs out. But iTunes is another story and the song still shows a lot of strength there. Two months or so after it’s release, it’s still in the Top 20. The video gave it a boost back into the Top 10. Crush doesn’t follow the traditional radio play/download pattern so I don’t think Jive will push another single till it stops selling so well.

Add me to the Go Bucky group. When I saw the Top 10 of Season 5, I thought so many of them has the extra something that makes a star. I know that’s what a lot of people feel about every season but I’m happy to see it’s really true for so many of the S5 folk.

So, I wonder if Arch is going to release a new single before his album drops.

I’m sure he will. That seems like it was the Archie plan. Strike while the iron is hot during the summer and then release a second single a week or two before the CD drops. He’s doing quite well for himself.

It’s amazing how the marketing and management works when TPTB like both the winner and the runner-up. It seems like Archie and Cook are getting 19′s best effort.

I don’t think Jive would take a big Mediabase ad for Crush if they were ready to put out another single so soon. Archie has never even performed the song live on TV. The video is just beginning to get played on VH1, etc. Unless a single is falling like a rock, I don’t think labels rush to put a second one out. Too expensive and time consuming.

Oops didn’t realize it had been posted.

There are still quite a few radio markets that have not been allowed to play Crush yet, particularly in the West. That would explain some of the plateauing, I think. Jive is probably biding their time for a gradual release to those markets so that there will be a crescendo-like rise in the charts as we get closer toward the album’s drop date. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, to see a second single released right about now to keep the buzz momentum going.

Incidentally, Crush is currently the top rated single on Ratethemusic.com in each of these three categories… adult contemporary, hot adult contemporary, and Top 40. Way to go, David!

“There are still quite a few radio markets that have not been allowed to play Crush yet, particularly in the West.”

I’m curious about that. Why wouldn’t they be allowed to. Who doesn’t allow them. The word “allow” is what puzzles me. I hope someone will fill me in on this.

:question_ee:

I don’t think they’ll release a new single before his album is released (provided the November 11 release date holds) for the reasons jpfan mentioned. I’m guessing sometime in December. I still think this single will eventually crack the Top 10 on Top 40 radio before all is said and done.

I don’t understand. Why would they release the second single in December, several weeks after the album has been dropped? Wouldn’t the single be already on the album? I admit I know nothing about the music business. So any bit of education from you guys would be appreciated.

Judy, I was under the impression that it’s under Jive’s control to release to the various radio markets. But as I’ve pointed out above, I don’t have a clue really, so I might be totally wrong. This music industry is so puzzling and complex.

ozarka, I believe jive has released it but for some odd reason, the stations won’t pick it up. The song has proven to be popular when it is actually on the stations, the video seems to have blown up and the sales are remarkable considering the amount of air play it’s not getting. Hopefully that call out ad will sway some radio programmers.

But iTunes is another story and the song still shows a lot of strength there. Two months or so after ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s release, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still in the Top 20.

Yeah, sales are still relatively brisk, and I do think it will eventually go platinum. But, I don’t see this particular song as being his true breakout hit.

On another thread I stated that it should be expected to equal the success of “Tattoo”, if not “No Air”. It’s only natural to make the Jive/ Jordin comparison, considering the music style is identical. But, I realize now why it probably won’t do quite as well, and it’s one of the criticisms I had of the song when I first heard it. The lyrics are too juvenile.

David obviously had a significant adult fan base during the show, and I’m sure they all bought the song, and may have gifted it to others too. But, I’m not sure how many new adult fans a song about a “crush” is going to earn him. “Crush” is for people who still have “crushes”. Non-AI grownup fans hear the song and certainly remember having crushes, and they would buy it for their kids. But, would they buy it for themselves?

Songs like Tattoo, No Air, and Bleeding Love are more “universal” and listeners of all ages can identify with them in their lives presently– not just nostalgically. Give David a more “universal” love song, and I think THAT will be his defining hit, one that will linger in the top ten for an eternity.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand. Why would they release the second single in December, several weeks after the album has been dropped? Wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the single be already on the album? I admit I know nothing about the music business. So any bit of education from you guys would be appreciated.

Singles dropped after the release of an album help to sustain sales of that album. I gave an example of “Rockstar” the other day. It was released 2 years after the album (and has helped Nickelback’s last album stay on the BB200 for 153 weeks). Some people will just buy the track, but others will say “Hey, that’s the second song I like off that album, I’m going to buy it”.

David obviously had a significant adult fan base during the show, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure they all bought the song, and may have gifted it to others too. But, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure how many new adult fans a song about a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is going to earn him. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is for people who still have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crushesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Non-AI grownup fans hear the song and certainly remember having crushes, and they would buy it for their kids. But, would they buy it for themselves?

I keep reading this argument, but I see contrary evidence. I would agree that, logically, “Crush” seems to be a song for teens (or maybe even tweens), but that darn thing is at 17 on the Adult Contemporary charts and 27 on the Hot Adult Contemporary charts. There must be some adults who actually enjoy the song. Even if we make the argument that the adults who have purchased the song so far are rabid lunatics who would buy and gift twenty copies any song that Archie put out because they are bitter about him losing (an argument I certainly wouldn’t make with a straight face, but let’s go with the extreme interpretation out there), that’s not going to get him airplay. Evidence suggests that Program Managers have a tin ear for (and may perhaps be allergic to) rabid lunatic fans who gift twenty copies of songs in an attempt to prove that their Idol is better than your Idol.

So, I’m forced to conclude that the Program Managers actually think adults like this song and the feedback they are getting from regular listeners supports their belief. I’m not going to buy the song, but maybe these adults who like listening to the song on their radio might.

Besides. Adults aren’t the only ones who buy music.

I listen to HAC. I don’t like everything they play. I don’t happen to believe that they necessarily play what we like. There’s actually a couple songs that are played that I abhor. I understand that different people like different things and overall HAC plays music I like, but I really don’t think a song gets to #1 on the airwaves because everybody loves it. The worst song this year, for me, was Kid Rock’s. Maybe it didn’t get to #1 (thank God). It did get pretty high, however, on some charts. It’s nothing but a ripoff.

“Crush” is a cute and catchy song. I personally think catchy trumps all. And while crushes are generally thought of as juvenille, I don’t know if he song itself is teenybopper. It’s just pop to me – well sung, catchy pop. I do agree that the bulk of the audience is probably young, but I could definitely see some adults getting into it.
I don’t think it will top AC charts but it should hang out there for a while.

Yay to Bucky! I always liked him.

I happen to be dismayed that catchy trumps all. and yes it seems to. It just doesn’t “for me” bode well. I’d much rather peope used their brains…but maybe that’s too much to ask.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d much rather peope used their brainsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but maybe thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s too much to ask.

I don’t think that liking catchy songs signifies the lack of brain power. It’s Top 40 radio, after all. It’s not supposed to be rocket science or high art. I’ve certainly loved me a catchy, highly commercial song or two. Ear candy can be fun. It has it’s place.

That Kid Rock song that’s been all over HAC? A total POS, in my opinon. But, as always, YMMV.

Yeah, I wasn’t talking about top 40…I thought i prefaced my comments about HAC, I don’t listen to top 40 and you can’t even make me. I’ve listened to all the genre’s that get charted and, for me, in my market…HAC is the only one I can abide. I’m ultimately not a radio person. I just think that radio is a poor substitute for what you can hear if you love music and want to take a journey. Music can take you so many places that radio denies.

I was curious as to why it seemed that one of the stations that interviewed Archie last week acted like they had never heard the song before. If it’s really true, there must be more stations that have not been playing it and this is just bound to pick up as the album release date nears.

As for adults liking Crush – you’re really not saying that people buy music based only on lyrics and how relevant they are to their lives? That cannot be discounted as a factor, but I would wager it is only a small part of why people like or dislike a song. If they like the artist, in this case Archuleta with his gorgeous voice, they will listen and buy. Doesn’t matter if it is not showcased, the voice is still there. And catchy it is – also could be a nostalgic trip for a lot of adults.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that liking catchy songs signifies the lack of brain power. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Top 40 radio, after all. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not supposed to be rocket science or high art. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve certainly loved me a catchy, highly commercial song or two. Ear candy can be fun. It has ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s place.

Well said MJ. I’m confessing to all of you here that I downloaded Low because the song got stuck in my head. I’m not proud of that but confession is good for the soul.

I listen to HAC. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like everything they play. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t happen to believe that they necessarily play what we like. Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s actually a couple songs that are played that I abhor. I understand that different people like different things and overall HAC plays music I like, but I really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think a song gets to #1 on the airwaves because everybody loves it.

I don’t think anybody, let alone Program Managers, expects that every song on the radio is going to be loved by every listener. People have differing tastes which is a good thing, in my opinion. Program Managers just want to make enough people not want to turn to a different station. So, they are going to play songs their listeners will, in general, like. They will go by gut feeling, they will go by what is a hit on other like stations and they will go with the results of music surveys. Payola type items might help, but a Program Manager would be insane to play songs they think the majority of their listeners will hate because they will soon be off the airwaves (and won’t get their regular pay cheques let alone payola anymore).

AC/HAC stations play the “Crush”. They play it a lot. This makes me think that somebody somewhere has evidence that some adults somewhere like this song on its own merits. It can’t just be the rabid-lunatic-fans-who-are-still-bitter-about-losing that are hounding the DJs into playing it because that never works.

I happen to be dismayed that catchy trumps all. and yes it seems to. It just doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“for meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  bode well. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d much rather peope used their brainsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but maybe thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s too much to ask.

I’m not emberassed to admit that I’m totally into melodies. A great melody can trump crappy lyrics almost any day of the week for me. I know that means that some people will think I’m as dumb as a box of hair, but what can I do about that? I’m not saying I hate deep lyrics, I just consider them a bonus or sometimes I’m in a mood for a song with them. Music is an art form on its own. I even like songs without lyrics or songs in languages I do not understand. If I want something with deep words, I can always read poetry or a good book. Meanwhile, if I want to sing out loud when I’m vacuuming the floor, well, “I remember when rock was young. Me and Suzie had so much fun. Holding hands and skimming stones….La, la-la-la-la!”

And I’d still love Viva la Vida even if it was about something other than sweeping streets. LOL.

That Kid Rock song thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been all over HAC? A total POS, in my opinon. But, as always, YMMV.

I’m with you on that one. I think that song is so lame. I don’t get Paper Planes either (hate it!). I do love that P!nk song though.

If they like the artist, in this case Archuleta with his gorgeous voice, they will listen and buy.

They don’t even have to like the artist-they may just be a fan of the song itself. I don’t particularly care for Kanye, but I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed most of his music and have The College Dropout, Late Registration and Graduation in my CD collection. I like Archie as a person and I do think he has a gorgeous voice, but that doesn’t mean it’s a certainty that I’m going to be buying his album next month. I won’t make the decision to buy (or not) until I listen to it first.

Just to point out a few things. Crush doesn’t look to be “peaking” on pop radio–not yet. It had a good update today after a series of bad ones. Not a super fantabulous amazing update, but a decent one. Since the callout scores didn’t arrive on program directors’ desks until Friday, any change in the playlists won’t happen until at least Monday. So this weekend Crush is just staying nice and steady. The song itself stalled this week on pop radio after pretty high increases the week before. Blame competition, blame Britney Spears, whatever–it happened. But that was prior to it getting a good callout score and top 50 in the Hot 100 Airplay. Songs like “Tattoo” and “Better In Time” have stalled and come back. “Crush” can too. I can’t predict the future, but Jive is starting to push it harder now, and I think it still very much has the potential to go top 10 on CHR/Pop.

As for Crush being a song for teens–I don’t agree, but maybe that’s because I’ve always been more into the melody than the lyrics of songs. And who can’t relate to the nostalgia of crushes (and seriously, adults have crushes too)? Crush isn’t bubblegum, and David’s voice does a lot to mature the song. AC is loving it right now. HAC is getting in on the action too. Programmers don’t just pick songs at random to throw into their playlist. They have to believe that their audience, in general, will like the song. And Crush is hella catchy.

I don’t think Jive will put out a second single before the album drops. Crush is doing too well in sales for that (and frankly, it’s doing too well in every other aspect of the song’s life). It’s video is over 1.26 million views in about 9 days on youtube, averaging 100K-150K views per day recently. The song is #3 most streamed on AOL, and is the highest non-debuting song this week. The video is #3 on VH1′s Top 20 countdown. It was the 2nd most requested song on Open House Party, a syndicated radio program that goes out to tons of radio stations each Saturday and Sunday. He adds 600-700 friends per day on myspace, and Crush has been streamed over 4.2 million times and was the 9th most streamed song on myspace last week. It’s anything but dead, meaning no 2nd single until at least December.

ETA: Crush just moved up 2 spots to #13 on iTunes. No way that Jive is putting out a second single when Crush is selling like this.

I’m an adult who doesn’t love Crush (I thought the song would grow on me but the opposite happened – the ay-eeee-ays-eeeee-ays give me a headache)
But I love plenty of much sillier songs that are on Top 40 (right now, I love Paper Planes). I have a feeling some Archie single will eventually end up on my guilty pleasure or workout playlist, even though I could never listen to a whole album of him. (The last pop album I bought for myself was True Blue when I was 13).

I agree that the song still has a long way to go on the charts before it goes awayeeeeayeeeeeeay.

Well I know radio disney has been playing “Crush” like crazy! My local radio station has also been playing him but usually only two times a day. They LOVE magic rainbow however, I hear it about eight times a day. I also heard “Light On” yesterday!! Haha I guess they like David Cook :biggrin_wp:

Oh and does anyone know what number “Light On” is on itunes?

Archie’s music may not be my style but there is no denying that he is doing well with his target audience. I highly doubt that 19 or Jive is going to do anything that might jeopardize that, especially with Cook tanking out of the gate.

Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s voice does a lot to mature the song.

I completely agree. True, David is only 17, but his singing voice is rather deep and quite mature-sounding. His voice sounds more mature than many of the other male artists out there right now who are much older than him.

I think that some people are getting hung up on the title “Crush” since the word itself has a juvenile connotation. And sadly, the video perpetuates that image. Fortunately, if it’s on the radio or on our iPod, we don’t have to deal with that imagery, if we don’t want to.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is for people who still have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“crushesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

I wonder how old you have to be to no longer have crushes. Whatever it is, I hope to never be that old. Seriously though, adults do have crushes, even those in married and committed relationships.

Cook’s not tanking. LO’s placement on iTunes is deceiving since this week will likely be a high-selling week all around.

Mariam94–Light On is currently #8. It’s been there for a little while.

It seems premature to evaluate DC’s single sales until the actual numbers are released. For minimal radio play and promotion, top 10 is pretty good. It will probably go up after it’s official release date.

I have no idea who T.I. is, but his numbers must be huge.

– back to lurking –

Crush is doing well and is a good song. I don’t see it going away any time soon and it was the right song for DA’s first single. I think adults have crushes and can relate to the song. How many adult Cook fans actually developed a Crush on him? I believe quite a few.

It’s strange to hear comments like Cook is tanking, especially before his album comes out. I’ll reserve judgment until I actually see the evidence.

I think “Crush” has a lot further to go as far as radio play and downloads, so I don’t see a new single following it anytime soon. I have to admit that I have not been following the single travel up or down the charts, so I don’t know anything about whether the song is “stalling” on the charts or anything like that (I’m more apt to follow Cook), but as far as radio play, it seems to me that it has a ways to go. Case in point: I’ve never heard “Crush” in any of the 3 HAC stations I listen to in my area (SF Bay Area). However, on Friday night, I was listening to one of these stations do a countdown of the Top 6 most requested songs of the week and Crush came it 2nd (behind Coldplay’s Viva la Vida). Based on this, I would think that the station would now have to put the song on its regular rotation and at least give it medium rotation/radio play. So, if that station is just starting with the spins of Crush, then I suspect the other two will start to do so as well. (It’s not like HAC stations are especially well-known for their originality; they generally follow each other and what’s on the charts.) So far “Crush” seems to be enjoying middling success on the Top 40 format, with the others (HAC and AC) to follow. Yeah, I don’t see Jive releasing another single just yet until “Crush” has had a chance to build and I think it’s just starting.

How many adult Cook fans actually developed a Crush on him? I believe quite a few.

LOL! You’ve got me there! :lol_tb: But until you just now mentioned it, I never related the two. :huh_tb:

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t listen to top 40 and you canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even make me. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve listened to all the genreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s that get charted and, for me, in my marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦HAC is the only one I can abide. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m ultimately not a radio person. I just think that radio is a poor substitute for what you can hear if you love music and want to take a journey. Music can take you so many places that radio denies.

Gingerly, I certainly hear where you are coming from. May I offer a word of encouragement? Over the last several years, I grew to hate most of the stuff on Top 40 and even HAC stations. I could only tolerate the Triple A format; otherwise, i was listening to CDs or my iPod. But because of my fondness for Crush, I’ve started listing to Top 40 again and, believe it or not, I’ve gained a new-found appreciation for some of what is being played. Not all of it, mind you, but a lot more than before. So don’t give up on Top 40 totally. Maybe for you, like me, it will all get Better in Time, lol.

It’s been noted that Crush has been moving back up on I-Tunes. Out of curiosity I looked at LO to see what other songs were being purchased by those that bought LO. Crush and TOML were a couple that were listed. If you check TOML, some listeners also bought Crush. If you check Crush, some listeners also bought LO and TOML. It appears to me that the release of LO has also helped in the sales of TOML and Crush, and vice versa. What helps one, helps the others and I think that’s a good thing.

Keel, that’s a good news. I live in San Francisco/Bay area, too. I’ve never heard crush yet…Yeah…I’ve heard Viva la Vida like a hourly alarm. It seems reaching to weat coast takes long time…btw…which station….? sorry..guys..I’m just curios…

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been noted that Crush has been moving back up on I-Tunes. Out of curiosity I looked at LO to see what other songs were being purchased by those that bought LO. Crush and TOML were a couple that were listed. If you check TOML, some listeners also bought Crush. If you check Crush, some listeners also bought LO and TOML. It appears to me that the release of LO has also helped in the sales of TOML and Crush, and vice versa. What helps one, helps the others and I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a good thing.

That may be part of Crush’s increase, but it tends to climb the chart on the weekends anyway. It’s been doing that for the past several weeks.

I love how you guys know all these details. Seriously! The only blog where intelligent conversation exists – way to go MJ! :clap_tb:

Cook tanking out of the gate.

lol! All singers should be so lucky to tank like this.

Thanks soundscene

Hmm that’s actually pretty good, since most people don’t even know that Cook released a new single. Plus he has some tough competition. I don’t think we have to worry about LO yet.

Crush is doing fine. At least it’s not slipping out of the charts or anything. The sells shows that people really like it so maybe radio stations will pick it up over time. My radio station actually just started playing last week. I’m actually surprise to see that there’s about as much guys that like the song as girls.

Hmm thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s actually pretty good, since most people donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even know that Cook released a new single. Plus he has some tough competition. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think we have to worry about LO yet.

Well, sadly, it just moved down to #10, with Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” taking its place at #8. If it can hold on to #10 for a bit it’ll still get that top 10 boost that being on the front page of iTunes gives it. It’ll have the ads up on iTunes through Monday. I have no idea how close The Killers’ “Human” is (it’s at #11), but they performed on SNL last night and got a nice boost from that.

So now, here’s my question. How many of the songs currently in the top ten on itunes have not yet been released to radio?

They’ve all been “released” to radio. “Light On” hasn’t gone for adds yet, but radio stations will play songs before the add date. The Killers’ (at #11) go for adds the same day as “Light On.” Nickelback’s “Gotta Be Somebody” already went for adds, but its airplay isn’t that spectacular right now. T.I.’s #1 song isn’t on the radio right now at all. I suppose you can say he’s a different kind of animal.

BTW, I’m hoping to nip this in the bud. I heard that, apparently, a few people believe that Archie’s fans are buying “Human” so that it’ll bust LO out of the #10 spot because of a post on Pulse Music Board. First, the post doesn’t say that–the person isn’t a Cook fan, but he simply laughed and said he just bought “Human” (as in, it was a coincidence). One sale, or even a few, won’t make any difference, and if you’re seeing people speculating that Archie’s fans are doing this, don’t buy into it. I believe there’s a post somewhere on David Cook’s official forums.

Thank you so much for that info soundscene and Kirsten. You guys rock!

Im an adult and I like “Crush”. I find it quite challenging to sing the chorus part of the song..hehe (let alone memorize it)…………The song has good melody, background instrumentals (specially the guitar) and beat………….I find driving along the freeway alone as the best time to sing (or in my case shout) along Crush and pretend to be that solid singer that Archie is……..hehe…….Im getting my car tinted…………heavily.

Nickelbackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Gotta Be Somebodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  already went for adds, but its airplay isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t that spectacular right now.

It wasn’t released to radio until the 30th though, so it has had monster gains. Nickelback went for a “Big Bang” release (everything at once). It has gained 9.4M audience impressions as of this morning. It’s the second biggest gainer on the airplay charts. I think that sometimes expectations are set too high. Songs rarely go to number one on the download charts with no airplay. Songs rarely go to number one period. Songs rarely debut in the top 3 of the Hot 100. It’s even rare to sale 1 million downloads. How many singles were released so far this year? 34 have reached that mark.

Sorry to be all grumbly, but I think we’ve gotten spoiled. There is a reason it was news when “Crush” did what it did. It’s rare. There is a reason why there was a collective freak-out when Cook had 11 songs in the Hot 100. It’s rare.

I don’t mean to pick on the OP (who I find to be a very rational being). I think she just meant to point out that Nickelback is falling down iTunes because of lack of airplay (which it is, plus they gave the song away for free so that took out all the ardent fans in one shot). It’s just that I’ve been reading a lot over the past few days and I think early miracles this season have given people expecations that such miracles are the norm (I’m not saying the OP said this, I don’t think she is, I’m just winging off her statement so that I can go on a a major tangent of my own). Check through MJs historical charts and you will see that even massive hits don’t get to number 1.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean to pick on the OP (who I find to be a very rational being). I think she just meant to point out that Nickelback is falling down iTunes because of lack of airplay (which it is, plus they gave the song away for free so that took out all the ardent fans in one shot). Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just that Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been reading a lot over the past few days and I think early miracles this season have given people expecations that such miracles are the norm (Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not saying the OP said this, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think she is, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just winging off her statement so that I can go on a a major tangent of my own). Check through MJs historical charts and you will see that even massive hits donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get to number 1.

Yeah, I was just stating facts. Nickelback has done very well considering it hasn’t been out for very long, but compared to the other songs in the top 10, it has very little airplay. Songs don’t debut high on the Hot 100 very often. In fact, I believe only 10 have debuted in the top 5 in the last 8 years (or so the latest issue of Billboard says so), the latest being Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown.” Only LL and Fall Out Boy’s song that is very long and I can’t remember the name of made the top 5 while not being associated with American Idol. The rest were either coronation singles or high debuting album singles by former Idol contestants (Cook, Archie, Clay, Ruben and Kelly Clarkson being among them–I don’t have the full list). There hasn’t been a #1 debut in a long, long, long time.

Keel, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a good news. I live in San Francisco/Bay area, too. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve never heard crush yetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Yeahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard Viva la Vida like a hourly alarm. It seems reaching to weat coast takes long timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦btwà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦which stationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.? sorry..guys..Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just curiosà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

clee, the station was 106.5 KEZR.

“I heard that, apparently, a few people believe that Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are buying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Humanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  so that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll bust LO out of the #10 spot….”

LOL……..sounds familiar, wasnt this the same scenario when Archie’s single was released?…in that case supposedly, the song involved was Disturbia vis-a-vis Crush………Fans can be funny……..ignore.

Thank you keel :bye_tb:

Mmm. I commented on DCO about that Pulse post. (The poster in question was cheering earlier in the thread about LO slipping down the Top 10 on itunes and has an icon that says David A is the “true winner” of AI7, so I feel pretty good in saying, probably not a David C supporter.) My main thought on that sort of thing, assuming that it happens, is that it is awfully silly. Ultimately, I think that labels are going judge by money—looking at singles and records sold, plus whatever other revenue sources provide $$$ to the labels. Yeah, some other factors might come in—Grammy nominations, critical acclaim, whatever, but ultimately, I get the sense that a major label cares about is “Is this artist selling enough to make further records make sense?” I seriously doubt that labels are going around saying, “Well, this artist sold as many records/singles as we wanted to justify continued investment, but his/her amount of time in the itunes Top 10 was too short, so let’s get rid of him/her.” I would think that it is the money spent on that artist that matters, not whether folks are spending money on another artist.

So many other things one can do with a dollar: buy an itunes single that you actually want; get french fries at McDonald’s; pay off .1% of a $1000 mortgage….

^^ That particular poster on Pulse isn’t exactly the nicest person in the pack. Not representative of Archie’s fanbase at all.

BTW, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hoping to nip this in the bud. I heard that, apparently, a few people believe that Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are buying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Humanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  so that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll bust LO out of the #10 spot because of a post on Pulse Music Board. First, the post doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’the person isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a Cook fan, but he simply laughed and said he just bought à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Humanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (as in, it was a coincidence). One sale, or even a few, wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make any difference, and if youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re seeing people speculating that Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are doing this, donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t buy into it. I believe thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a post somewhere on David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s official forums.

Whoa! I decided to look up FolkFan’s post referred to above in the DCO forums and just realized that soundscene’s post above appeared here on MJs a mere five minutes* after FolkFan’s original post on DCO. Since soundscene did not read the DCO post herself/himself, that means that within the space of five minutes, someone who read FolkFan’s post on DCO reported the post on another board, debunked FolkFan’s conclusions, soundscene then read it and posted the above here. That is some lightning fast information transmission going on tonight!

*This assumes, of course, that both sites’ time stamps are based on Eastern time.

ETA: I am clearly going a little nuts for having noticed the time stamps, but I can’t help but wonder whether AI fans should be offered jobs with the CIA or Homeland Security because they have seriously awesome stalking skills.

LOL, there is nothing in a fan war that could surprise me. Do I think there are some Archuleta fans buying other songs to bust LO out of top 10? Real honestly, yes. Do I think that makes any difference? No.

^^ Okey not starting a rumor, but is David Archuleta ´s fans were interesting so much in beating Light On, they will be buying Crush, not others artist songs… that is just a dumb rumor to made a fan war start…

BTW, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hoping to nip this in the bud. I heard that, apparently, a few people believe that Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are buying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Humanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  so that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll bust LO out of the #10 spot because of a post on Pulse Music Board. First, the post doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’the person isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a Cook fan, but he simply laughed and said he just bought à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Humanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (as in, it was a coincidence). One sale, or even a few, wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make any difference, and if youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re seeing people speculating that Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans are doing this, donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t buy into it. I believe thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a post somewhere on David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s official forums.

Ibelieve that sometimes people just post this kind of comments start problems… so I don ´t believe them…

PS. This is not a comment about Soundscene, is about the original poster of the rumor…

LOL Keep. I was in a chat when I heard about it, so there was no lag time I guess. I got the website wrong (it was DCO). Looking back, I shouldn’t have posted anything. Just stirs stuff up. I just get frustrated when one bad seed makes a whole fanbase look bad.

^^ Ok, I typed “Keel” but my iPhone translated that to “Keep.” Now I can’t edit. lol.

Yeah. I remember some Archie fans accusing DC fans of buying Disturbia when Crush debuted. That’s silly, and so is this one. plus I agree with Cruz, better to buy Crush than the Human song, or any other song.

I just checked Jive’s site. T.I’s album is also dropping on Nov 11. With T.I, P!nk and Britney releasing albums, I’m glad Jive is also spending money promoting DA.

SherryW, I’m a pessimist by personal choice (that way I’m never disappointed and sometimes pleasantly surprised). But good god, you might as well be strapped to a bed.

LO has the potential to do VERY well in the long run. I think it’s easily the best debut single by an Idol. And it’s one of the best songs by any Idol, period.

Obviously, when it comes to personal taste and how the song appeals to you, this is one of those “mileage” areas. But, in this case, I’m not looking at the song on that level. I’m evaluating it musically.

And on that plane, it’s really not that debatable. LO is simply a more sophisticated offering than any other AI contestant’s debut (although many critics and some fans are not grasping its depths). On the level of “bopping along to it on the radio in the car” I might prefer “Feels Like Tonight”, for instance. But, in terms of the songs’ musical structure, there’s no comparison.

Of course, the credit for this really goes to Chris Cornell because he’s the one who wrote the song. But, LO definitely pushes the boundaries of what a pop-rock single is. Apparently, a DJ who premiered the song this weekend actually referred to it as “rock opera”. At least, she picked up on the classic and stadium rock strains that run through it.

Now how well this type of song will translate commercially is another matter. Like I said it could be absolutely massive or it could stay at the level of a minor hit. But, Cook fans have absolutely NOTHING to be embarrassed about, because in terms of quality of it as a piece of MUSIC, his first song from the album sets a new standard for Idols.

I’m pulling out comments by folks who aren’t following the guidelines.

Disagree with your fellow posters, but please leave out the finger wagging, lectures and judgments.

Angry posts will be pulled.

I am feeling increasingly glad that the majority of what I listen to is more on the lines of record sellers and/or independent artists, rather than major label single sellers. The concept that someone could have one of the top ten selling singles in the country and be considered a “failure” absolutely boggles my mind. Yes, I know about the concept of expectations, etc., but really? A failure before we see how the song sells long-term, how it performs after the radio adds date, or how the as-yet unreleased record sells?

Oh, and yes. That “Light On” troops tribute is pretty powerful.

noctem, thanks for that post. Count me in among those pessimists/worrywarts by nature, who’s lost five lbs., so far, since David’s single dropped on iTunes, on account of all my anxiety over how LO will be embraced by the public. Your post made me feel so much better!

I loved LO from the first time I heard it, and appreciate it more with each listen. So proud of David and his choices, and because of the many people he’s touched with his amazing talent, he’ll never be a “disappointment” or a “failure” in this fan’s eyes. : )

It’s rare to see rock songs high on the Top 100 songs on iTunes. Rock buyers seem to go for albums more than singles with pop/rap ruling the Top Songs chart. Seems to work that way for country music as well.

I’m just waiting…patiently…NOT! I want MORE David Cook NOW. But I don’t want him to rush either or totally exhaust himself. Yes, I’m just going to wait and see. I bought the single, which I normally don’t do, because I wanted NEW music from him ASAP! I like it more the more I listen. The lyrics leave a lot of room for interpretation, which I also like. Different people can find different meanings in them. His voice is in-f-ing-credible, as usual…in tune, versatile, surprising, so expresive, great phrasing, everything I like about his singing shows up, for me, in Light On. I thought his first “real” single was doing really well so far. I already know I’m buying the album. I hope a gazillion other people buy it too. I myself don’t play games or politics or whatnot with the music I buy – I buy what I like and will listen to over and over again. At least, that’s what I hope when I spend my money on music! I liked the tribute to our troops – I hadn’t listened to the song that way. Very nice.

Count me in among those pessimists/worrywarts by nature, whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lost five lbs., so far, since Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s single dropped on iTunes, on account of all my anxiety over how LO will be embraced by the public.

5 lbs! lol I want in on this. I wish I could worry as much as everyone else but I’ve witnessed true Idol tankage, and DC is nowhere close.

LOL Keep. I was in a chat when I heard about it, so there was no lag time I guess. I got the website wrong (it was DCO). Looking back, I shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have posted anything. Just stirs stuff up. I just get frustrated when one bad seed makes a whole fanbase look bad.

I think most people realize that every fanbase has bad seeds and unfortunately those bad seeds can be quite the busy bees — posting on multiple sites under multiple pseudonyms, etc. — thus making it look like there’s more of them. It’s really too bad because both Davids have moved from being big fish in the small AI pond to being little fish in a BIG ass music industry pond, and the continued fanwarring and overdefensiveness of their fans over every media mention/review just diminishes their credibility in the eyes of potential new fans in the bigger world out there.

5 lbs! lol I want in on this.

I’ve heard of this David Cook diet. :lol_tb: Seriously.

He can have my sanity, but he’d better stay away from my food.

I already know Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m buying the album. I hope a gazillion other people buy it too.

Cook’s album is going to sell like hotcakes. The anticipation is high. He’s a very popular winner who is not all THAT polarizing… he has his detractors, but not like say Taylor or Fantasia. He even seemed to get a lot of love in the media. All he has to do is put out an album that doesn’t suck (lol) as well as shows some artistic promise and he’s beyond golden. I don’t think Light On is going to make a difference one way or another in that regard. It can be a moderate hit and still bring some additional people to the table who are at least willing to check the record out. Archie is in a very similar situation to me. His biggest problem was that he needed to change his image from “kid who sings boring old fashioned songs” and Crush did that beautifully. Again, if his album is halfway good people will buy it. Those two are so set it’s not even funny, IMO. Just make sure your albums don’t suck monkey scrotum, guys!!! LOL.

But, LO definitely pushes the boundaries of what a pop-rock single is.

“Light On” is a decent song, I still have faith that it will do well in the long run, despite not rushing up the charts it’s first week.

As the critic from Rolling Stone said, LO is “commercially viable”, and I’ll grant there’s some sophistication in its song structure, but I disagree that it’s pushing any pop-rock boundaries. This song sounds like a lot of stuff I’ve heard before, it’s got tinges of classic rock, 80′s pop-metal and the current post grunge stylings of bands like Nickleback. And, yes those arpeggios underneath the verse are very Blackhole Sun’ish. But I’m not hearing anything I haven’t heard before.

And that’s OK. Artists like Jack White and Beck who truly push boundaries are rare, indeed.

What’s ironic is two years ago I was a huge Daughtry fan and if you went back and saw what WE were going through 2 years ago it was pretty funny to look back on considering how things turned out. Now he’s the standard of male idol success stories, but not everything was smooth sailing nor did he come exploding out of the gate. Two years ago this time we didn’t have a single, a single wasn’t even chosen yet, the band wasn’t chosen yet, there were rumors there problems recording and there might be a possible delay, then when Its Not Over was chosenthe end of Oct. it debuted on a North Carolina radio station, not some huge major market premiere but later it did go up on AOL. Sound familiar? That single didn’t go for adds until after the CD dropped so naturally there was tons of angst. I recall not even hearing it on the radio in NY until close to Christmas.

I’d say things worked out in the end.

Sorry, I don’t think LO is “pushing any boundaries” although it is a decent effort and should do well. It’s certainly not a trainwreck like other first singles done by Idol contestants (I won’t name names). And radio will play it which is absolutely crucial at this point in the game. Thanks for info on Daughtry. Hard to believe but I don’t think anyone that season had a single released before the album. Or in Taylor’s case had a single at all. They’ve wised up alot or maybe are just reflecting the album to single move of the music biz today.

I like the predictions the writer at Foxes on Idol ( in today’s update thread) has for Cook! I truly hope she is right. She thinks DC has the potential to be the most successful winner since Carrie! ( Even with this week’s LO chart results)!

Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album is going to sell like hotcakes. The anticipation is high. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a very popular winner who is not all THAT polarizingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ he has his detractors, but not like say Taylor or Fantasia. He even seemed to get a lot of love in the media. All he has to do is put out an album that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t suck (lol) as well as shows some artistic promise and heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s beyond golden. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Light On is going to make a difference one way or another in that regard.

I think this is a reasonable assumption. . Although don’t ask me to predict. :tongue1_tb:

Most successful winner since Carrie seems like a very safe prediction. Neither Jordin or Taylor has yet sold 1 million albums. I think Cook has a very good shot at that. For one minute I thought how can they predict that Cook would match Daughtry’s 4 plus million and then remembered…he didn’t win.

As I like DC’s work more than Daughtry’s (YMMV) I would hope DC could ultimately equal or surpass CD in sales. But I will be very happy to see DC with any type of respectable, long-term success. I think he deserves it.

The magic rainbow is very close to being the most successful coronation song and has surpassed all the naysayers who thought it would die a quick death. The song will go platinum probably by the end of next month. I am so happy that this song is so successful. I know the latest posts are about LO which I believe will propbably exceed TOML but I wanted to give a shout out to the proven success of the TOML. :clap_tb:

Well, considering the fact that I heard Carrie Underwood’s “Inside Your Heaven” in a department store the other day, I realize that there could be worse places for me to hear Magic Rainbow. HAC seems like a nice home for now.

Hi there –

This is my first post, but I’ve read a fair bit of stuff here in recent months — my wife is an avid member and feeds me lots of interesting tidbits she sees here (we’re both big DC fans). She has sometimes encouraged me to chime in, because I’m a little bit of a music geek, and I’m finally going to do it. I apologize in advance for getting kind of technical — as I said, I’m a geek! I wanted to comment on this:

“LO definitely pushes the boundaries of what a pop-rock single is.”

I don’t hear any boundaries being pushed in LO. After reading that comment, I started thinking about the verse’s chord progression, and the verse of Kelly’s “Breakaway” popped into my head very quickly — they’re pretty similar (I like Breakaway’s verse a lot, btw). As for the chorus, the initial chord progression is just a tried-and-true walk down through intervals of fourths, which is a device used in gazillions of songs (though that’s another device I happen to like). The other progressions in the chorus are more interesting — probably the most creative part of the song — but not particularly adventurous. I know it’s been mentioned that the chorus doesn’t resolve back to the “tonic” (the key the chorus is in) — similar to what DC did at the end of ABMB (which makes me swoon!) — but that’s not unusual. I took a quick spin through some hits on my iPod and found a bunch that use that device.

I gather that some people have said it’s a technically difficult song to sing. I disagree. It does range over a couple of octaves in total, but the biggest note-to-note jump I hear is only an interval of a sixth — less than an octave, and something I can do in my sleep, despite not being “a singer”.

Overall, I think the underlying song is interesting enough that I’m hopeful DC will make it sound very cool when he gets to experiment with it live, but I sure wouldn’t call it groundbreaking in any way. And combined with the single’s wildly overdone production, I’m very sorry to say that it makes for an ordinary, anonymous recording that sounds like a whole lot of other stuff that came before it — I don’t think it’s a very big stretch to call it one big cliche. Sorry! I hope I can have something more “upbeat” to say in future posts — for example, when the album comes out???? :biggrin_wp:

Speaking of adults having crushes… Believe it or not, there are ALOT of ladies way older than DA who have a crush on him. It is hilarious to read the archie forums with both young and older women. They often go right up to the line and sometimes go way over. Everyone keeps reminding each other that he IS turning 18 in December. Funny thing is that in an interview last week, a DJ asked him if he minded having all of these older women as fans. He said he didn’t, as long as they don’t do something creepy. After that, the ladies were behaved (for a few days).

I gather that some people have said ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a technically difficult song to sing. I disagree. It does range over a couple of octaves in total, but the biggest note-to-note jump I hear is only an interval of a sixth à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  less than an octave, and something I can do in my sleep, despite not being à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a singerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

I totally agree that it’s not a difficult song to sing. That being said, I love David’s technical singing ability. He’s had some vocal training, and it’s noticeable. How? I’d encourage anyone to trying doing that “scream/wail/glory note”…whatever you want to call it…with improper support and see if you can talk tomorrow. It’s not a groundbreaking song to sing, but he sings it well. I can draw the line there.

I would tend to think that the vocal difficulty comes more from going at a fairly quiet pace to the wail/glory note. Like going from zero to sixty. I haven’t had vocal training, but that is what struck me as the most difficult aspect of the song.

Hey JohnM… thanks for delurking! I know nothing about music from a technical aspect, so that was an interesting read. Please keep that up

Let me revise and extend my remarks about “pushing boundaries”. It pushes the boundaries of what a “pop rock single” is TODAY. Those of you who have said that it is “nothing new” are correct, in the sense, that two or three decades ago there were songs that sounded similar to this. But, I stand by my comment that it is, at the very least, it is different and unusual compared to the songs by the artists that it is being compared to today.

On DCO, I stated that it reminded me of the days of classic rock when songs were MUCH longer and took you on a “musical journey”. LO sounds like a compressed version of one of those songs. That, to me, is what is impressive about what Cornell/ Howes have done here. They managed to create that effect within the format and time frame of a under-four-minute radio single.

Specifically, what makes the song’s structure more “complicated” is the transition from the bombastic bridge to the piano-only chorus to the loudest-yet, wailing chorus on the end. Before that, I would agree that the song is somewhat standard post-grunge fare, although with a few subtle differences.

But, I haven’t heard anybody on the RADIO do the drop off to piano-only (and the transitions on either side of it) since the seventies or eighties. I’m not saying other artists don’t do it (but I haven’t heard it done like this on a SINGLE in a very, very long time). And when you combine the back half transitions with the more standard first half of the song, that’s what creates the “musical journey” effect, for me.

Lastly, MJ I fully concur with your (and Rolling Stone’s) “commercially viable” appraisal. And that is why what Cornell/ Howes/ Cavallo/ Cook have accomplished here impresses me. They crafted a single that is both more sophisticated than most AND commercially viable. Extreme “boundary pushing” artists that you cited like Jack White and Beck are not (any more)….

Hey, a few replies….

From GwendolynD: “Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d encourage anyone to trying doing that ‘scream/wail/glory note’à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦whatever you want to call ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦with improper support and see if you can talk tomorrow.”

And from FolkFan: “I would tend to think that the vocal difficulty comes more from going at a fairly quiet pace to the wail/glory note. Like going from zero to sixty.”

Yup, I agree with both. I sure wouldn’t be able to talk the next day! It’s not the note-to-note jump itself that’s tough, it’s the way he chose to perform it. I think it’s interesting to compare it with Brooke’s performance of Neil Diamond’s “I Am I Said”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx7rmh_-z7c

That chorus has almost exactly the same note-to-note jump (both up and down) on the words “I am lost and I can’t” (at the 1:14 mark), but she doesn’t change her tone during those jumps as DC does. Just a difference in performance style.

From noctem: “Specifically, what makes the songà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s structure more ‘complicated’ is the transition from the bombastic bridge to the piano-only chorus to the loudest-yet, wailing chorus on the end.”

Wow, it’s funny that you focused on that loud-soft-loud sequence, because that part (particularly the soft-to-loud bit) is what stood out to me as the biggest cliche in the song! Unfortunately, I can’t seem to pull the songs out of my memory that sound just like that — but I did poke around iTunes a little bit and came across a few that use that same formula of a spare chorus followed by a full-force chorus — interestingly, a couple were by Nickelback, namely Far Away and, coincidentally enough, the new single, Gotta Be Somebody.

Just a comment on Bucky’s release of ” I’ll Walk”. I have always thought that this song could be a winner for him. A lot of folks love a tear jerker and if he puts out a video with this I think he’ll have a big hit.