Idol Headlines for 03/20/09

From this season, I agree with Gold Derby that among the finalists, Allison and Lil have good potential to end up with awards in their post-Idol careers. Of the guys, Anoop probably has a good shot as well.

Danny, Jasmine, Jorge, Kris, Matt, Megan, Michael and Scott are just not good enough IMO to be serious award contenders. (I’m talking about Grammys and genre academies, not MTV or other such awards)

Adam and Alexis are good enough, but aren’t the type that normally brings in awards from academies.

Of the semi-finalists, if they can catch a break, quite a few could be capable – such as Felicia, Ju’Not, Ricky, Mishavonna and even Jesse if she improves.

Can’t wait to see the new tour dates for David Cook.

That is so sweet of Michael Johns to go watch Taylor perform. Is he a member of the Soul Patrol? :lol_wp:

So AI leaked who the final 4 would be, then made sure one of them had to sing an awful song. So will they save her? No. Because it makes for good ‘idol’ drama. I’m glad I don’t watch this show anymore.
I love this site though. Thanks mj.

Jordin Sparks should learn to keep her mouth shut and stop with her holier than thou attitude. If it weren’t for Chris Brown she’d be another failed Idol like Taylor Hicks.

RE: Taylor’s Roxy Theater Concert

So, which is it, one report says that his show was relatively full and TMZ says no one wanted to go, so they gave tickets out for free…

Did Taylor give a free concert ?

bravo jordin sparks!!! yes, don’t ever think of working with that woman-beater ever again!!!!

Jordin Sparks should learn to keep her mouth shut and stop with her holier than thou attitude. If it werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t for Chris Brown sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be another failed Idol like Taylor Hicks.

Are you kidding me? Hesitating to work with a woman-beater is a “holier than thou attitude”? I’ll just say this: for anyone out there who’s dealing with domestic violence, it’s not your fault, and you don’t have to go back to your abuser. Sorry, maybe I just came off a bit “holier than thou”. I’ll go shut up now.

edit: disagree without criticizing your fellow posters

BTW, TMZ isn’t reporting the whole truth. They want people to believe that no one wanted to watch the Taylor Hicks show at the Roxy and the reason the show was full was because the tickets were given out free.

A HALF TRUTH. Here is a post from one of the theater goers :

And that whole TMZ thing is a bunch of crap. The two people in front of me had free tickets from that place. What was it, Goldstar or something like that? I played dumb while they explained to me how they got their free tickets. Well, turns out this is what this place does! They do it all the time! They have like 60 venues on their web site. The free tickets are very limited, so they run out fast, and then they ask the people who went to write a short review for them.

When TMZ makes a report, take it with a grain of salt.

Are you kidding me? Hesitating to work with a woman-beater is a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“holier than thou attitudeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ?

She has already shown that she has a holier-than-thou attitude from her if-you-don’t-wear-purity-ring-you-are-a-slut comment. She should just have kept her mouth shut, it’s not for her to make a negative comment on someone who saved her from being a failure.

TMZ is a sleaze site and they continually write crap about Taylor to get hits.

I think you’re putting words in Jordin’s mouth. She never called people who don’t have sex before marriage SLUTS.

Jordin PRACTICES it because these are HER VALUES. You may disagree with her values but hey, this is a free country.

As for Jordin being a success “because” of Chris Brown, err… nah.

Her single — TATTOO charted VERY WELL and I never heard Chris Brown’s voice there.

Any chance that a disaffected employee or ex-employee related to the AI lawsuit was the source for the New York Daily News top 4 gossip item?

Just wondering.

Kelly performed “I Do Not Hook Up” on GMA today, it was taped when she was on the show couple weeks ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNig5ltmeBg

RE: TMZ is a sleaze site and they continually write crap about Taylor to get hits.

Precisely. You need to fan the flames so to speak so that people will read the story and of course — COMMENT.

Taylors response to the TMZ cameradude; “Let’s Chat”, priceless IMO. LoL!

Hazehel, it’s fine that you’ve concluded that Jordin has a holier-than-thou attitude based on other comments, but I strongly disagree with taking what she said about Chris Brown as holier-than-thou. I think as women, we have a right to speak up against domestic violence, and I applaud anyone who does. I take strong offense against anyone telling a woman to “keep her mouth shut” against abusers. I hope our society has advanced far enough for us to realize that is NOT okay. So what, just because Chris helped make her more successful, she can’t disagree with what he’s done? So if a woman’s in an abusive relationship, we tell her to stay with the man because he’s successful? Or are you saying that we side with the man because he helped us in the past somehow? Sorry, but no. Where do we draw the line? If someone I worked with “saved me from being a failure”, I have to be so grateful to him that even if he goes and kills his wife, that I can’t even say anything alluding to the fact that he did something bad? NO NO NO and NO.

well i always knew it! if a man pays for you….buys you things…does things for you…well then he MUST be able to beat the shit out of you too!!

god, how did i miss that values lesson in kindergarten?????

Bravo, smallie. It shocks me to see people making excuses for domestic violence. It’s not acceptable EVER.

Any chance that a disaffected employee or ex-employee related to the AI lawsuit was the source for the New York Daily News top 4 gossip item?

Just wondering.

It’s almost a certainty given the nature of the complaints, but I don’t know the genesis of the suit. I do remember reading about it at least a year ago, though. It’s likely Freemantle will drag it out until the plaintiffs are out of money via legal fees and willing to settle for beans.

I’m glad to see a lot of people in a lot of places are recognizing the talent of Allison, even if the producers try to downplay her. Maybe they’ll wake up now.

As a man, Jordin’s comments made me respect her that much more. Frankly, I find her willingness to occasionally speak her mind refreshing. It is sad to me that so many rush to attack women who are either abused or stand up for other women or even stand up for their own beliefs.

And as far as I’m concerned, Jordin doesn’t owe Chris Brown squat. Especially now. Go Jordin. Do your thang.

MJ. great article! Anyway, speaking of the Save, I’d like someone at some point to apply the Bice Corollary on it. I wish someone with healthy self-esteem just says NO. Kinda like Jon Stewart during the infamous Crossfire episode where he said to the hosts, “I won’t be your monkey.”

Jordin’s coronation song, as well as Tattoo, charted very well, even before the Chris Brown duet came along and her new single is doing just fine also. “No Air” was icing on the cake, not a career saver.

Chris Brown is damaged goods right now, and a red-hot focus of media attention. No contemporary recording artist who has worked with him — and quite a few who haven’t — is going to be able to avoid being asked to comment on that situation.

Did Jordin give the most diplomatic response? Probably not, but her responses seemed guarded but realistic rather than judgmental or holier than, or whatever.

I think youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re putting words in Jordinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mouth. She never called people who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have sex before marriage SLUTS.

HUH?

BTW, before No Air, Jordin Sparks’ album struggled to go gold, was doing worse than Taylor Hicks and looked set to be the worst performing Idol winner ever.

I think as women, we have a right to speak up against domestic violence, and I applaud anyone who does. I take strong offense against anyone telling a woman to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“keep her mouth shutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  against abusers.

Everyone has the right to say anything they want. Whoever said they don’t?

And all this strange praise for Jordin, did Jordin Sparks condemn in the strongest terms about Chris Brown and categorically refuse to work with him anymore?

As to Chris Brown, people have been fast to condemn him. Remember, he is innocent until proven guilty. I do not condone violence in any form and I am not defending him. I am just saying, let the facts come out and the law deal with him. If he is guilty, then have at him.

Yahoo Music Blog

Chart Watch Extra: The American Idol Alumni Association

lots of numbers and stats.

Jordinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s coronation song, as well as Tattoo, charted very well, even before the Chris Brown duet came along

Not a jordin fan and never was, but I believe that statement is only half true. Tattoo did well, Jordin’s coronation song is the worst performing coronation song ever. It did very very poorly.
And, as others have stated, No Air is the song that re-energized her album sales.

All of this does not mean she should now condone anything Chris Brown does on a personal level.

Guilty or not, Chris Brown *is* damaged goods now and it wouldn’t do Jordin any good to associate with him. And imo it’s pretty clear he did what he’s being accused of doing and if anything I wish Jordin would have straight out said “NO”…but I guess she has to be diplomatic.

Anyway…

Anyone remember how there was that one tour stop for DC in ohio that was booked, then got canceled almost right away? it’s been re-booked:

Season Seven winner DAVID COOK will be performing at Musica in downtown Akron on Friday, May 8th.
Some fans may recall that just a few short months ago a date was announced at Musica and a few hours later withdrawn after the tour dates were retooled to focus on college campuses.
Well, according to Tim Eddings of Celebrity Etc who books the Musica, Cook’s team felt bad about booking and then unbooking the gig and when a break in Cook’s busy, busy schedule came up, Musica got the gig.

Jordin had a huge hit with Tattoo and One Step At A Time went platinum as well. But obviously No Air helped a ton. That said, I love the fact that she speaks her mind even if I don’t always agree with her. From the slut comments to the Chris Brown comments, she speaks her mind without fear.

M.J. Santilli writes about “Idol” for mjsbigblog.com ??????????? Really?

Anyone remember how there was that one tour stop for DC in ohio that was booked, then got canceled almost right away? ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been re-booked:

Yay for DC for re-booking! Although, why do I have a feeling that it was DC himself who felt badly, and made sure his “team” found another date?

I may try to go to this one. It’s not too far away (trying to rationalize a 6 hour drive).

MrRJ, that is a very restrained response. And I admire it. I guess if this were all based on mere rumour and gossip, then I would be inclined to agree. But enough facts have come out for me to feel justified in my condemnation of Brown, not that anyone should care what I think. The police reports and photo are enough for me. And as for the law, well, whatever he and his lawyers plea will not change the truth about what happened.

Everyone has the right to say anything they want. Whoever said they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t?

I’m glad you agree that everyone has the right to say anything they want. You have the right to tell Jordin to “keep her mouth shut” about Chris Brown, just as I have a right to say that telling any woman to shut up about an abuser offends me.

And all this strange praise for Jordin, did Jordin Sparks condemn in the strongest terms about Chris Brown and categorically refuse to work with him anymore?

What strange praise? I’m not a big Jordin fan by any measure, so I was merely defending her right to say she’s hesitant about working with Chris– in response to your comment that she should shut up. Personally, I would’ve praised her if she had condemned what he (allegedly) did in stronger terms. If hesitating to work with Chris ellicited a “shut up” response from you, would a strong statement from Jordin have resulted in praise? I find this logic tremendously confusing and faulty. Of course, any logic that defends domestic abuser tends to be that way…

edit: no personal attacks, please.

In respect to Chris Brown recording No Air with Jordin. Even though this was arranged through their record company Chris could have said no if he thought the duet would harm his career. Therefore, I can only conclude that Chris thought enough of Jordin to risk his own musical standing on her behalf. And the two ended up having a phenomenal hit that helped both their careers.

I know that Chris hasn’t been convicted of anything but putting together all the leaked evidence I would say the allegations have more than some truth to them. It may not be fair to have Chris pay the price (sponsorships, loss of gigs, poor record sales) before he is convicted but domestic violence is not something anyone should play with lightly. If Rihanna made up the story she will have to face those consequences, if she didn’t Chris will.

I do think it is sad that the media insists on getting a response on this issue from everyone who has ever associated with Chris. The responses really have no bearing on the case, and depending on an individuals beliefs and life experiences their responses will ultimately reflect that.

No Air may have been responsible for energizing Jordin’s album sales, but Chris Brown didn’t write the song nor did he produce it, or put the deal together as far as I know. So any credit CB gets for her success is by association with the value of his celebrity at the time. Right now his celebrity has negative value and she/her management is smart to steer clear for now.

Yes, he is/should be considered innocent until proven guilty, but the damage of his presumed guilt has (perhaps temporarily) devalued his celebrity. It will take a while to re-establish that value, if he is able to do so at all. It remains to be proven what he did that night in the Lambourgini, but I think it is unrealistic to expect people not to comment and discuss the what if’s of the situation.

I found this interesting, so I thought I’d pass it along.

Yahoo does a little daily blurb where they talk about recent search spikes. This was on the list this morning:

Idol Talk: Country Twang by Vera H-C Chan

Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul cat fights aside, Tuesday night on “American Idol” was about making amends during country week. Anoop Desai made up for last week’s rendition of “Beat It,” Matt Giraud and Kris Allen became serious contenders, and Megan Corkrey won panel plaudits for pulling her best performance despite a raging flu.

Favored child Lil Rounds disappointed the four judges, but Adam Lambert split the panel with his far-out, sitar-soaked rendition of “Ring of Fire.” Will Lambert’s surreal performance do for sitars what Season 7 contestant Jason Castro did for the ukulele? Probably not.

What performances sent people online to find out more? Below, the top six.

Top 6 “American Idol” Contestants, Tuesday performance night searches

Adam Lambert

Danny Gokey

Anoop Desai

Kris Allen

Allison Iraheta

Scott MacIntyre

Chris Brown didn’t risk anything by doing a duet with Jordin. They share a label and probably everyone realized early this song would be a monster hit. And if it flopped, so what. It was on Jordin’s album not Chris Brown’s. I used to be a big fan of Chris and it would be pretty sad if his career was done. But this is an ugly situation and his career may not survive.

Alex Wagner-Trugman pretty much made clear that there isn’t much glamor in Hollywood for the contestants either. I guess they do get medical though.

MrRJ Mar 20th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

As to Chris Brown, people have been fast to condemn him. Remember, he is innocent until proven guilty. I do not condone violence in any form and I am not defending him. I am just saying, let the facts come out and the law deal with him. If he is guilty, then have at him.

Oh horsesh!t, Americans have a legal system where plenty of innocent people go to jail every single day on scant evidence and then pay the rest of their lives in consequence too horrible for me to even want to want begin to contemplate.

Conversely, when somebody who has the world at their fingertips, such as Chris Brown, decides to throw away their good name and beat a lovely thing like Rhianna to a bloody pulp, I will gladly condemn him in the court of public opinion, because I know that our legal system is heavily weighted in favor of the wealthy criminals and the legal teams they have at their disposal.

I don’t need a legal outcome to know when something very wrong was done to another person, irrespective, of guilt, criminality, fair trail by a jury of his peers and reasonable doubt. Those are simply the jargon & tools that an inherently coercive system uses to create an illusion of fairness.

What strange praise? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not a big Jordin fan by any measure, so I was merely defending her right to say sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hesitant about working with Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ in response to your comment that she should shut up. Personally, I wouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve praised her if she had condemned what he (allegedly) did in stronger terms. But I do find it a bit hypocritical that the person who initially said she should shut up when she merely hesitated about Chris is now saying that she should only be praised if she had spoken up more strongly? If hesitating to work with Chris ellicited a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shut upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  response from you, would a strong statement from Jordin have resulted in praise? I find this logic tremendously confusing and faulty. Of course, any logic that defends domestic abuser tends to be that wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

The comment about “praise” weren’t directed at you, and please refrain from using words like hypocritical when you kept misreading what I wrote. I was also replying to someone else if you hadn’t noticed.

Jordin Sparks should shut up about it because she did owe Chris Brown a big favor, she would have been dumped by her label faster than she can say “purity ring” if the song hadn’t been the big success it was. She would have become the joke in Idol-land for failing to even outsell Taylor Hicks. If she wants to make a stand and says something in very strong terms about wife-beating, fine, but she didn’t, instead she goes all “oh, I’m really not sure I want to work with him anymore, you know, that wife-beater, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens next eh?” (so I paraphrase), a mealy-mouthed response that implied she is above him moral-wise but won’t make a principled stand by dismissing outright any future collaboration. If she won’t make a principled stand, then she should just say something like “it’s a sad situation, we’ll have to wait until all this died down before we can decide on anything.” or whatever non-commital diplomatic response that anyone old enough has already learned to make.

Yahoo Music Blog

Great stuff! So now we know Analogy Heart sold 2000 total. DC has stated that he sold 1000 in a year, which leads me to believe that was how many he printed and sold pre-Idol, and the remaining 1000 came from the Amazon downloads before it was pulled? I’m just guessing.

I didn’t know Jordin had an EP, and one that sold 49,000 copies, no less?

My last word on the topic but Jordin is being honest. She’s an 18 year old girl and I would call her answer candid and not mealy mouthed. Sure she could have been more diplomatic but so what. I think that’s probably how 95% of the music world thinks without the benefit of their PR person.

I also disagree that Jordin owes Chris Brown her career. Tattoo was enough of a hit to maintain her career. Add those sales to even a gold album and another platinum hit like OSAAT and she wouldn’t be labeled a flop. Those are actually good results for a Top 40 artist these days.

Plus she came off a dismal season and expectations for her were very low. What turned Taylor into a joke were fans with huge expectations and less than stellar results. No one expected anything of Jordin. And of course there was no one else her season to overshadow her. That always helps.

sma11ie: Wow about Analog Heart. I know Amazon is a tiny market share, but AH stayed at #1 album for a week (give or take) as I recall and Cook took #1 artist for a few days there too. Really, that only amounts to 1000? Eye-opening. Granted I didn’t think he was nearing 5 digits, but 5000 wouldn’t surprise me.

Off to look at the ##s…

ETA: Ah, Michelle, thanks! The mp3 distinction makes total sense to me now, great point!

And, Jolene, yes lots of peeps had to download AH illegally, but post-finale, Cook gave permission to download it for free. So, at least then, no illegality, just no $$ either.

Great stuff! So now we know Analogy Heart sold 2000 total. DC has stated that he sold 1000 in a year, which leads me to believe that was how many he printed and sold pre-Idol, and the remaining 1000 came from the Amazon downloads before it was pulled? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just guessing.

I still don’t get why they aren’t allowing Analog Heart to sell legally. It didn’t make sense during the season (when Brooke’s album remained available, as did Carly’s and Kristy Lee’s, IIRC), and it makes even less sense now. I get that RCA will make no money off the album, but what harm will it do to simply allow it to sell through Amazon.com? They don’t have to promote it. It’s just such a shame to know so many people have no alternative other than get the album illegally. /long winded rant.

I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know Jordin had an EP, and one that sold 49,000 copies, no less?

Yeah, what is that EP? I was surprised to see her ranked above DC since his album outsold hers, then I read the fine print.

All in all, I love it when we get a rundown of cumulative figures like this. A fun read for those following the Idol-dom, especially number nerds. I wish Brian from USA Today would do another Coronation song update sometime before the season ends.

I know Amazon is a tiny market share, but AH stayed at #1 album for a week (give or take) as I recall

Wellll, #1 mp3 album, which is a smaller subsection of Amazon’s general Music department.

What turned Taylor into a joke were fans with huge expectations and less than stellar results. No one expected anything of Jordin. And of course there was no one else her season to overshadow her. That always helps.

This is true, Jordin was the only American Idol to not have big expectations upon release, nor have the huge Idol base behind her. That’s why her results are a big accomplishment because she had to go out and earn fans the good ol’ fashion way.

As for this Chris Brown quote, to the person who said she didnt give a strong enough quote, you must have missed the part where her publicist stepped in and stopped her from making any additional comments. Lest you forget, they are on the same label, so I bet it would be a BIG no, no to trash any fellow label mates in public.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m gonna follow JPfanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s suit and say my last words on the topic as well. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not arguing with you whether she owed Chris Brown a big favor. I honestly donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care about her career enough to figure that out. But what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been trying to say repeatedly is that no matter how big a favor Jordin owes Chris, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not big enough to justify condoning domestic violence. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to keep going back and forth on this, but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just say one last thing, and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an observation thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not necessarily directed at you: I find it funny when people dislike a celebrity so much that they need to find fault in everything they do to justify their dislike. Sometimes, someone you categorically hate might actually say or do something thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not that bad, and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s okay. You can still hate them without forcing the okay-thing to be horrible.

edit: don’t question the motives of your fellow posters or attack them personally. if you can’t respond without attacking, i suggest you step out of the conversation

Jordin Sparks should learn to keep her mouth shut and stop with her holier than thou attitude. If it werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t for Chris Brown sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be another failed Idol like Taylor Hicks.

I never heard of Chris Brown before Jordin recorded “No Air” with him. If Jordin’s smart she’ll stay the hell away from him! IMO of course. :dry_tb:

Yahoo Music Blog

Chart Watch Extra: The American Idol Alumni Association

lots of numbers and stats.

Good stuff! Thanks for posting! Lots of interesting trivia.

I love seeing Kelly on top! Kelly is still selling but it looks like she and Carrie are neck to neck with the sales. I doubt that Carrie can overtake her though especially since she seems to be back on track. Whoa at Clay’s opening week sales for his debut album! I wonder if any Idol can even surpass that. Daughtry’s pretty impressive to be on the Top 5 with just one album. If he sells 400K more on his 2nd album, he’ll take the #3 spot. Great to see S5 represent with 4 Idols in the list! Jordin has an EP that sold 45K?! That’s pretty cool too.

I’ve been out all morning, and I’m seein’ a whole lotta guidelines breaking in this thread.

Here’s the deal, even if a poster says something you personally find offensive, it does not give you the right to attack him or her or question that persons motives.

CALM DOWN PLEASE.

But what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been trying to say repeatedly is that no matter how big a favor Jordin owes Chris, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not big enough to justify condoning domestic violence. Anyway, you may think Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m misreading what you wrote, but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m pretty confident in my reading comprehension skills, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m pretty sure you never explained that you found fault with what Jordin said because it was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mealy mouthedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  until the last post. So without that explanation you just posted above, yeah, your previous statements did read very hypocritical TO ME.

And no one has said anything about condoning domestic violence, that appeared to be whatever that was in your mind, and you just used it as an opportunity to spout off against other people. (Yes, MJ, do jump in and delete this for my suggesting what another poster’s motive might be) Yes, Jordin has an holier-than-thou attitude, I have said it before about the “slut” episode, and I objected to her now because she again when implied she is morally superior when she should have just said nothing. I can’t imagine how you would want to interpret that as condoning domestic violence.

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine how you would want to interpret that as condoning domestic violence.

And that’s why I have rule about questioning posters motives and putting words in their mouths. This could continue on and on and on…forever. Each side accusing the other side of ulterior motives.

Except this conversation is not going to continue here. Get BACK to discussing Idol.

Sorry MJ, I wasn’t trying to question motives or put words in anyone’s mouth, but I see now that the bit y’all quoted above was poorly worded. I’m done.

So does anyone know what Jordin’s EP was?

From the link to the statisics on albums sold — I would have thought that Bucky would have been mentioned somewhere…

eta: Christian music is not my favorite type of music and I was no fan of Mandisa’s during the show — but her new song “My Deliverer” is pretty good and she sounds good on it.

I couldn’t get why so many people in the comment section were having a Carrie/Kelly fanwar until I saw the headline on Yahoo’s main page. LMAO, so totally asking for it. Also – LMAO that this is featured on Yahoo’s homepage. Do “normal” people really care about Idol sales?

lol Jolene I saw that a few minutes ago. And no, they really don’t. I didn’t even find it very interesting.

“It seems to be working perfectly for the show as the judges dangle it carrot-like in front of hopeful “Idol” rejects.”

This comes from the NY POST which is owned by Rupert Murdoch who happens to own FOX. In other words, it is propaganda.

Even though I’m not a Taylor Hicks fan, the poor guy can’t seem to get a break anywhere. Looking back at Dial Idol for season5 he led the voting pretty much every week…so I would think that He would have had a tremendous fan base. From what I’ve read (and I always say you can only believe a tish about what you read on the web), he is having a hard time selling out his concerts. Where are his fans, were they voting for Hicks to vote others out? I’m seeing the same kind of tactics going on this year and it really saddens me. Unless the voting public really SUPPORTS their chosen one and will support them in the future I wish they would have a little more sense….and VFTW doesn’t have nearly the pull they think they do.

It seems to be working perfectly for the show as the judges dangle it carrot-like in front of hopeful à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  rejects.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

This comes from the NY POST which is owned by Rupert Murdoch who happens to own FOX. In other words, it is propaganda.

I’m sorry I have been laughing out loud about this quote. Sorry, I’n trying not to be rude, but considering that OUR MJ wrote the piece and it is her quote…what the F…!

I couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get why so many people in the comment section were having a Carrie/Kelly fanwar until I saw the headline on Yahooà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main page. LMAO, so totally asking for it. Also – LMAO that this is featured on Yahooà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s homepage. Do à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“normalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  people really care about Idol sales?

I’m sure the Yahoo peeps are licking their lips in excitement. Imagine all the hits they’re getting. :thumbup_tb: Personally, I don’t see what the fuss is about among the fans. They’re both HUGE stars. Many Idols or actually artists in general would kill to have half of what they’ve accomplished.

Even though Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not a Taylor Hicks fan, the poor guy canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to get a break anywhere. Looking back at Dial Idol for season5 he led the voting pretty much every weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦so I would think that He would have had a tremendous fan base. From what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve read (and I always say you can only believe a tish about what you read on the web), he is having a hard time selling out his concerts. Where are his fans, were they voting for Hicks to vote others out?

Nah, Taylor was quite popular his year. I think he committed the great idol sin of putting out an album that didn’t really match what he had been selling for 5 months on Idol. That said, he did sell out shows pretty much all through the tour he did to support his first album. But its been a while and he no longer has the level of promo he once had. And fans do move on. Not every one will wait with baited breath for years to see if you get it right the next time.

This comes from the NY POST which is owned by Rupert Murdoch who happens to own FOX. In other words, it is propaganda.

Um, MrRJ, as Tess mentioned – the writer of that article, MJ Santilli, is the “MJ” in “MJ’s Big Blog”. So, that’s our MJ – not the Fox propoganda machine

From what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve read (and I always say you can only believe a tish about what you read on the web), he is having a hard time selling out his concerts. Where are his fans, were they voting for Hicks to vote others out?

Taylor had a pretty solid fanbase on the show. It was most likely made up of people voting for him, not against someone else.

I’m not sure about this whole concert ticket thing, as it would appear that he’s doing a limited number of shows that coincide with locations on his Grease tour. It looks like most of the shows don’t even have the tickets on sale yet, so I’m not sure how they’re having trouble selling them.

Taylor was given a lot of credit for attracting fans to the Broadway run of Grease. And, the national tour is typically listed as “Grease with Taylor Hicks” or some such thing – so someone is assuming he sells tickets. I don’t think he’s as bad off as TMZ is trying to make it seem.

Taylor is now an Indie artist. He no longer has the support of the Simon Fuller machine. And without the full court press, no Idol winner would have anywhere near the sales they do.

Example: David Cook’s album sales in the week after his future Idol appearance v. his sales if he didn’t return to the show. Case closed.

Just an anecdote from the Taylor concert trail–I went to see his show twice, on successive days in two nearby cities. At the first one, while having dinner at a restaurant right near the venue, I happened to share a table with two older ladies who were HUGE fans of his from AI. They weren’t cougars, nothing tawdry, but they loved his spark and his voice and his whole persona.

Then we went to the concert. The ladies went to the balcony, where they could sit. I stayed on the main floor, where everyone was standing. I saw one of the ladies during intermission. They were leaving. The show was nothing –NOTHING–like what they had fallen in love with on AI. It was LOUD, pounding, rock-soul. I did OK with it because I’m OK with that kind of music, but it was a disappointment to me as well, in that it bore NO resemblance to what he had presented on the show. It didn’t even sound much like the clips I’d watched of his pre-AI concerts or his AI tour “shadow” concerts.

I don’t mean to imply that he should have done all AI-style stuff; but he showed off serious singing chops during the show, and those were NOT on display in this concert. I was puzzled why he would go SO hard rather than steering a middle ground–a ballad or two, a less ear-splitting approach to some of the songs–but no. It was high decibel all the way.

I’m sure those women never again thought of buying a CD by him. They certainly would never invest in another 3-day trip (they had driven quite some distance to get there) to see him in person.

That was the first of the two concerts I had tickets to. The second one, the next night, was much better. Partly because my expectations had changed, but also, he changed it up. It did include some softer stuff, and even the loud hard songs were less loud and less hard than they were at the first place. It was a great show. But I know for sure he lost fans at the first one. And if that happened at many venues, he really did himself no favors. He had a hard enough row to hoe with the resistance from AI and its management company. He didn’t have to add to the difficulty himself.

Add to that, that the first CD was mostly dreck, and now the apparently endless run singing one 3rd-rate song in a 3rd-rate traveling version of Grease, and my interest in him has waned from Fanatical Fan to mild curiosity about whether one or two songs on his new CD might be worth listening to.

It’s too bad. I loved him enough to go to Birmingham to meet his band; enough to spend my whole vacation that year traveling to see those two concerts. But his post-AI work is just not very interesting. It’s all over the map, no coherence, and almost nothing of what I loved about him on AI.

I’d love to have him back, but maybe this IS the real him, in which case–sorry, but it doesn’t work for me.

Taylor is now an Indie artist. He no longer has the support of the Simon Fuller machine. And without the full court press, no Idol winner would have anywhere near the sales they do.

Example: David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album sales in the week after his future Idol appearance v. his sales if he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t return to the show. Case closed.

I’m… not sure I get that example. Any artist that goes on AI is likely to see some spike in sales, whether they are indie or major, so long as their material connects with enough people who watch the show. There are still some rumors floating around that Taylor is one of the Idols slated to appear later this season. I would imagine that if he does, he will see a rise in sales.
Elliot is an indie artist just like Taylor, he was on the show more than some of its winners, I believe.

I agree that selling as an indie artist is a lot harder than as a major label artist, no doubt about it, but I think that’s more to do with the label and its promotion to radio than it does with AI and its pimp machine – that’s 19M’s land, not the label’s.

Yahoo Music Blog

Chart Watch Extra: The American Idol Alumni Association

lots of numbers and stats.

For what it’s worth ( and if you’re going to run a column on comparing numbers, you may as well get the numbers right)… the totals for Daughtry’s download singles are incorrect. RCA runs a fairly up-to-date tally on Daughtry’s official website:

http://www.daughtryofficial.com/forum/daughtry-album-updates

Assuming this is correct, INO is #2 behind Jordin’s “NoAir”. Ken Barnes has run INO at just over 3M (combining two versions) in the past, but I don’t have the link handy.

Jordin’s EP? There were actually two of them.

The first one was “For Now” but that was a very limited release. It came out back in 2003 and is extremely rare these days.

The second one was her post-Idol winner’s release, shortly after winning Idol. It was an iTunes exclusive that is no longer on the market.

Example: David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album sales in the week after his future Idol appearance v. his sales if he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t return to the show. Case closed.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢mà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ not sure I get that example. Any artist that goes on AI is likely to see some spike in sales, whether they are indie or major, so long as their material connects with enough people who watch the show.

Wow, case closed?! What about those singles coming out to coincided with said appearance? Yeah, let’s dismiss those altogether, as I’m sure there’s no way their airplay will help.

Whether peeps like it or not, AI is a platform for musicians to expose themselves and their music to millions of watchers and listeners, in a single 3-4 minute slot. And, peeps can snub Idol all they want — I know I have and still do at times, I’ll admit — yet, more and more mainstream, legit artists are more than willing (dare we say, anxious?) to appear there. Think, Kanye, forgodsakes! If my life depended on it, I’d never have anticipated that he would appear and sing on the show. Never. (And didn’t Brad Paisley do a spoof song/video about reality music competitions making stars?! LOL, maybe that was somebody else…)

But, anywho. I know there’s a lot of angst that Cook’s promo is greater than that of some others. However, I don’t think it’s fair to attribute his popularity and/or sales solely (“case closed”) to a future AI appearance, if that’s the point being made here.

The promotion a return to Idol gives an artist is incredible. Twenty million minimum see you. Now if they don’t like what they hear, that’s a whole other story. But if nothing else changed in David Cook’s career – radio play, touring, etc. stayed the same, his album sales will still get a major boost because of his appearance on AI.

I’m not saying Taylor with AI promo would do anywhere near as well but he’d sell more than 9K.Taylor’s music just isn’t that commercial but if he got a warm welcome with a nice positive video infomercial, he could sell a few more units.

^^ No disagreement there. I think one of the main things hurting Taylor is that Idol turned his name into a joke. They aren’t only ignoring him, IMHO they are damaging his image.
However – I choose to hope the rumors are true and Taylor will get to perform this season. I’m not a fan, but the guy deserves a break, and his album deserves to outsell freaking KLC.

Yea, I ‘m with jpfan on this. Anyone who appears (or is even mentioned) on Idol gets a boost, so all things being equal, having the backing of Fuller/19 means more sales than not having their backing. Of course you can’t shovel but so much… um, crap…. so if your product is not that appealing it won’t help that much. (Hellooooo Rueben! G’Day Blake!) But still, assuming you have something sellable 19′s management can be the difference between doing good and doing great. If they are willing to use the power of Idol in your favor consistently, it can really add up.

Not sure where to post this.
I didn’t see it anywhere so excuse me if it is:
Adam singing Brigadoon

Not really pop relevant for sure, but just really relaxing to listen to.

Does anyone have any box scores for Taylor’s most recent tour?

I think one problem could be the pricing. At the Chicago show, he was asking for $40. I couldn’t find anyone willing to go with me at that price. Can’t say that I blame them. He was playing at Martyrs, which usually prices tickets at $10 – $20. Yes, they are mostly indie acts, but I guess that’s what Taylor is now. Besides, even the double bill of James Morrison and Adele was only $20 at the Park West.

If Taylor wants to expose his music to a wider audience, I think he needs to lower his ticket prices. I’m sure I could have gotten a few peeps to check him out at a lower price.

Reading the responses tells me we don’t disagree about the power of Idol to promote! And, that you can only shovel so much… LOL

And, yeah, I agree that AI mistreats Taylor Hicks with the weekly joke, and I’ve said as much before. I don’t get that at all. He won THEIR show, and he’s certainly responsible in (large?) part for their ratings and buzz that year, right? Making him a joke makes them a joke, imo.

Should we sing a round of kumbaya now? ;-P

ETA: Or maybe all listen to this! Wow, thanks for that link. Beautifully sung, what a talent that guy!

Adam singing Brigadoon

AI mistreats Taylor Hicks with the weekly joke

That’s really unnecessary, because I don’t even get the jokes. I didn’t watch his season, and I’m not a Taylor fan, so speaking objectively, I don’t think those jokes are funny or make much sense. I mean, I don’t live behind a rock, so I am aware that from a pop culture perspective, Taylor’s the name that’s tossed around as the one “America got wrong” or whatever, but what exactly is the point of bringing that up on a weekly basis? This non-Taylor fan is annoyed with the schtick. Last week, I think they said something about how far they’ve come since when Taylor used to stand on that stage… so what were they trying to say/accomplish? That Idol is better now because they manipulate the viewers so hard that the likes of Taylor Hicks won’t ever win again? I don’t think making fun of him like that helps the Idol brand, so I’m just not sure what they’re going for…

Thanks for the LA Times article on Phil, . I love the “Idol great” title they gave him. I and his other Philnatics think so of him, too, as do his fellow tour members Melinda, Gina, and Chikezie. He gives a lot of insight and information as to how his life is now. I know by looking at his schedule that he stays, as he once put it, “crazy busy.” In fact, I just read his latest Twitter post where he said that he hopes his Dallas friends will come out to see him, . They will perform tonight and tomorrow with the Dallas Symphony orchestra. The CBS affiliate there has an interview and 4 video chats on there, and apparently also a sound check, although I haven’t found it. They should be found at the link below.

http://cbs11tv.com/entertainment

Not sure where to post this.
I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see it anywhere so excuse me if it is:
Adam singing Brigadoon

I could listen to this all day…his enunciation is out of this world….and his breath control, beyond belief. I don’t care what he does on AI, I will be a fan of his forever and I will hope that he records and tours so I will get the pleasure of hearing him and seeing him. I luvs me some ADAM. He is why I watch AI, to find someone who moves my soul!!

Jordin should have made a firmer statement or none at all. It makes it sound like she’s hedging her bets and waiting to see if public opinion changes.

The Roxy is a very small venue and great artists like Justin Nozuka charge less than $20. Taylor’s appearance was way overpriced.

so what were they trying to say/accomplish? That Idol is better now because they manipulate the viewers so hard that the likes of Taylor Hicks wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t ever win again?

*cough*Danny Gokey*cough*

But, anywho. I know thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lot of angst that Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s promo is greater than that of some others. However, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fair to attribute his popularity and/or sales solely (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ case closedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ) to a future AI appearance, if thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the point being made here.

Yeah, and really, is his promo THAT much greater than the other winners? I realize Idol has pimped him hard since the season started but promo wise before hand? Is it that much more than say Carrie, or Kelly or Jordin initially got?

Is there anyone who performed on AI and didn’t see a big sales spike? I’m sure there has to be. It will be interesting to see if they do have Taylor back this season since they plan on having someone every week. If they don’t that’s really cruel.

Jordin should have made a firmer statement or none at all. It makes it sound like sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hedging her bets and waiting to see if public opinion changes

Exactly.

I find her extremely annoying. The purity ring thing was the last straw as far as i ‘m concerned. I just have this thing about teen singers- except for Alison. I really do like that girl- she has that true rocker-chick voice I love.

Yeah, and really, is his promo THAT much greater than the other winners? I realize Idol has pimped him hard since the season started but promo wise before hand? Is it that much more than say Carrie, or Kelly or Jordin initially got?

I think he and Carrie are neck to neck in terms of promos before hand. Jordin didn’t get anything significant up until No Air blew up.

ETA: Although it doesn’t matter really at the end of the day how much promo he/she got as long as the sales justify the amount of promo. That’s what matters to the label anyway. Although of course I would think labels would be more pleased with those artists that sell huge even if the promos they give to them are not that much (if that’s possible).

There’s a big difference between Idol pimpage and promo the label is responsible for. Idol pimpage is FREE. Simon Fuller is the executive manager for David Cook and Carrie Underwood, and he’s the executive producer for American Idol – it doesn’t cost him anything to pimp them on his show, it might actually save him money (No way is Idol paying as much to use a DC song as background music as it would pay to use a Coldplay song).

The label is a different matter, and they would obviously want to make as much net gain off their artists as possible. Promo costs, but it’s really hard to do much without any promo. There’s a good reason indie artists often sell less than major ones – their promo budget is miniscule in comparison (plus major labels have more power to push their artists onto radio).

But – I think any promo is good. Really, if an artist has plenty of promo and doesn’t do well, at least he had a shot. I see no great victory in saying “my favorite flopped, but hey, at least no money was sunk into him, they just gave up on him before he even began”.
Of course, everything should be taken into account – the standards differ based on whether an artist is indie/major, But the way some people treat promo as if it cheapens someone’s success is really ridiculous IMHO. The more promo you get the better off you are, so long as it doesn’t reach the point of over saturation.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need a legal outcome to know when something very wrong was done to another person, irrespective, of guilt, criminality, fair trail by a jury of his peers and reasonable doubt. Those are simply the jargon & tools that an inherently coercive system uses to create an illusion of fairness.

Oh, this is so true. I am thinking about the OJ Simpson case. Now, I would say it might be OK for Jordin to record with Chris Brown again IF:

1. He pleads guilty and is sincerely sorry for his actions.
2. He seeks guidance and attends anger management sessions.
3. He does not repeat his brutal behavior.

I wouldn’t want my daughter to record with Chris Brown for fear that other young girls would think it is OK to be around men who abuse woman.

I agree that promo does not cheapen someone’s success. I think the point of argument is if so and so did better with less promo than so and so. And it’s not just for the Idol fans really. I’ve seen discussions where someone would say “Nickelback only sold 20K less than Beyonce even if they did zero promos compared to Beyonce who was promoted everywhere.”

(No way is Idol paying as much to use a DC song as background music as it would pay to use a Coldplay song).

If you’re talking about music royalties I think they have to pay the same. Not sure how it works in the US, but I’d be surprised if they could work their way around it and get different prices for each song, these things are already established.
Using Idol’s songs is good cause in a way they’re promoting their “product” too. And as nice as it is that they play idol’s songs in the background what really gives the boost are the performances or the songs that are covered. But it’s no different for David than for others, last year I remember Daughtry’s songs beeing played at least three times, I remember them using a Blake song… it’s something usual. And I think that’s good they do that, just like it’s great that they’re having an idol every week.
If Taylor performs on Idol he’ll most probably get a good bump like everyone else, but I don’t think that’s what will make his songs hits or sell much more tickets.

Speaking of Chris Brown, I don’t know if it ended up here. But I read on LJ that Anoop had Chris Brown as is favorite male artist on his profile (AI official site) and they removed it and have Ne-Yo there now.

maybe tater hix should become a funeral director or something…..computer salesman…..school-teacher …monk…if only the greatest show on earth would have accepted him he coulda been Somebodddddy

Making him a joke makes them a joke, imo.

Not really, when you can counter Taylor with Kelly or Carrie. A mere mention of them just drowns out whatever bad press that comes with him, I think.

Speaking of Chris Brown, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know if it ended up here. But I read on LJ that Anoop had Chris Brown as is favorite male artist on his profile (AI official site) and they removed it and have Ne-Yo there now.

Poor NeYo. Always second place. I love that guy. :sad_wp:

If youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re talking about music royalties I think they have to pay the same. Not sure how it works in the US, but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be surprised if they could work their way around it and get different prices for each song, these things are already established.

Well, maybe someone who knows how this works in the US could chime in, I just remember people saying Idol was being cheap by using so many past Idol songs this year during Hollywood Week, and I remember some rumblings about how Adam must be a favorite becasue Idol “went all out” and got Coldplay’s Viva La Vida for his audition. Maybe that’s false, but I got the impression there are variable rates.

It’s cheaper to use an Idol song. There was an interview with Nigel before where he said that’s why they’re keeping the Idol Boot Song within the AI family because they paid so much for “Bad Day”. Or maybe it’s not necessarily cheaper but at least Idol is paying royalties to the Idol-sponsored labels (RCA/Jive/Arista) so maybe there’s a discount or it’ll be some funny money in the end. Bottomline is they get a good deal if they use Idol songs.

Which is why it is BEYOND me why there’s still no Idol themed week.

Not really, when you can counter Taylor with Kelly or Carrie. A mere mention of them just drowns out whatever bad press that comes with him, I think.

Yes, that’s true, or at least it would be if they chose simply to ignore Taylor or sweep him under the rug. They do themselves no favors, however — and imo make themselves a joke — when they openly mock him or use reference to him as a criticism of a current contestant. Like it or don’t, AI, but Taylor’s still your guy and he has the American Idol label to prove it. (BTW, I’m not a Hicks fan and didn’t watch his season until the final 3, so my feelings on the topic aren’t personal. )

Jolene, I thought Adam auditioned with Bohemian Rhapsody, not Viva la Vida?

Jolene, I thought Adam auditioned with Bohemian Rhapsody, not Viva la Vida?

He did. Viva la Vida was used as background music.

I only now remembered that Matt has actually performed it on the show (shows how much attention I was paying) but the time I read a comment about it’s alleged “cost” was when it was used for Adam.

and since tater hix is just a crackaH from da south…..ai doesn’t have to worry about being politically correct.

This comes from the NY POST which is owned by Rupert Murdoch who happens to own FOX. In other words, it is propaganda.

LOL. MrRJ you are funny. .

On Taylor, yes, it is downright classless for AI to mistreat one of their own by continually taking jabs on the show at his expense. Talk about beating a dead horse man. America didn’t get it wrong. I believe Taylor had a huge fanbase. However, as a longtime Taylor fan and as alluded to above, the post AI album was much unlike what fans grew to love on the show. That is not his fault, it is the fault of the AI machine who gave him those freaking crapass songs to record. Plus, he just sounded worn out. And it’s true, his post AI performances were so frenzied and disjointed, nothing like the focused intensity he displayed on the show. I’ve accepted that he may not ever bring exactly the same type of style/artistry so masterfully delivered on the show, but I’ll always love and defend the guy, because AI continually disses him and it serves no good purpose. All it does is prove that at least one or more of the PTB are vindictive. Taylor has proven that the southern gentlemanly charm displayed on that show is the real deal; he’s got a decent album out now that better captures his southern flair and they should reciprocate in kind by giving him a plug.

ETA: coco, hahhahaha! you are hilarious.

I haven’t been able to locate Taylor on the Intro to AI. It would be wonderful if he was invited back to perform. He deserves to be there!

I didn’t care much for Taylor’s post-Idol album, but I saw him perform several times during his post Idol tour, and I thought he was AWESOME.

If he plays a gig around here, I’ll definitely be there to see it.

ETA: I agree with others who have said he’s charging too much for his shows. I’m not sure what the thinking is there–that there is some pent up demand because he hasn’t toured in awhile or what–but 40 dollars is way too much for a club show.

I also heard he was charging his fan club members for meet and greets–also lame.

Very interesting article comparing/contrasting(rollseyes I know) the two Davids… read more at the link:

No musical Goliath in battle of two Davids

DAVID COOK and David Archuleta were unlikely rivals in last yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s battle for the coveted à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  crown. After all, the talent searchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s eventual 26-year-old, six-foot tall Season Seven champ is eight years olderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ and five inches tallerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ than his baby-faced runner-up.

When the two performersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ self-titled albums were released consecutively in November last year, it was interesting to note that Archuletaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Gold-certified collection opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, while Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Platinum-selling recording grabbed the third spot when it debuted the following week, though the latter later proved that his album had more à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“legs.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

ETA: Better?
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20090320-195290/No-musical-Goliath-in-battle-of-two-Davids

I don’t see the point in quoting so much of the article… honestly, we all know how to click links. It makes the comment pages so much more tedious to go through.

Usually I don’t say anything, but c’mon.

ETA: Better?

Much. Thank you. (:

I read that article earlier today.. lol A little behind the times on the album comparisions eh?

Kinda scary, huh Frogcooke? Makes you wonder how in tune with the times a lot of these music folks are… Maybe they’re into time released reviews, like a cold capsule.. spread it out over a period of months! hehehe :lol_wp:

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see the point in quoting so much of the articleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

It also violates the publication’s copyright to cut and paste entire articles. A snip of the article, one, two paragraphs plus a link is the way to go.

Having said that, please leave the modding to me, thanks.

ETA:

A little behind the times on the album comparisions eh?

Which is why I didn’t post it when it came up in my google alerts this morning…

Gotcha MJ! Chalk it up to a problem today w/ recurring brain cramps :embarassed_tb:

Any So Cal peeps out there? I have 4 tickets to next Wednesday’s Dress Rehearsal show. Anyone want to join me? If you’re interested, please email me at carie.1107@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there. Thanks.

I had a meet and greet w/Taylor during his TH CD tour and can’t remember being charged for it. Just sayin’….

I have no opinion on what he’s charging for his shows ’cause I’d be willing to pay whatever it takes to see him. I’m just speculating here, but I’m guessing that his backing band is quite an expensive bunch to tour with. That may explain the price of tickets.

Update: I now have 1 extra ticket for the show.

Update: Next week’s format is a one hour show, so we probably can get there by noon, and will be out by 3 at the latest.

Speaking of chart performance, I posted the SoundScan chart over at Pulse and here’s how the debuting winners charted this week:

1 CLARKSON*KELLY ALL I EVER WANTED 254,671 417 999 255,231
58 HICKS*TAYLOR DISTANCE 8,990 1 999 8,991

Taylor fan here and I really thought what what Ryan meant when he said “it’s been along time since Taylor Hicks was on this stage” was a reference to the way Adam moves around the stage and performs not a put down but a comparison, cause they never knew what Taylor was going to do next. Having said that Simon could take a few lessons in manners form Taylor. His rudeness drives me nuts. Jordin should be glad she signed with Jive and not anyone else because I think her sucess is in most part due to them. They linked her up with Chris for the duet that got her album back on track and they had her tour with Alisha Keys, and now the Jonas Brothers. She’s a sweet talented kid but not a major talent IMO.

I saw Taylor in concert also and I thought it was one of the best shows I’d ever seen (except for the od woman trying to use her daughter and her harmonica to get Taylor’s attention! lol) He is an amazing performer – amazing – and puts on an incredible show… As far as his sales go.. it’s a huge struggle being indie. You have to work the radio stations hard and hope that they give you a chance. An idol appearance would certainly help. Didn’t Taylor make an AI appearance last season??? Could’ve sworn he did.

I had a meet and greet w/Taylor during his TH CD tour and can’t remember being charged for it. Just sayin’….

So did I. I’m not talking about his TH tour. He was charging people 100 to get backstage at Grease. Charging your fans for a meet and greet is lame. Just sayin’.

I have no opinion on what he’s charging for his shows ’cause I’d be willing to pay whatever it takes to see him.

Well, I think Taylor may have misjudged how many super-invested fans he had left willing to pay “whatever”.

Even though Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not a Taylor Hicks fan, the poor guy canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to get a break anywhere. Looking back at Dial Idol for season5 he led the voting pretty much every weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦so I would think that He would have had a tremendous fan base. From what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve read (and I always say you can only believe a tish about what you read on the web), he is having a hard time selling out his concerts. Where are his fans, were they voting for Hicks to vote others out?

There is a vast difference between sitting on your sofa voting for someone on television, and buying a ticket and making an effort to leave your home to go see them.
I think I voted for him a time or two mainly to annoy Simon, and because he was different. We liked him well enough, but honestly once the show was over he was out of sight out of mind.
He’s OK, but OK doesn’t motivate me to spend money. Voting is free :smile1_ee:

I agree that Ryan was not dissing Taylor with the comment he made to Adam. It’s those inflammatory comments by Simon and co. that reek of pettiness and mean-spiritedness. I hope they ultimately do the right thing and give the man his due.

I agree that Ryan was not dissing Taylor with the comment he made to Adam. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s those inflammatory comments by Simon and co. that reek of pettiness and mean-spiritedness. I hope they ultimately do the right thing and give the man his due.

I felt really bad when Simon compared a contestant to Taylor (I can’t remember who it was offhand) and the audience booed.

I think it was Matt who was compared to Taylor by Simon, after he performed “Who’s Loving You” on wildcard night. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

I felt really bad when Simon compared a contestant to Taylor (I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t remember who it was offhand) and the audience booed.

It was Matt Giraud on Wildcard Night.

BTW, IDOLATRY is up!! I can’t believe Slezak and Kristen made a video while they were on vacation–that’s dedication!

In season 5, my voting went like this: Ace, then Elliott and then Taylor. I didn’t really enjoy Taylor on the show, but I liked him a heck of a lot better than Kat McPhee. I saw the TH tour and had a fabulous time. I thought he was lots of fun live.

I bought his first post-Idol CD. Didn’t really like it. I would have still gone to see him at Martyrs and probably sucked it up and paid the $40 if someone would have gone with me. However, no one would. I know nothing about making fans pay for meet and greets at Grease, and if it’s true that is really in poor taste. I’d have more respect for him if he just didn’t let anyone backstage rather than pay for the honor of his company for a few minutes.

That said, I can’t imagine he has a lot of overhead during this recent tour. Grease is paying his way. All he has to do is book the gigs and hire some local musicians. His concerts are too far and few between to require a full touring band. So, instead of charging reasonable prices, the idea is to charge a lot knowing your small group of hard core fans who have been loyal to you forever will pay the price?

If it’s about making a quick buck, fine. If it’s about the music and about expanding you fanbase, then he’s gone about it in the wrong way. I could have easily gotten three or four non-AI watching folks to go with me to his non-sold out show at Martyrs (which only holds about 350 peeps) if he had priced it at $15-$20. I can’t say they would have run out and bought his next CD, but the chances would be way higher.

I would have paid 100 dollars to see Elvis backstage(of course he always left the building)…..but Nobody else. Taylor is getting BAD advice if he is charging fans. I hope that is not true—-but I am sure MJ knows what she is talking about.

Carie, I wish I was there this week. Keep me posted! Have FUN!

Quote brought over from the Top 10 in Detroit thread:

Michelle Mar 20th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

from the ticket voucher email for next weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s showsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦looks like Jennifer Hudson is showing up along w/Ruben:

The second taping on Wednesday is the LIVE performance show with special performances by Jennifer Hudson and Ruben Studdard. On Thursday we are taping the LIVE results show featuring special performances by Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson and Joss Stone!

CarieB this thread:
Update: Next weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s format is a one hour show, so we probably can get there by noon, and will be out by 3 at the latest.

If I’m reading this correctly (which I may not be), it seems Ruben and JHud will both be on Wednesday’s show in an hours time, with the 10 ten as well…?

How are they going to fit in 10 idols and two guest’s singing?

Ruben and JHud for the live show. In an hour show??? Maybe they’re taping for next week? I’m confused. And who comes back for the other idol slots?

BTW, IDOLATRY is up!! I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe Slezak and Kristen made a video while they were on vacationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dedication!

Idolatry is great! I just now watched the interviews with Jorge and Jasmine. I CANNOT say enough about Michael Slezak. He made robotic Jasmine seem somewhat personable. You’re just awesome Michael! What a guy!

Ruben and JHud for the results show probably. Hooray. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s two idols in one night. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll have 7 shows to go with the Davids, Jordin, Pickler left to visit (I think). Who gets the other slot(s)?

So when will Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Joss Stone perform?

Maybe they’re taping Jennifer’s now but they will show it an upcoming week. Week after Cook’s maybe?

It’s possible they’re pre-taping J-Hud. I can’t imagine them having enough time for 3 performances in one show. Unless someone’s doing a duet?

ETA: What yeahyeahsure said.

ETAA: Bless Idolatry for being awesome.

My DVR says that next week’s performance show is two hours…

My DVR says that next weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance show is two hoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Maybe CarieB was talking about the following week’s show, or the results show?

Maybe theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re taping Jenniferà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s now but they will show it an upcoming week

So when will Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Joss Stone perform?

Some of them must be taping before or after the live shows to be aired other weeks. Didn’t we already hear that Rubin and Smokey are on this week’s results show? Smokey is one of the mentors this week, so he should be one of the ones that airs Thursday. I wonder what the themes are for the weeks that Joss Stone and Stevie Wonder are on. I’d love a Stevie Wonder week.

ETA: I could not believe how long Adam held that high note in the Brigadoon song. Whether or not you like his style, you can’t argue with his technical abilities! (I LOVE his style, myself!)

But, anywho. I know thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lot of angst that Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s promo is greater than that of some others.

yes and I never get it, why that would bother anyone. They give promo to the ones they think have a good cd, the ones who are well-received by critics, djs, and radio audiences, the ones who have good chances for success.

It’s a reciprocal relationship. They don’t take an artist who is weak and has a weak cd, and then magically elevate their success by heavily promoting them. No, they have to start with a good cd and an artist who people want to hear. If nobody wants to hear that artist or that cd, all the promotion in the world can’t force it on people.

The more successful the artist becomes, the more promotion they get, and so it goes, one half of the equation complementing and augmenting the other.

It bemuses me when people are jealous of anyone’s promotion and when they imply that the artist is only successful because of the promotion they received. Clay fans have used that argument endlessly, that Clay’s cds would have been hugely successful if they had received the promotion that some other idols got. And Clay’s fans weren’t the only ones. But I think it’s unfair to say that someone like David Cook (and other fans do say it) is only successful because RCA chose to promote him so well.

Why would a label choose not to promote some of their artists? Surely they want to sell cds and make money. But some products are not so easy to promote. When djs don’t want to play the music, and consumers don’t want to buy the cds, and tv shows don’t want the artist on their shows, etc. etc., what can a label do? They put their promotion dollars where they will do the most good and get the best return, that’s what my logic tells me.

I once thought that Taylor didn’t get promoted enough but now I see that maybe people didn’t like his cd and neither did radio. So yeah, he was dropped like a hot potato, but maybe it was just that the product, the cd, wasn’t up to par.

I mostly agree with you Oceana. No pop station will ever play Clay. It just doesn’t fit the format.

However, I do think part of radio play does include payola, even if it’s illegal. There are always ways around the system. But don’t mind me. I live in IL. Ahem.

ETA: I am a bad Adam semi-supporter. I had no interest in that Brigadoon song. Just not the type of song I enjoy, no matter how well sung. Thank jeebus for Ring of Fire.

This is the first time that I’ve ever kept up with Idolatry.

THIS SHIT HAS ME CRACKIN UP! Why have I ignored it for so long?!

Taylor Hicks and David Cook are my top 2 fav idols ever.

After Taylor won, all we heard was how America got it wrong – they treated Daughtry as if he were the winner (I like him too by the way). They didn’t even have Taylor back to perform except for the finale – and they didn’t even introduce him by name. But they did show Simon telling one of the people auditioning to stick their gum on his face on the wall (course his picture was way at the end instead of directing behind contestants as it has been every other year.

And 3 years later, they are still dissing and making a joke out of him. That is why – when they were so cruel this week to Alexis and Michael Sarver too IMO – I was sad but not surprised. They USE these kids to make ratings and money.

I do think however that anyone is better off from having been on their show.

It has been so much more fun to be a David Cook fan and see his songs being used on the show and him being promoted almost weekly. That is how they should treat their winners.

I didn’t like Taylor’s post Idol Cd either, but they could have played some of his Idol performances in the background that next year.

I am an older female and my top 5 fav idols to date are:
Taylor Hicks
David Cook
Kelly Clarkson
Adam Lambert
Jason Castro

so go figure – pretty diverse group IMO – I buy lots of music and rock is my favorite.

And it still offends me when I hear “america got it wrong”. Taylor deserved to win Season 5. He was the one that motivated the people to vote the most.

And I still think in a perfect world, American Idol would promote ALL their winners and all their finalists. I still remember the night Ace Young was in the audience and his CD had just been released, and Ryan walked right past him and stopped to chat with someone. So disappointing IMO.

I flove idoltry. Even when I don’t agree, they are so funny…and sincere in their opinions…no bullshit. I like that.

Pj
Taylor flies in the same band for his shadow dates, I am pretty sure. I doubt local musicians would be able to learn all the new material that quickly. Taylor seems to have to get comfortable playing with people to really put on a great show. I think they have to learn his gestures to know where to go musically.

Taylor fan here and I really thought what what Ryan meant when he said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been along time since Taylor Hicks was on this stageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was a reference to the way Adam moves around the stage and performs not a put down but a comparison, cause they never knew what Taylor was going to do next.

That’s an interesting take. I thought he said, “We’ve come a long way since Taylor Hicks was on this stage” or something similar — the meaning I took being that Adam’s up there oddly erotic and Taylor was a dancing Hick. (Not my personal views, mind you.) I’ll have to check it out again. I agree that your quote sounds different, and if meant to compare Adam as similar to Taylor, then I’m offended a little for Adam BUT ONLY because Simon used a comparison to criticize Matt earlier in the season.

Maybe my read is totally based on past uses of “Taylor Hicks” comments. Context is everything.

Ah, the power of the human mind to misinterpret written language. MJ, just to clarify things, when I said I’d be willing to pay “whatever” to see Taylor, what I meant was “whatever within reason.” That’s different for everyone, but since I’m a fiscal conservative, I think my “within reason” would be acceptable to many people. Sorry if I misled anyone (as if anyone cares about my personal finances, LOL).

One thing I’ll say for Taylor, is that no matter how badly idol treats him(and thanks to them, the press usually treats him), he never has a bad word to say in return. Every now & then, he may say something snarky about Simon, but, it’s not mean. And in one radio interview, he did mention that “after a while, you get tired of being ridiculed”. When he was asked what the high point of his time since idol has been, he didn’t mention awards or sales or fame, it was meeting his idol, Van Morrison. Like Taylor would say, “Cool!”

He does fly his band in for these shadow shows, and most of them are seasoned musicians, which would figure in the cost, I would guess. With 8 performances of Grease every week, he just wouldn’t have time to teach local musicians his setlist.

I like & purchase music from many of the idol winners & contestants, but, Taylor & Ruben are the only two I’ve travelled to see in concert, and, I don’t see anyone this season who will change that.

Dante, I hear you, I’m a Taylor fan too, and it was shitty the way they treated him and still diss him sometimes. But also I have to admit that the cd wasn’t well received. That doesn’t excuse the way they treated him. Nothing excuses it but they are just a*holes and that’s well known.

And I know that payola exists but it doesn’t explain everything. Sometimes people resent the promotion David Cook is getting, or even Kelly or Carrie, as if tptb just drew their names out of a hat and decided to give them the star treatment. I don’t think it’s that random. I think they see with certain Idols that they have a potential superstar on their hands so they promote accordingly. It’s which comes first, the chicken or the egg.

I dont care about Carrie’s promo as long as they do it on country radio where I don’t have to be subjected to it. I’m just flat out sick of seeing her everywhere. I can’t even stand in the check out line at the supermarket without her staring back at me… geesh!

It is not uncommon at all for Broadway (on and off) shows to
have paid meet and greets. Taylor also does free M&G’s through
his fan club. Often, on Broadway the paid M&G money goes to
Broadway’s charity – not to the celebrity. Don’t assume that the money
goes into Taylor’s pocket.

Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t assume that the money goes into Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pocket.

Really? I’d be interested to know which charity Taylor donated his share of the profits to. Unless you can come up with something specific, I wouldn’t assume he donated the money to charity, either.

I’d also be interested to know the last time Taylor conducted free M&Gs for his fans. If you’re referring to way back during his post-Idol tour, well that was then and this is now.

Taylor signs after shows (Grease and concerts) but he doesn’t do free meet and greets anymore. If you want to meet him, you have to pay. I have no interest in paying for a meet and greet, but several hardcore fans DO have that interest and have bought more than one meet and greet.

I think if Taylor were donating the M&G money to charity, we would’ve been told about it.

A union worker who works many Broadway plays told me that many times when
recognizable celebrities are in plays, they have paid M&G’s for Broadway Cares – a charity that all of Broadway supports. I never said Taylor picks the charity.

I am just repeating what I was told by a 25 year Broadway veteran – that money paid for M&G’s on Broadway goes to a charity called Broadway Cares and that “pay for” M&G’s are common on Broadway.

I know a fan who just got a free M&G from Taylor’s fan club for tonight. Okay – so that’s for people who pay membership in the fan club but she does not have to pay for the M&G itself. It was a random draw for people who purchase Grease tickets through the fan club at no extra charge.

What is the point here? Is this the only thing you can find to dis Taylor over?
I was only trying to point out that paid M&G’s on Broadway are common and that there is a charity that all of Broadway supports. Perhaps the “celebrity” pockets some of the money – who knows or cares? The fans I know who purchased the M&G packages for Broadway were well aware that some of the money goes to charity.

Heck if you have been around Taylor at all, you know that you can just stop him and talk to him. He is most generous with his time. Do you want examples of this too? I really don’t want to share names but I know several people who have had conversations with him – more than him just signing whatever – and not related to the setting of a M&G. He does not consider himself above his fans.

If you were a fan of Taylor’s, you would know this. If you are not, why do you bother to argue this?