It’s also good to hear good news about Anthony, Diana, and Brooke. I have said it many times, but I wish Brooke and Jason would tour together!

I am so glad Brooke and Jason are NOT touring together. A few of my choices would be Serena Ryder, Carolina Liar, or Shinedown.

And Allison, I agree with John, will be a huge star, and is still under-estimated by many Idol viewers but wait and see

If you had said that in the middle of the competition, I would have been skeptical. However, I watched some of her tour performance videos and I was blown away. Not only was she a bundle of energy on stage, but everything she did, down to the quirky/hyper dance moves, seemed very natural and uniquely Allison. Vocals aside, I thought she outshone Adam in the duet, in terms of stage presence. She may not achieve instant success, but my money is on Allison when it comes to longevity.

He’s an alt rocker, a pop rocker, a beautiful rock ballad singer, and he’s also a hard rocker at times. Hard enough for me and his fans. Rock ‘purists’  and snobs I find amusing in their narrow definition of what is rock.

Yup. Cook’s performances are high energy, very rockin’ and his band is tight (from what I’ve seen on Utube!). The crowd is lucky if they can get more than 2 ballads out of him. Cook has a hard time getting the legit rocker stamp for superficial reasons: Idol winner, pretty boy, women go crazy over him and he has no qualms displaying his sensitive side. He seems to care very little about having the rocker image…. that quality might hinder him now, but I think it will pay off big time in the long run. The gradual change in his concert demographics since he started the tour, is a testimonay to that. Below is some priceless Cook banter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKWgxQ9nVbA

JASON CASTRO – ‘If you fell in love with Jason on the show, this is exactly the record you’d want him to make,’  says Pete Ganberg, Atlantic executive vice president/head of A&R. ‘It’s introspective, playful and very much a combination of his influences, which range from Jeff Buckley to Jack Johnson.’ 

This is very exciting. I can’t wait to hear Jason’s cd. I liked all his song choices on the show, he’s set and primed to make a killer cd, and if it’s well produced, I think he’s going to do really well. It’s been a long wait but finally we’ll get to hear it.

David Cook is absolutely a rocker. I don’t necessarily agree with the first two singles chosen by the label, but give it time, he will become known for better and better songs that have already been recorded, not to mention those waiting in the wings. He’s an alt rocker, a pop rocker, a beautiful rock ballad singer, and he’s also a hard rocker at times. Hard enough for me and his fans. Rock “purists” and snobs I find amusing in their narrow definition of what is rock. afaic, Daughtry is rock (not everyone agrees there either) and so is the Fray and bands like that and David Cook and his band fit there with them.

And Allison, I agree with John, will be a huge star, and is still under-estimated by many Idol viewers but wait and see. Look back in 5 years and tell me where that girl is.

Thanks for the information and insights, brie200.

As always, thank you for the update on Jason! It is so cool seeing his name up there with Kris and Adam’s. His styling is different than theirs and he does have a lot to offer. I love the CD I have of his songs on AI and afterwards. I can’t wait for his release!

It’s also good to hear good news about Anthony, Diana, and Brooke. I have said it many times, but I wish Brooke and Jason would tour together!

Wishing them all the best.

On a positive note, had a few phone convos today about a photoshoot next week! Thursday will be funnnnnn 6:22 PM Jul 10th from TwitterFon

Yes, so this photoshoot is for album art and press stuff! Hopefully you will be seeing a lot of these pics. Ha! 6:30 PM Jul 10th from TwitterFon

Now, I would agree that Idol doesn’t sell automatically like it used to. [Not that too much sells automatically these days.] It used to be that an Idol winner was all but guaranteed to sell platinum in very short order, at least for the debut album, and then the question was, how much more than 1 million? Now, that’s not a given, even if some folks in the media, etc., still assume that it is. My guess is that each of the major label Idol artists stands a good chance of getting enough splash from his or her upcoming release that, if the release is good, s/he can get strong enough sales to make the label happy.

There is a Canadian singer Serena Ryder, not sure if she’s broken into the US market but they love her here and she’s got a killer voice, it’s like Joplin, Nicks and Etheridge had a hybrid child and just a unique sensibility to all her songs, also Amanda Marshall, another rocker chick – maybe Canadians like rocker voices more, or at least rocker chicks.

JohnM said:

Not legally ‘” not in my state, anyway. I know that a lot of people think of it as a ‘diploma for dummies’ , which I imagine is the difference you were talking about; but as a long-time homeschooling parent running a statewide homeschoolers’ support group, I can tell you that a lot of homeschoolers use the GED to get the same legal and college-admissions standing as public school graduates. So this wouldn’t necessarily have been any worse a path for Allison to take.

You are right John. Funny thing is that most of the top tier universities do not require the GED from a homeschooler without a diploma (ACT/SAT is sufficient, even for scholarship), but some of the lower tier colleges or universities do.

Except for maybe Daughtry, there are no legit rockers from AI.

With all due respect … balderdash! I saw Cook and his band in concert in May and there was nothing soft about them. There was barely a ballad. Maybe “Lie” and “Come Back to Me,” which was not done in a syrupy manner. At all. I actually was somewhat surprised, but I don’t know why I should’ve been. Cook never was anything but rock. And Neal Tiemann … I don’t think he would step on the stage with “Barry Manilow.” So, enough said there.

Also Bo Bice is a rocker. He’s a country rocker, but he’s a rocker.

So called rock radio can suck it.

From what Jason said in his last video he made, there are four possible singles that are already recorded and ready to go and I assume at this point it’s up to the label as to which is the official single. I highly doubt it will be something anyone has ever heard before, so no worries there. That and I know he recorded a duet with fellow Atlantic recording artist Serena Ryder.

He also will be touring, but it’s unknown when or with who.

ETA: Or maybe even a bundling of all the Jive Idol artists combined… Archie, Jordin, Kris, and Allison? Wouldn’t that be wild!?