The other thing (and I think this hurt Adam in the long run too) is that she started off very strong, and her “back story” of being a professional back-up singer reinforced it. I didn’t personally consider either Melinda or Adam to be “plants” (although they were clearly older and more “professional” than a lot of their competition), but a lot of voters just prefer people with no professional experience when they’re choosing their Idols. If an artist doesn’t “grow” during the season, he or she’s (pardon the pun) cooked.

Of course, the new music they release is really what’s going to make or break them, and I don’t think Kris or Adam have to worry about coming off as too old school (“Time for Miracles” not withstanding.)

I floved Melinda when she was on Idol, but honestly I have to disagree that it’s just her looks that have kept her from being the next Adele or Duffy. Adele and Duffy are retro; Melinda’s new album just came across as old to me. Love her, can’t get into that album no matter how many times I’ve tried.

While I unfortunately do think appearance had a little to do with it (unfortunately, this is one of the factors that goes into being a success on AI in the first place – how many threads or fan sites or comments, etc are geared toward how hot people like Adam, Kris, Carrie, etc. are) I definitely don’t think it’s that simple. Her singing style on the show, the songs she gravitated toward, were what hurt her more – always much more old school (which I LOVE) – but, again, just not as current or easily translatable into modern hits.

It’s my opinion, that if Melinda looked like Megan Joy or Corkrey or whatever, she could’ve been the next Adele or Duffy or Joss Stone, and people would be like, I dig that girl’s cool retro-vibe.

I know this is gonna sound like a sacrilege to a lot of people here, but I don’t know if I agree with that. Adele isn’t a pin up queen, but she’s got mad stage presence. Melinda, from what I’ve seen on AI, can not rival Adele’s stage presence despite being a very gifted vocalist, and I think that’s why she didn’t win AI. I liked Melinda, and god knows I did not care for Jordin’s shrill vocal tone and was hoping Melinda would win for that reason, but there were times that I found Melinda’s performances to be…well, boring. I think Jordin won that season by default. On one hand you had Blake who was a dynamic performance artist but technically, not a gifted vocalist, Melinda who was a gifted vocalist but often not very dynamic to watch, and Jordin, who kinda split the difference in that she had some nice vocal moments and at times could be engaging and vivacious. *ducking tomatoes*

Me? Cook fan/Adam fan. No comparison with their competition either year for me. And I agree with the assessment given by others ‘” charisma, intelligence, alpha male, height (lol j/k) ‘” but for me, it’s also the voice. Although I like Kris, I remember thinking, on more than one occasion, that Kris was Cook-lite ‘” way too similar and not nearly as good (subjective opinion, I know.)

Same. In fact, I have a friend who is a big Kris fan and we had a bit of a debate when I called Kris Cookie-Lite. Not that I don’t think Kris has talent and I didn’t enjoy him, because I do and did, but I think I was rooting for a Kris/Adam finale all season mostly because I enjoyed Adam’s Adamness while Kris made me nostalgic for the singer/musician vibe of Season 7. Unlike Cook, I wasn’t loving any of the pre-AI original tunes from Kris, so my interest waned after the finale. With Adam, I have to admit I’m actually more excited about an Adam concert than an Adam album. I can’t wait to see what that boy cooks up when he puts together his stage show.

It’s always about the songs.

Which is probably why Cook is the AI talent that I have followed really closely after the show. I already knew I dug his songwriting thanks to Analog Heart and some old Axium stuff.

It’s always about the songs. They sing GREAT songs on the show and then they’re own music is ‘ ¦.not so great.

I think it’s also the fact that they’re invariably COVERING songs on Idol. In spite of the ridiculous griping about Idols being nothing but “cover artists,” the truth is a lot of people LOVE a good cover. Hell, a lot of folks prefer Cook’s “covers” of his own songs to what’s on his album. There’s just something about someone doing something different with a song you already know even if you, maybe especially, if you hated it in the past. Yes, a lot of the “original” material the Idols put out is dreck, but it’s just hard for any new song to get noticed.

People thought she wasn’t ‘current’  because her look wasn’t current and she had a retro-vibe. It’s my opinion, that if Melinda looked like Megan Joy or Corkrey or whatever, she could’ve been the next Adele or Duffy or Joss Stone, and people would be like, I dig that girl’s cool retro-vibe.

I floved Melinda when she was on Idol, but honestly I have to disagree that it’s just her looks that have kept her from being the next Adele or Duffy. Adele and Duffy are retro; Melinda’s new album just came across as old to me. Love her, can’t get into that album no matter how many times I’ve tried.

But I seriously don’t get why people who call themselves fans would object to having them do MWK stuff. Oh no; David singing MWK songs means new audiences might be exposed to legally available music, buy it, and give Neal and Andy songwriting royalties that they really aren’t otherwise getting! What an awful thing to do to one’s friends!

I absolutely agree that MWK fans should really be grateful that those songs are getting exposure. It’s totally in their right to prefer Andy’s voice singing those songs, but it just baffles me that people would tweet DC to tell him that they prefer to hear Andy on those songs. I mean, c’mon! What’s the point of that? Solely to make DC feel bad, or did they want them to stop playing MWK songs altogether? Cuz RCA’s not gonna let Andy sing lead on these songs more than on the rare occasion. It’s absurd. I think it’s great to squee and be excited those occasions when Andy gets to sing, but some tweeters need to learn to say that was cool and awesome without adding stuff like, “that was the way it was MEANT to sound, with Andy”, or “no offense, but Andy’s much better on the song”, etc. etc. It’s really crazy how some fans are on twitter.

But I seriously don’t get why people who call themselves fans would object to having them do MWK stuff. Oh no; David singing MWK songs means new audiences might be exposed to legally available music, buy it, and give Neal and Andy songwriting royalties that they really aren’t otherwise getting! What an awful thing to do to one’s friends!

Totally agree — I love MWK, I have a bunch of their albums… love Andy, have his To Have Heroes EP… but have never understood why it is a bad thing getting the MWK music out there no matter who sings it. I bought the MWK album with ‘Til I’m Blue on it because David performed the song… and I happen to love both versions. So I figure – yay for me who gets to hear David interpret some of my favorite MWK songs… yay for MWK who gets more money and attention… and all that. And I agree, too, about the band being a better route for a rock singer… didn’t think he had a chance of getting “rock cred” anyway because of Idol but even less so as a solo artists. I love that band, anyway. They are awesome together.

It’s always about the songs. They sing GREAT songs on the show and then they’re own music is ‘ ¦.not so great.

That’s a good point, jpfan. I think a great voice goes a long way but the song has to be great… a great voice won’t save a really crappy song, but a great song can be sung by a voice that might not be spectacular but can still be a great song. Of course if you can’t come up with a great song, at least come up with an earworm

I don’t exactly know how people are starting to vote nowadays, but I will say that, thought Melinda imo was the best singer of S6 (and maybe the best female vocalist ever on the show) ‘“ she was never very current, and never had a style that lent itself well to, say, being featured on the radio, or at the top of the itunes charts, etc. I always imagined she would go more of an indie route, and do better in that vein.

People thought she wasn’t “current” because her look wasn’t current and she had a retro-vibe. It’s my opinion, that if Melinda looked like Megan Joy or Corkrey or whatever, she could’ve been the next Adele or Duffy or Joss Stone, and people would be like, I dig that girl’s cool retro-vibe.

There is buzz created by 19. Adam has alot of created buzz around him. I’m not 100% his buzz is actually bigger than the two Davids from last year. The album sales are good on Amazon. The downloads so far not so great.

I agree with sma11ie. Combined the two Davids beat out Adam and Kris buzzwise, but on an individual basis, Adam has had more buzz than either DC or Archie.

Also, check the media thread. TfM had 8 spins last week. I don’t know how anyone can evaluate download performance (i.e. “not so great”) based on 8 spins.

Oh. That’s hilarious. No one other than the peeps inside the DC fandom even has any idea who those guys are. The rest of the world does not give a shit about DC’s band. And, he certainly doesn’t need to give them a name (especially that really crappy one he seems to have picked).

I also find the angst about Cookie’s band on DCO pretty silly. However, the band itself is pretty important to him. He’s definitely a band performer, not a solo act (though he could be). His tour would not have been as successful without this band. and since I’m a fan I follow all the guys in his band & enjoy seeing them do well.

Here’s the thing about David Cook. He wants to put on a rock show. He wants to broaden his appeal to people who don’t follow Idol but who do attend rock shows. And, in my experience, people who attend rock shows, even by “solo” acts, tend to favor artists who have spent time in bands. In the past year, most people who would know of him know him from solo stuff on Idol, his solo major label debut, and maybe, if they were really paying attention, they know he released a solo indie CD. That doesn’t get the skeptical rock fans on board.

So being a “band guy” is one of the key pieces in winning over the skeptics. He doesn’t talk about his long history with his bandmates just because they are friends and because he likes them, although that’s part of it. He talks about them and highlights them because it demonstrates his history as a musician, and because it makes for a better experience for people who have certain expectations for a rock show. It’s marketing.

Also, I can’t be bothered with DCO, but it was my impression that most of the Andy/Neal stans hung out on LiveJournal. I do like some of the MWK songs I’ve heard (but not all), and I do prefer Andy’s interpretation on some of those songs (but not all). But I seriously don’t get why people who call themselves fans would object to having them do MWK stuff. Oh no; David singing MWK songs means new audiences might be exposed to legally available music, buy it, and give Neal and Andy songwriting royalties that they really aren’t otherwise getting! What an awful thing to do to one’s friends!

I think that Adam and DC have a lot more in common than KA and DC do: namely, beautiful/unique voices, charisma in spades, palpable intelligence, and confident/alpha male personalities.

Count me among those whose favs were Cook last year and Adam this year Before that, the only other idol I got really really invested in was Chris Daughtry – and each one, imo, represented a lot of what you point out above – by far the most commanding stage presence, confidence, powerful voices, musicality, etc. I also like my singers with a bit of edge to them, which they all have.

There is buzz created by 19. Adam has alot of created buzz around him. I’m not 100% his buzz is actually bigger than the two Davids from last year. The album sales are good on Amazon. The downloads so far not so great.

I really don’t think TFM is a good benchmark when comparing to the first singles of other idols (deja vu, didn’t we have this debate last week?) It is not marketed as his first single, it is meant to sell the movie, and is being pushed almost exclusively as such, rather than as a typical first single. It made the top 10 on itunes, despite being a style that is not at all what is anywhere near the top on itunes. I’d say all those things are pretty impressive.

My own personal theory on Melinda was that she was a victim, in part, of the Taylor effect. Before Hicks, America just voted in who they liked the most. I don’t remember having convos in real life or online with any idol voters who talked about marketability. After the Taylor/Daughtry situation, more people started voting, in part, on who would sell the most records in the current market.

I don’t exactly know how people are starting to vote nowadays, but I will say that, thought Melinda imo was the best singer of S6 (and maybe the best female vocalist ever on the show) – she was never very current, and never had a style that lent itself well to, say, being featured on the radio, or at the top of the itunes charts, etc. I always imagined she would go more of an indie route, and do better in that vein.

Wait let me guess, there’s an uproar over Neal not playing guitar on the David/Carrie duet on her special?

LOL. Stuff like that makes me giggle. There could be any number of reasons that the producers decided to do it the way they did it. (Perhaps like me, they think that Neal guy is just too fug for tv?). But whatever the reason, the people who like him should be glad he dodged that bullet. Because outside of the DC fangirls, everyone who watches that special is only going to be thinking one thing “well, he aint no Eddie Van Halen”. Because, no one is. Playing guitar on a Van Halen song on tv is just asking for trouble. David’s lucky he’s got the pretty blond next to him to distract people.

It’s always about the songs. They sing GREAT songs on the show and then they’re own music is ‘ ¦.not so great.

I’m with you there.

But I still think the S7 Davids combined had way more buzz than Adam and Kris this year.

So yes, while the Davids are popular and deservedly so, I don’t see that they have generated the buzz that Adam has at all. You could say the Davids created more buzz than Kris (because they did), but you can’t include Adam in that statement.

I think the OP was saying the Davids combined had more buzz than Adam and Kris combined. The Davids both had pretty good buzz. Yes, I’d say Adam has more buzz than DC did, but Archie had many times more buzz than Archie. It’s still subjective, yes, but I’d say the OP makes a pretty good case that last year’s top 2 had more combined buzz. I like Kris, but I’d say his total lack of buzz is dragging down the top 2 total for Adam heh. Adam alone does not have more buzz than the 2 Davids combined last year.

ETA: jpfan, I think Adam has more buzz than either David last year, but I don’t equate buzz with fanbase or actual sales performance (at least not yet, as Adam’s “real” first single and album haven’t dropped.)