Phillip Phillips: The Billboard Cover Story

Billboard just posted this week’s cover story featuring American Idol winner, Phillip Phillips and Jimmy Iovine, Idol mentor and the man who runs Phillip’s label, Interscope.

Phillip’s debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon just went gold, having sold 533K copies in six weeks. It’s the fastest selling debut from an Idol winner since David Cook moved 811K copies in the same time period in 2008.

But the real Idol success story, says Billboard, is Phillip’s debut single “Home,” written by Drew Pearson and Greg Holden. Here are the astonishing stats:

  • It has hit #1 on a slew of Billboard charts, including Hot Digital Songs, Rock Digital Songs, Adult Top 40, and Triple A.
  • Reached Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (#7), Mainstream Top 40 (#8) and Adult Contemporary (#6).
  • So far it’s sold 3.3 million downloads, more than any other Idol coronation song.

When NBC used “Home” as the theme song for the Woman’s gymnastics team. the song went from selling 40K to 228K downloads and continued to sell more than 100K per week through Sept. 23. When Top 40 airplay began in mid-November, it once again began posting sales of over 100K per week. WOW.

In May when first handed “Home”, Phillip had reservations, even declaring that it was not his first single. He lamanted “I didn’t have time to let it grow and become my own before we recorded it.” But, once he hit the road with his fellow Idols on the summer tour, Phillip found himself growing more comfortable with the song. “After I had been playing it for quite some time I sat down and played it by myself, learning the ins and outs of the song and looked for a way to make it more of my own. I don’t like playing songs straightforward-I like switching them up.”

“Phillip is a true artist,” said Jimmy Iovine, “and the fact that people are embracing his album shows they accept him as an artist.”

“I honestly didn’t think people would like me — I didn’t care what happened on the show,” said Phillip of his Idol run. “It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time. I didn’t give in to what some people give into — the fame. I went in, played the song and went back and got in bed. I hope it opens doors for other [non-pop singers] to do the show.”

Read the entire cover story at Billboard.com</a>

About mj santilli 34848 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!