715 Comments

  1. KATHERINE MCPHEE

    ..But the 23-year-old insisted to Entertainment Weekly that she’s not taking the sexy route.

    She said: ‘I make jokes, ‘If my career’s going downhill, then I’ll do Maxim!’ But for now, I’d rather stay true to who I am.

    ‘In high school, I was always the girl who wore classy gowns to prom. I don’t intend to sway from that.

    ‘Sex definitely sells today, and you have to be cautious of that as well, but there are ways to do things tastefully.’..

    http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,121497,00.html

  2. Plea deal saves Campbell from the cell

    ..Sobering thought:

    I finally got a chance to view that Seattle TV video of Paula Abdul’s remote interview with two of the perkiest, most vacuous local TV hosts I’ve ever seen, about the ineptitude of the town’s “American Idol” contestants. Abdul’s producers insist she wasn’t drunk, that it was just technical difficulties that made her look and act like Tickle Me Elmo on acid. But for the life of me, I couldn’t decide which was worse: the hostesses’ inanity or Abdul’s obvious (at least to me) inebriation. Now you guys know me: I believe the State of Intoxication should be admitted to the Union. But listen, Paula. Your “friends” were in Seattle, a place that rains espresso. You should’ve had them overnight you a case of Insta-Sober!

    http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1169026956300620.xml&coll=2

  3. Girl Scout sells Ellen on ordering cookies Geneva Scout’s celebrity cookie sale Forget co-workers, grandma, try TV stars

    ..One person proved impervious to Alexis’ cookie-selling tactics – “American Idol” winner and fellow “Ellen” guest Taylor Hicks. He didn’t buy any cookies, but she got his autograph.

    “Taylor high-fived her,” Rachel Moyers said..

    http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1169027137300620.xml&coll=2

  4. So the magazine cover of her straddling the chair was tasteful?? Please don’t be so hypocritical.

  5. Boy he must be following that diet strictly or his dad has a stash of cookies back home in AL.

  6. American Idol 6 – Minnesota Auditions 011607

    Last night, the cult hit ‘American Idol’ began its sixth season on Fox. The auditions began in Minnesota. I don’t know if that’s where they really began in reality but that’s where this season’s show started. It was a two hour premiere, and I’m left feeling empty….is this what season three felt like in the beginning? Eh……….

    http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21259381.shtml

  7. Cities party Mardi Gras style

    ..And in OrlandoUniversal Studios Florida morphs into the “Big Easy” for a mega-Mardi Gras party that runs 11 Saturday nights from Feb. 3 to April 14.

    With lavish floats, stilt-walkers and Cajun-spiced food and drink, it’s the boisterous backdrop for a concert series in the theme park showcasing stars such as “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks, Wynonna, Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, The Temptations and the Four Tops..

    http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/LIFESTYLE/701170400/1032/ENT

  8. American Idol: Sixth season kicks off with little fresh or new … but who cares?

    Season six of “American Idol” got of to a chilly start in Minneapolis, but I’m sure it can only get better … right? The challenge, it would seem, is to somehow make the show feel fresh. But it didn’t — and it probably doesn’t matter.

    Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in…

    http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/01/american_idol_s.html

  9. American Idol starts off with wrong notes – and doors

    ..Last up was rocker Josh Flom, who was encouraged by his dad to appear on the show. Chris Daughtry really opened up doors on the show Josh said (apparently forgetting that Chris wouldn’t have been on the show had it not been for Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis). Anyhow, he sang “Bad Day” by Fuel in a voice that made Rock Star Supernova’s Lukas Rossi sound like he wasn’t really all that much of a throat singer. Simon wants to know what Josh will do when it’s week 7 and it’s Abba week..

    http://www.curlio.com/article/9478/last/American_Idol_starts_off_with_wrong_notes_-_and_doors

  10. CHRIS DAUGHTRY

    ..'(Not winning American Idol) was the best thing that happened,’ Daughtry, who hails from North Carolina and is married with stepkids, told MTV.com.

    ‘Now I get to put a band together, write my stuff and put the album out that I wanted to put out. So I got what I wanted out of the whole process.’..

    http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,121496,00.html

  11. Grouchy “Idol” Judges

    It took just 21 minutes for Randy Jackson to utter his first “dawg,” and the sixth season of “American Idol” was off. But for veteran watchers of the show, “American Idol” was actually off in other ways. I’m not saying Simon Cowell was exactly the nice one, but for much of Tuesday’s season opener, Randy was hurling mean at one reject after another. At one point telling poor Stephen Horst, a New York vocal coach, that he was better suited to his former job singing at Disneyworld, since audience would be too busy munching popcorn to listen to have to listen to him……

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=3&entry_id=12692

  12. MIKE DUFFY’S TV TODAY: Painful, comical auditions continue on ‘American Idol’

    ..
    “American Idol” (8 p.m., WJBK-TV, Channel 2, Fox). Things we’d like to see: Jack Bauer wired by cell phone to wacked-out Paula Abdul as his new CTU Chloe. Now there’s an emotional apocalypse. OK, on with the auditions! It’s Night 2 of Simon Cowell & Co. enduring two hours of often delusional, off-key warbling wanna-bes. Sour notes, silly behavior and humongous ratings.
    ..

    http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/ENT03/701170310/1038

  13. mj great recap

    So far AI6=suckitude

    Who do we have in Hollywood:
    crack baby
    sharkira
    navy man
    camo girl
    pimple boy
    bad hair girl

    Did I miss anyone

    The Amish guy should have been waaaaaay funnier than he was.

    put the album out that I wanted to put out.

    That was the album he wanted to put out????

  14. Scoop! Paula explains her odd TV appearance

    .. blaming the little voices inside her head à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  that is, the ones coming through her headset.

    à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I did a big week of press all last week in New York, and on the third day I did one of those press junkets where youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re in that one little room and youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re looking at one camera and there are 30 cities talking into your ear,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  judge explained to Jay Leno on Mondayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Tonight Show.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  She went on, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I guess Alabama was in my ear and so was Seattle at the same time, so Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m answering questions to the wrong answers of the cities. So theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹What the heck? … What is she saying?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ..

    http://www.examiner.com/a-512852~Scoop__Paula_explains_her_odd_TV_appearance.html

  15. Good morning, everyone. :)

    Elliott blogs at MySpace:

    Tuesday, January 16, 2007

    KEEPING YOU IN THE LOOP
    Current mood: determined

    Hey everybody! I just wanted to drop in and say Hi! I hope the new year has been good to yaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll! Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been quite busy for me! Still creating my album, and working as hard as ever to get it finished! I just wanted to let yaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll know that on January 21, 8/7 central (I think), the TV Guide channel will start to run an exclusive interview I did w/them while grinding out a few songs in the studioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.and before we digitally release my first song, I want to give all of my friends on myspace the oppurtunity to hear it first!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦stay tuned for details on how soon thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.also, on Tuesday of next week, there should be some more news that I know a lot of yaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll have been anticipating for sooooo long! So hang in there folks! canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t thank yaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll enough for your love and support! God Bless!

  16. I think the Amish guy was actually a performance artist.

    So, he was Yoko Ono without a shave

  17. Is David a Goliath?

    ..Also consider that Beckham’s contract was negotiated by Simon Fuller, the music and TV producer who discovered the Spice Girls and created à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idol.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  As part of the deal, Fuller’s 19 Entertainment agency merged with the sports division of Creative Artists Agency, arguably the most powerful talent firm in Hollywood..

    http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/soccer/20070117-9999-lz1s17isdavid.html

  18. Spoiler time — Yoko has agreed to be a guest artist for Beatles week!

  19. American Idol: Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve done Prince wrong, Minneapolis

    All signs did not point to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Successà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for Minneapolis. Seacrest started off the night blaming us à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  viewers for turning Clay Aiken into k.d. lang and for making Kellie Pickler a household name. Paula was virtually muted, and the Dawg was neutered…..

    http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/81-01172007-1064767.html

  20. Spoiler time à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  Yoko has agreed to be a guest artist for Beatles week!

    That would really just rule. I’m sure she could be super snarky.

    JJ, you mean in the Elliott department? I sure hope so. :)

    Yes, purple, that is what I meant. Did mj ever send you my email?

    Do you think there really is an Abba week? That would just be awful.

  21. idol chatter
    Viewers’ inner judges emerge

    The sixth season of “American Idol” debuted last night with its usual array of hopefuls: performers who ranged from the tacky and gawd-awful to a small handful of singers whose talents induced chills.

    A four-member panel of Courier-Journal readers watched the premiere at the newspaper’s West Broadway locale and shared their critiques — and cringes…..

    http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/FEATURES/701170802/1010/FEATURES

  22. small handful of singers whose talents induced chills.

    Which one of them induced chills????????

    On the coming attractions, they should an unkept, unclean, Taylor wannabe. It would be so cool if he attempted DIMYP.

  23. Paul McCartney will appear.

    Forget Yoko, she’d have them all singing while lying in bed.

  24. Forget Yoko, sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d have them all singing while lying in bed.

    Like Chris sang on the floor last year? So far with what I have seen this season, singing in bed might be helpful.

  25. Based on the talent from last night, if he tried out this year, Kevin Covais would be the next american idol.

  26. Abba song – Dancing Queen broke top 100 pop downloads last night. It is no longer in the top 100 this am. I bet it was because of American Idol.

  27. And I hope Elliott really does have some good news for us on Tuesday. I’d really smack him this time if that day comes and (again) nothing exciting happens… ;-)

    Sorry that I am ignoring the AI first episode talk. It’s on purpose since I have yet to see the show, as I will just be catching the local channel airing in a little while (after work).

  28. AI6 was terrible,Randy was an ass most of the show apparently has been simonized, Paula was drugged out of her mind and Jewel was more boring than my morning toast. Simon seemed dazed for the most part and idiotic for the rest.

    The “talent” was mediocre at best and the duds weren’t funny, mostly sad and pathetic. If this was the grand opener, the show is in big trouble this season. On a positive note, there is no way but up.

    Taylor is stil #23 on Amazon this morning, up from 62 the prior day due to his appearance on Ellen,a positive promotion on NPR and most likely the beginning of another AI season. He and Fantasia on LKL ought to be good tomorrow evening, they seem,imo, to be kindred souls.

    I see Chris is back to his humble I am a rock god ways, ho hum.

  29. Good morning all, Purple, thanks for posting E’s myspace message!
    We will hear music soon, all right!
    sounds like I missed little by skipping the audition show last night, sounds like a bomb, and what is with Randy, what a jerk
    They are now competing with each other on rudeness and provocative behaviors. Maybe they can add a new voting category for audience involvement, Vote on the jerkier judge on AI!
    will just read the recaps until the talent is announced
    and I have Elliott to look forward to, yeah!!

  30. Good morning! AI should just NEVER spend 2 hours on one audition city ever again. That was painfully boring. I wish they would get this carp over with and show us good cat fights in Hollywood.

    I’d also like to ask the AI gods to cut “Crack Baby” in Hollywood so I don’t have to spend the next 6 months calling a 16 yr. old kid “Crack Baby” (or as mr. cheese likes to call her – “Weird Looking Crack Baby”). She was begging for it, but it just isn’t right.

  31. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d also like to ask the AI gods to cut à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crack Babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in Hollywood so I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have to spend the next 6 months calling a 16 yr. old kid à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crack Babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (or as mr. cheese likes to call her – à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Weird Looking Crack Babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ). She was begging for it, but it just isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t right.

    My guess would be she does get cut, considering she sucked.

  32. Lisa B
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:36 am
    AMERICAN TRAGEDY
    à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹IDOLà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ OPENER A CRYINà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ SHAME

    CALL it American Agony!

    What in hell happened to the best show on TV? If last night was any indication of what was to come, Lucy, they got some à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢splaininà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to doà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/01172007/tv/american_tragedy_tv_linda_stasi.htm

    From the above article:”There were two military auditions, which you knew from the outset were going to make it – I mean, they showed up in their uniforms! Seriously, and the Army woman was only a reservist.”

    This just pisses me off!
    I know this is off topic and not the point of this woman’s “opinion” BUT she should at least be aware that most of our troops fighting and dying in Iraq (and elsewhere) ARE reservists! Don’t you dare belittle them! She writes for a newspaper for goodness’ sake; does she ever read one?

  33. Good morning everyone.

    JJ, thanks for the “audition”. I went from that to several others and ended with “In the Ghetto”. Just when I thought I was getting a little “uninvested”, it actually made me cry. That’s o.k., it was a good thing.

    I missed most of the show last night, but it sounds like I didn’t miss much. MJ’s recap was good enough for me. I sure hope we get someone special this year.

    Can anyone tell me how the chat thingy works. I went there yesterday evening, I showed up with a number, changed it to my screen name, a bunch of people said hello to me, but I couldn’t figure out how to post a comment. I know I’m technically challenged, but it can’t be difficult right? What do I click on to get my comment posted? Thanks for any help.

  34. JJ~~~You missed Apollo Creed and Jesse of Many Octaves. And CryBaby, Blondie, and AllHatNoCattle.
    Awful is one thing; but BORING and awful is quite another.

  35. You know if apollo creed didn’t dress like apollo creed, he might have acutally gone through

  36. Hi Little Debbi,

    There is no “send” or “submit” button to click in Chat – all you do is type your text in the box at the bottom and hit return.

    Morning, btw :smile1_tb:

  37. Kelly is on TMZ this morning. http://swww.tmz.com/2007/01/12/kelly-clarkson-turns-12

    Calling all stylists! Would you please help this poor child?
    Kelly Clarkson was spotted leaving Nobu sushi restaurant in New York last night, looking less like an American Idol and more like a Moscow middle school student sent in search of herring.

    Dasvidanya, baby!

    Ouch!

  38. JJ
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 7:50 am
    You know if apollo creed didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t dress like apollo creed, he might have acutally gone through
    __________________________
    Possibly, but that guy looked alot older than the cut-off age..
    He looked really old to me.. To be perfectly honest there were quite a few who looked alot older than 29…And after watching The Audition this morning, Taylor looked really young… in comparison

  39. Watching last night’s show made me pine for Season 5. I truly believe that Season 5 will be considered the BEST season ever and will have the highest ratings.

    Also, seeing last night’s talent pool made me realize just how good ALL of Season 5’s Top 10 truly are.

    We really SHOULDN’T be ripping on any Top 10 contestant from Season 5. They are ALL HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE the rest.

  40. Thanks for the Elliott news, purple! Is this the first time that Elliott himself has posted information about a contract (presumably)?

  41. squishy Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:11 am

    We really SHOULDNà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢T be ripping on any Top 10 contestant from Season 5. They are ALL HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE the rest.

    Some of us have watched ALL 5 SEASONS and would NOT agree with this. At All.

  42. Looking at that beautiful picture behind Simon’s head made me go back and re-watch YSM. Besides the fact that the performance totally kicked a$$, he looked so damn handsome.

  43. Undecided,

    Which Season do you think had the BEST Top 10?

    I think it is Season 5 followed by Season 4.

  44. hs:

    Is this the first time that Elliott himself has posted information about a contract (presumably)?

    Hi, hs. :) As far as I know, this is the nearest thing to it that came from Elliott himself.

  45. Some of us have watched ALL 5 SEASONS and would NOT agree with this. At All.

    I have watched all 5 seasons and I agree that season 5 was overall the best. However, I do not agree that everyone was head and shoulders above the rest. I still retain the right to rip season 5 contestants.

  46. Also, this part of AI, the auditions, is suppose to be fun and funny NOT dull and depressing.

    The show started out promising with showing the Idol contestants’ accolades but then the first audition they showed was the crying girl from the Mall of America. That was depressing and went waaaaay toooooo looooong. My husband flipped the channel to something else for a few minutes and then flipped it back fast forwarding it past the continuing crying. That wasn’t fun…

  47. Awwww, JJ, thanks for that link. I can’t hear it, no sound at this office, hell, I am surprised I could even view it, but that is the audition that gave us our wonderful soulman. I love the shocked look on Randy and Paula’s face, they both realized they had heard something incredibly special.

    I am so angry, what happened to the beautiful colored murals, this year the black and white and sepia tones are barely noticable. I so wanted a huge color mural of Tay right behind Simon’s smug face. Just one more thing wrong with that pain in the butt show last night!

  48. emeralgem, That was adorable!!!!!

    You know the coming attractions where they showed the taylor wannabe, I am on my hands and knees that he sings DIMYP. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, is that too much to ask for?

  49. JJ – I’m having a mental block YSM?
    ETA: never mind, I figured it out – “You Send Me”

  50. You know the coming attractions where they showed the taylor wannabe, I am on my hands and knees that he sings DIMYP. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, is that too much to ask for?
    ________________________
    Nah, that’s not too much to ask for…I had thought that he might possibly attempt A Change Is Gonna Come…

  51. Wonder when AI is going to figure out that their ratings were so high last year because of Taylor.I thought last nights show was awful. Maybe they should move his picture more in the middle!

  52. Good morning.

    Last nite’s show sucked. The only one I liked was Sarah, whose version of SOTR kicked ***’s a$$.

  53. Two hours of pathetic stuff. Is that normal for AI? How about a hour show of Minn/Seattle combined? I guess this year they squeeze every dime of ads out of the show. It’s scary that the producers didn’t care what a bummer start that would be. People expected Season 5 to be the beginning of the end but they got lucky with the talent. No way I am watching the freak show tonight. Just had to add, it wasn’t Taylor alone who brought in the viewers. The whole top 10 were unique and fun.

  54. There were a few really good singers, especially Sarah singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She was awesome! They said 17 were chosen. How come we didn’t get to see the other 10 that made the cut?

    I truly dislike the large portion of bad auditions we saw! And Seattle is going to be worse? It will be a long evening.

  55. Good morning everyone..

    But the 23-year-old insisted to Entertainment Weekly that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not taking the sexy route.

    HYPOCRIT….That’s all I’ve got to say..

    Now I get to put a band together, write my stuff and put the album out that I wanted to put out. So I got what I wanted out of the whole process.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢..

    Quick someone tell Taylor he should not be using any of the members from his old band on this tour because he won AI. Nor have three of his won songs on his new cd. Also, tell him that him getting to do what he wanted in the studio should not have happened either. According to Chris, if he had won he would not have been able to put the band he wanted together. Actually, I thought some of his die-hard fans said that he did not have much of a say in the picking of the guys in his band when some questioned his loyality to his old bandmates and suggest that this new band looks like a boy band.

    Chris just needs to learn to be happy with his success and stop pretending that he is breaking new ground because he is not. AI would have been stupid not to hop on him because they did not have to do to much work with him. He sounds just like all the bands that are out now.

    He and Fantasia on LKL ought to be good tomorrow evening, they seem,imo, to be kindred souls.

    Shar, you are my new bestest friend. I have not adandon the other guys but you see what I see in Fantasia and Taylor. I hope they perform together one day.

  56. squishy Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:24 am

    Undecided,

    Which Season do you think had the BEST Top 10?

    I think it is Season 5 followed by Season 4.

    If we look at those that have had measurable success and are working in the entertainment field by season:

    Season 1:

    Kelly

    Season 2:

    Ruben
    Clay
    Frenchie
    Kim Locke
    Kim Caldwell
    Josh Gracin

    Season 3:

    Fantasia
    Jennifer
    Diana
    LaToya

  57. The ratings were high NOT because of Taylor but because of the DIVERSITY of the contestants and because of the drama.

    Taylor was part of the diversity as well as Elliott, Kat, Kellie, Chris, Ace, Mandisa, Paris, Lisa, Bucky etc.

    I did notice that the AI logo was purposely put between the 2 highest selling Idol winners, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. The others were off to the side.

  58. Do you think there really is an Abba week? That would just be awful.

    Dancing Queen kicks a$$!

    Taylor and Fantasia will be on LKL tomorrow nite?!?!? Seriously?

    And Elliott better not be jerking us around.

  59. Calling all stylists! Would you please help this poor child?
    Kelly Clarkson was spotted leaving Nobu sushi restaurant in New York last night, looking less like an American Idol and more like a Moscow middle school student sent in search of herring.

    If that was from last night then I don’t blame her for looking that way. It was COLD AND HECK last night..

  60. The ratings were high NOT because of Taylor but because of the DIVERSITY of the contestants and because of the drama.

    WRONG! They’ve had drama and diversity every year.

  61. Undecided, I think that there are a few missing from Season 3 (which actually had the most people make the BB charts). George Huff has a sustainable career in Gospel and Jasmine is a big hit in the Phillipines. Matt Rogers (sp?) from Season 3 is also involved in entertainment. He does some Idol show which is probably as popular as Kim Caldwell which made the list.

  62. continued because it got cut off.

    Season 4:

    Carrie
    Bo
    Constantine

    Season 5:

    Taylor
    Chris
    Kellie P.
    Kat
    Bucky

    I’d say that season 2 is ahead at the moment. The future is yet to be seen. It also depends on your criteria. Is it CD sales totals? The number of hit songs? The number of working alumni? Where would you draw the line?

  63. I don’t know what the Elliott news is, but I believe nothing until an official press release comes out from a record company. Hopefully, it will be linked on this site.

  64. IMO Kat’s SOTR kicked Sarah’s version to the curb.

    Kat wins that battle for sure.

  65. Dancing Queen kicks a$$!

    Why does this not surprise me coming from the Donna Summer wannabe.

  66. WRONG! Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve had drama and diversity every year.

    True!

  67. Metta,

    NOT as much as Season 5. You may not believe it but the vast majority of critics believe it.

    If Taylor was the MAIN reason why it was the highest season yet, IMO he should have sold during his debut week Clay Aiken numbers yet he did not. That tells me that it was more about the DIVERSITY and the DRAMA than just one particular contestant.

  68. IMO Katà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SOTR kicked Sarahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version to the curb.

    Kat wins that battle for sure.

    Wrong again! At least you’re consistent.

  69. The ratings were high NOT because of Taylor but because of the DIVERSITY of the contestants and because of the drama.

    Taylor was part of the diversity as well as Elliott, Kat, Kellie, Chris, Ace, Mandisa, Paris, Lisa, Bucky etc.

    Oklay, I need to take my medication because I am about to agree with Squishy.. I do agree that last season was the best because there were no clear cut winner. Even though AI wanted Chris to win so they could make some money off of him. And by him winning, they could have been tooting their horn and we won’t have to listen to that famous phrase, “did America get it right.”

    But Squisy, I will disagree on the postioning of the Idols. It just appeared, IMO, as if they put the girls in the middle and the guys at the end. For some strange reason cd sales and the AI conspiracy theory just did not enter my mind. I guess I am not deep enough in the AI bubble to think everything they do revolves around cd sales. But, maybe that was their rational..

  70. If Taylor was the MAIN reason why it was the highest season yet, IMO he should have sold during his debut week Clay Aiken numbers yet he did not.

    Wow, you’re three for three. Faulty logic. Television viewership and record buyers are not the same thing.

  71. Kirsten Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:54 am

    Undecided, I think that there are a few missing from Season 3 (which actually had the most people make the BB charts). George Huff has a sustainable career in Gospel and Jasmine is a big hit in the Phillipines. Matt Rogers (sp?) from Season 3 is also involved in entertainment. He does some Idol show which is probably as popular as Kim Caldwell which made the list.

    There were some from every season that I didn’t name because their level of sustainable career is just not evident. Justin guarini, Jim V, RJ and Christina C all did something but nothing to write home about careerwise. Carmen Rassmussen and Corey Clark put out CDs. Olivia Olivarez is doing off broadway plays. Trnyce is doing a show in Vegas. And on and on. Where do you draw the line?

  72. NOT as much as Season 5. You may not believe it but the vast majority of critics believe it.

    I’m going to have to back my sparring partner on this one. I was under the impression that we give our opinions here. On this rare occasion, my opinion happens to be the same as her. Sarah was not good, but better than ***, who sucked. I could care less what critics say, I listen to my own ears.

  73. Taylor was one of the Main reasons people watched but the diversity and talents of everyone made the show popular. If Taylor was IT, the others would have faded in his shadow and they haven’t. What made the show was the diversity. Everybody seemed really unique and not just a “type.” (

  74. I do agree that last season was the best because there were no clear cut winner.

    There was no clear cut winner season two, either.

  75. I cant stay, gotta run but last night sucked. I think they are saving the best for last. (Please gawd) and I think that Sarah who sang a very very good rendition of OTR was excellent. She had a small touch of Eva Cassidy in there. I SAID a SMALL touch.

  76. There was a link I posted in the last couple of days that reported the producers/presenters stated that Taylor had brought in a great deal of new viewers.

  77. If Taylor was IT, the others would have faded in his shadow and they havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t.

    I don’t agree that that would necessarily follow.

  78. I enjoyed seeing Taylor’s audition. He was very charming. That side of him needs to come out more in the interviews. I hope winning AI won’t end up being a mixed blessing for him. Okay Taylor was a big draw on tv but it was the mix that pushed them to the top IMO.

  79. There was a link I posted in the last couple of days that reported the producers/presenters stated that Taylor had brought in a great deal of new viewers.

    Yep, I remember that. But people can believe whatever they want. Like how JJ believes she won’t be peeling her a$$ off my foot at the Westbury show.

  80. Last night was just terrible. How did it manage to be both boring and make me feel bad? I don’t need to see people being crushed. Just tell them “No”. There is no reason to tee-up on them, Randy. And, watching somebody sob uncontrollably is not “good TV”. It’s “sad TV”. It’s depressing that we spent so much time watching people collapse in grief and very little jubilation. And the people they did put through…none of them knocked my socks off. Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.

    I’m going to go find some numbers to make me happy.

  81. There was no clear cut winner season two, either.

    That is the understatement of the century. There was a huge outcry over the voting system and it wasn’t just the Claymates. In season 4 the winner(Carrie) was announced in a British paper days before the finale. It’s a long but fascinating read.

    http://www.dldewey.com/idolfin.htm

  82. The number of working alumni? Where would you draw the line?

    I would say the number of working Alumns. If you are able to take the platfomr that AI gave you and make your own career in the industry with then you have done well.

    Squishy, why should Taylor have sold as much as Clay? His fanbase did not have anything to prove. I am not sure where your logic is coming fromm. Oh wait a minute, yes I do…

  83. squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:55 am
    IMO Katà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SOTR kicked Sarahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version to the curb.

    Kat wins that battle for sure.

    _____________________________

    To be just an audition, Sarah’s version was FANTASTIC..
    Also, winning a battle does NOT necessarily indicate that someone WON THE WAR….

  84. Like how JJ believes she wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be peeling her a$$ off my foot at the Westbury show.

    Your dyslexia is coming through again.

  85. IMO Katà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SOTR kicked Sarahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version to the curb.

    Actually, I felt Sarah was better than Kat because she sound more convincing…more natural vocally. I was more convinced that she felt the song more than when Kat sang it. Kat always sounds very mechanical when she sings, IMO. As if she spends to much time worrying about sounding perfect and hitting all the right notes instead of just trusting her vocals and just letting the song flow..

  86. And, watching somebody sob uncontrollably is not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“good TVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sad TVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s depressing that we spent so much time watching people collapse in grief and very little jubilation.

    I totally agree.

  87. Just wondering, have they picked the TOP 24 or TOP 12 yet eventhough the viewing public is NOT aware of who they are ?
    Reason being, my youngest daughter told me last night that there is BIG BUZZ in Memphis that a local from there has been selected..

  88. squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:55 am
    IMO Katà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s SOTR kicked Sarahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version to the curb.

    Kat wins that battle for sure.

    I have to agree with squishy here as well :).

    Also though Taylor certainly was a significant part of the success of season 5 I do think a lot of it was just a very talented diverse group of contestants.

  89. Squishy, why should Taylor have sold as much as Clay? His fanbase did not have anything to prove.

    Sure we do. It’s up to us to keep him afloat until he catches on with the rest of the public. That is what the Claymates set out to do. If Taylor’s CD sells poorly then the articles will say that America got it wrong, it would be a travesty. An artist/celebrity is nothing without their fans.

  90. I have to agree with those who thought last night was just painful. I hope tonight is better.

  91. I can’t compare season 5 to any of the earlier ones, because I didn’t watch before season 5. I can say that I did starting watching because of Taylor. So, I’m one of those new fans. That being said, the top 10 last season were a great, diverse, interesting group of performers who brought a lot of personality and styles to the mix.

    I didn’t watch last night but did lurk in the chat and enjoyed all y’all’s comments. I’d say it’s more entertaining that what was on the show from the sound of it.

  92. Metta,

    I am RIGHT on all 3 accounts!!!!!

    If an Idol winner was the MAIN reason why people watched AI last season than he should NOT have been bested by a 4th place finisher in their respective debut weeks.

  93. I have to agree with squishy here as well :).

    Shocker! lol

    Squishy, why should Taylor have sold as much as Clay? His fanbase did not have anything to prove.

    Sure we do. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s up to us to keep him afloat until he catches on with the rest of the public.

    I disagree and I think many Taylor fans will, as well. Taylor is not a pop star and most of us don’t want that for him. That’s not what he does. He will always have a limited fanbase. Same as Elliott once he gets his damned music out there.

  94. Okay, I’ve compared Chris’s tour schedule with AI results night to see if we can figure out what night he might appear to sing on the show:

    Feb 22 – Top 24 Results – Concert in San Antoniov
    March 1 – Top 12 Results – Free – Previous night in Denver
    March 8 – Top 16 Results – Free – Previous night in Chicago, Next night in Indianapolis
    March 14 – Top 12 Results – Concert in Cleveland
    March 21 – Top 11 Results – Free – next concert on 23rd
    March 28 – Top 10 Results – Free – 4 days between concerts
    April 4 – Top 9 Results – Free – Previous night in Birmingham, Next night in Nashville
    April 11 – Top 8 Results – Free – Previous night in Talahasse, Next night in Charlotte
    April 18 – Top 7 Results – Free – Previous night in Memphis
    —-End of announced dates—-

    So, Chris cannot show up on the first night of Finals Results to introduce the boot song if it is “Home”.

    The first night he can come to the show is March 1st, but that is also the only night that Taylor has free until April. Other than that, his schedule is pretty open although some tedious travel would be required.

    Updated Tour Schedule

  95. Metta…..Last niteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show sucked. The only one I liked was Sarah, whose version of SOTR kicked ***à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a$$.

    I’m with you Metta. I was bored silly. Hell, my brother’s smarta** comments during the show was better than the show. :thumbdown_tb:

  96. As if she spends to much time worrying about sounding perfect and hitting all the right notes instead of just trusting her vocals and just letting the song flow..
    _____________________________

    IMO, *** is more interested in how she looks on camera rather than how she delivers a song..

  97. emeralgem: Just wondering, have they picked the TOP 24 or TOP 12 yet eventhough the viewing public is NOT aware of who they are ?

    MJ posted that she’d heard that they were selecting the Top 24 yesterday. So, if there is buzz in Memphis starting last night/early this morning, it’s probably true.

  98. Isn’t March 1rst around the time of the big event? Or is that later? Maybe they consider the big event bringing back last season’s “successes”

  99. JJ….I could care less what critics say, I listen to my own ears.

    Me too JJ. Some of the songs, tv shows, movies, etc. I have enjoyed the most during my life were panned by critics including Taylor. Hell, especially Taylor!!!

  100. If an Idol winner was the MAIN reason why people watched AI last season than he should NOT have been bested by a 4th place finisher in their respective debut weeks.

    Chris’ music is generic, mainstream, disposable, interchangeble, pap. There is nothing unique or creative about what he does. This is why Clive and co. were salivating over him. That is one key reason why Chris is outselling Taylor. Sales for a niche artist will rarely come close to those of a mainstream one. And again, your logic is faulty. The viewership of a television show is not interchangeable with the record buying public.

  101. If an Idol winner was the MAIN reason why people watched AI last season than he should NOT have been bested by a 4th place finisher in their respective debut weeks.

    Waaaaaaayyyyyy too early to say who bested who.

  102. Metta…..Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ music is generic, mainstream, disposable, interchangeble, pap. There is nothing unique or creative about what he does.

    And that is why I don’t like his music. I want to listen to someone with a unique or distinctive sound or voice or whatever.

  103. Waaaaaaayyyyyy too early to say who bested who.

    Unless we’re talking about your a$$-kicking.

  104. Download numbers (for singles/tracks…only know the top 50):

    16 Daughtry IT’S NOT OVER 43,584 (-6%) 241,322
    21 Carrie Underwood BEFORE HE CHEATS 37,419 (-32%) 594,388

    Comparison of Top 200 Digital to this time last year:

    This Week – 3,975,958 (22% decrease from previous week)
    Last Year – 2,284,288 (28% decrease)

  105. I loved what my new friend Easy said yesterday. He said by the time you got to song 8 on Chris’s CD you just wanted it to stop.

  106. I have been reading all the past comments this morning and I have to say the one about Kat has my blood boiling! In the interview she said that she is not using *sex* to sell….wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the interviewer had pulled out the “I am not in Kansas anymore” pic! Maybe that would jog the ole memory! To me it is sooooo sad…..Kat, in my opinion has so much undeveloped talent and her beauty is amazing.I thought from the beginning she had one of the best potentials!I won’t (along with several friends) be buying her Cd that, by the way should, be hidden from any young girl!What a waste! What a waste!

  107. I downloaded Chris’s CD and it is like one long never ending song. :-) I like a few though.

  108. Unless weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re talking about your a$$-kicking.

    First the dyslexia now the dementia. I think you need a nap to get your thoughts together.

  109. JJ….I loved what my new friend Easy said yesterday. He said by the time you got to song 8 on Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s CD you just wanted it to stop.

    I’m not sure I could make it to song 8.

  110. Kirsten,

    It appears that AI may use Chris’ “Home as next season’s exit song according to a MTV article that came out yesterday. Thus I suspect Chris will perform on top 3 night.

  111. I was talking to my 30 yr old daughter yesterday and we were talking about American Idol beginning again. She was a big Daughtry fan last year. I bought her a Daughtry CD for Christmas and bought her husband a Taylor CD … as well as my daughter-in-law who were Taylor fans. While we were Christmas shopping I also bought Carrie’e CD and loaned it to my daughter.

    Last night she said, you know who my favorite is right now? It was Carrie. She said they play her CD all the time in the car and sing along. She said after listening to the Daughtry CD all the way thru on Christmas Day she has not listened to it again.

    Her main comment was that she liked multiple songs on Carrie’s CD and found that Daughtry’s songs almost ran together and sounded the same. She also said that when her husband played Taylor’s CD, that the really liked Heaven Knows and Dream Myself Awake.

  112. Sorry, but Sarah simply copied Kat’s version of OTR to appeal to Simon…although she did a good job, it just was not very original.

    BTW, I’ve heard Eve Cassiday’s version at least a 100 times ( it’s in our CD pile here at the office) and I don’t hold it in as high of regard as most around here do…’screechy’ comes to mind.

    The first night’s show was horrible and Seattle’s looks to be even worse…maybe I’ll wait for a few weeks……

  113. The vast viewing public who showed good taste and loved Taylor only on idol turned into the boobs who bought Chris’ generic music when the show was over. It was incredible how quickly it happened too. :)

  114. Sure we do. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s up to us to keep him afloat until he catches on with the rest of the public. That is what the Claymates set out to do. If Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s CD sells poorly then the articles will say that America got it wrong, it would be a travesty. An artist/celebrity is nothing without their fans.

    Honeslty I see Taylor’s situation unique in many ways..

    I also don’t think AI 5 was all about Taylor. I just think he added a slightly different dimension to the show by being..well, different. I think he did toSeason Five what Fantasia did to Season Three. She brought a different dimension to that season because she interacted very well with the audience. She was very comfortable on stage and it showed. If you look back at the previous seasons most of the contestants just sang and you could see they were not very comfortable with being on stage and interacting with the audience in the beginning. Some not at all. Fantasia’s stage savvy seem to have made AI realized that there is more to entertaining than just standing infront of a mike and singing. You have to be engaging and make the audience feel that you not only understand what your are singing but you want them to enjoy the song also.

    IMO, Taylor took it a step further. He reached out to the audience outside of the studio audience. He actually became more mainstream than people want to believe. I believe that was one of the reason why he was so polarized.

    I also, feel that season five was what it was because most of those guys had a genuine respect for each other. I think towards the end one or two tried to outshine the others but for the most part they all seem to get along well with each other. It really showed in their group singing. Season 5 group singing was one of the best I’ve seen since the beginning of AI.

    But I will admit, Taylor winning was the reason why I went to the AI concert last year. I was tempted with Fantasia but did not go. I was more than willing to sit through all the others just to watch him perform live.

  115. Airplay updates for the new singles….Today, I’m going to put both the Published numbers and the all stations numbers. The “was” numbers are yesterday’s published numbers.

    Pub All
    75 79 Katharine “Over It” in Pop (was 76)
    106 107 Katharine “Over It” in HAC (was 117)
    52 53 Clay “A Thousand Days” in AC (was 56)
    53 55 Bucky “A Different Way” in Country (was 58)

    27 30 Carrie “Wasted” in Country (was 27)
    112 124 Ruben “Make You Feel Beautiful” in UAC (was 112)

  116. LisaATL
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 9:46 am
    JJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.I loved what my new friend Easy said yesterday. He said by the time you got to song 8 on Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s CD you just wanted it to stop.

    Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure I could make it to song 8.
    _____________________________
    I know I would not make it to song 8.. I was NOT able to get through the first 30 seconds of whatever it was I did attempt to listen to..

    I also found it ironic that Simon told that Rocker last night that they would NOT put him through because everything he sang sounded the same…Sound like someone else we know?

  117. squishy: It appears that AI may use Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Home as next seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exit song according to a MTV article that came out yesterday. Thus I suspect Chris will perform on top 3 night.

    Daniel Powter showed up on Top 2 night last year.

  118. The vast viewing public who showed good taste and loved Taylor on idol turned into the boobs who bought Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ generic music when the show was over.

    Whether or not they’re boobs is neither here nor there. My point was that you cannot logically use record sales as an indicator of how popular a contestant was on the show. The producers of the show said Taylor was the big draw. He is a consummate performer: Great voice, fun dancing, very entertaining. On the show, they all had to sing from the same genre selected week to week by the producers. Now that the show is over, they are off in different directions. Chris is doing the mainstream, generic thing. Similarly, Kat is wanting to ride the tide of what’s current. This is what most people are buying. Taylor’s music is not mainstream. It’s not even clear which–if any–of his songs fits into top 40 format. That’s why they will all have different results, in terms of sales. Why is this so hard to comprehend?

  119. metta,

    debut cd sales is about fan base particularly when a single is released after a cd is released.

  120. But I will admit, Taylor winning was the reason why I went to the AI concert last year.

    And Taylor IMO is why the A1 concert was so successful last year and why they added new dates at the end.

  121. Just checked to see if they added any new singles to the “Future Releases” to radio section.

    Sure enough they did.

    Feb 13 Mario Vazquez “One Shot” Impacting: Pop

    That’s interesting. He’s going to have two singles released within two weeks of each other. His “I Bet” is also listed for release to Pop on Jan 30th.

    Mario is on the same label as Taylor, so at least this is a sign that somebody at the label knows how to announce the release of singles.

  122. Metta,

    Obviously the AI producers agree with me that Taylor was NOT the main reason why Season 5 was the success it was for if they agreed with what you said they would have had him front and center on the AI logo behind the judges. Instead they have the AI logo between Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

  123. Obviously the AI producers agree with me that Taylor was NOT the main reason why Season 5 was the success it was for if they agreed with what you said they would have had him front and center on the AI logo behind the judges.

    If they agreed with you, there would have been five versions of Chris behind them.

    The article Lisa B posted was clear. The producers said Taylor was the biggest draw.

  124. Sexygirl, I think both “Tasia and Taylor(dang that sounds good together) both absolutely feel and love the music so much that they are like the medium whrough which all this passion,feelings,emotions pass through and then the final product,ie.,the fantastic music is channeled to we lucky mortals. Their love and enthusiasm for what they are doing is contagious and they both just shine when they are on.

    I too would love to hear them together, perhaps LK will give us that opportunity tomorrow, hope,hope,hope.

  125. ….My husband flipped the channel to something else for a few minutes and then flipped it back fast forwarding it past the continuing crying. That wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t funà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    Wow, this really surprises me! For some reason I figured that you would be the one in the house that controlled the remote. ;)

  126. If an Idol winner was the MAIN reason why people watched AI last season than he should NOT have been bested by a 4th place finisher in their respective debut weeks.

    Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ music is generic, mainstream, disposable, interchangeble, pap. There is nothing unique or creative about what he does. This is why Clive and co. were salivating over him. That is one key reason why Chris is outselling Taylor. Sales for a niche artist will rarely come close to those of a mainstream one. And again, your logic is faulty. The viewership of a television show is not interchangeable with the record buying public.

    Just FYI:

    According to figures for 2004, 837 million packages of hot dogs were sold at retail stores

    And then we could search for foods like Caviar, and Sushi or even a quality steak, and see how many unit’s of each were sold.

    And then we could compare them all day long like we do Taylor and Chris. They each have their own market and yes, Chris is main-steam and that market is larger then Taylor’s market. But that does not mean that Chris is in any way better then Taylor. Just easier to market to the largest market.

  127. Instead they have the AI logo between Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

    I just thought that had to do with putting the two guys on the extremes for balance. I didn’t see any ulterior motive with that. If anything, it’s great that Taylor’s on the right side, because he always appears right above Cowell’s head.

  128. Katharine McPhee to guest star on “Lonelygirl15” Web series

    The Internet serial “Lonelygirl15” will get star treatment Friday when American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee plays a guest role.

    McPhee was an early fan of the show, which unravels the mystery of a 16-year-old girl named Bree in short video segments posted on YouTube, Revver and an official Web site.

    “I followed it from the beginning,” McPhee told The Associated Press. “I thought it would be fun to meet all those characters.”

    McPhee’s management contacted the creators of the Web series about a guest spot. The writers had already been devising a female character who briefly meets Bree and had been searching for ways to cast fans as characters. They readily agreed to cast McPhee in the nonrecurring role……

    http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/16480578.htm

  129. Obviously the AI producers agree with me that Taylor was NOT the main reason why Season 5 was the success it was for if they agreed with what you said they would have had him front and center on the AI logo behind the judges. Instead they have the AI logo between Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
    _______________________________

    Yes, I noticed that too, and that totally pisses me off..And for me to make a statement of that nature is a definite indication that I am TICKED…

  130. AI ratings report from Drudge:

    BLOWOUT: FOX SCORES 21.8 RATING/31 SHARE FOR ‘IDOL’ OPENER; UP OVER 20.5/29 DEBUT IN 2006… MORE…

  131. Metta, you are pointing out the important fact that people keep ignoring. American Idol is not a competition to determine who will sell the most CDs, who will get the most airplay, or even who will fill the most concert halls. Sometimes the winner does those things, sometimes not. AI is a contest to select the most popular performer on a TV show. Taylor was clearly the most popular performer in season 5.

    Whether he will end up being the most successful recording artist from last year’s contestants is unknown and really is not relevant to the issue of “did the audience get it right?” The audience always gets it right if you don’t place additional requirements on the winner. And it is certainly inappropriate to place requirements on the losers (like they aren’t allowed to be successful after Idol.)

  132. Bob Hope Chrysler notes for Jan. 17

    PALM DESERT – Actor Mark Wahlberg and singer Glen Campbell are no longer in the Classic celebrity field, joining actor Kurt Russell among those withdrawing in the last few days.
    Only one of those celebrity spots had been filled as of Tuesday afternoon, with Olympic skating champion Scott Hamilton taking the place of Campbell in a threesome that includes singer Alice Cooper and Taylor Hicks…….

    http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/EVENTS02/701170341/1002/sports

  133. squishy, If the rest of the season is anything like last nights you may see a re-arrangement of those pics before the season is ended. They should stick with the guy that brung them to the dance !

  134. Just FYI:

    According to figures for 2004, 837 million packages of hot dogs were sold at retail stores

    And then we could search for foods like Caviar, and Sushi or even a quality steak, and see how many unità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s of each were sold.
    ———————————–
    Don’t care for caviar or sushi too much, but am willing to compare Taylor to a quality steak…
    And speaking of HOT DOGS, Chris does remind me of one…

  135. Kirsten,

    Top 2 night is the Season Finale. I thought that Daniel Powter performed his song Top 3 night not the season finale?

  136. squishy Jan 17th, 2007 at 9:59 am

    metta,

    debut cd sales is about fan base particularly when a single is released after a cd is released.

    absolutely

    And speaking of HOT DOGS, Chris does remind me of oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    I wonder how he would look with hair. Was there ever a picture of him with it?

  137. If an Idol winner was the MAIN reason why people watched AI last season than he should NOT have been bested by a 4th place finisher in their respective debut weeks.

    I figured that this was where you were going with your logic. Okay, here is one, Taylor beat Chris the following week when he went gold. So does that men he gets to keep his A crown. I don’t get the silly one-up-manship stuff but if it floats your boat then knock yourself out.

    Chris selling well should comes as no surprise to anyone. It was clear on AI why they weren pushing for him to win. They knew he was an easy market becuase he sounded like what was on the radio. I think Randy kept saying that. I also would have told them that.

    Honestly, if AI’s agenda is about selling cds and not just talent then maybe they just need to say that and have us stop wasting our time voting. I was under the impression we voted week in and week out because we liked what we heard and saw and not with the mindset of if this person’s cd will sell or not. Maybe I am wrong.

  138. Metta,

    I saw your post above. I am glad you saw my post. Unless their is MAJOR promotion and a single & video is out BEFORE a CD is released, debut sales reflect fan base. Since Chris’ did NOT have a single or video out before his CD came out and didn’t have the best promotion initially, his debut CD sales reflected his fan base which was actually quite large and larger than I expected.

    RCA did NOT expect Chris to have as large of an initial fan base as he had. They were taken a back. Their plan was to grow his fan base.

  139. I was under the impression we voted week in and week out because we liked what we heard and saw and not with the mindset of if this personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cd will sell or not. Maybe I am wrong.

    That is why we voted but about 62 million had other things in mind. Most people who watch and/or vote never buy a CD. Many people are proud of that fact.

  140. MJ – Just read your recap of last night. Dead on. I think AI feels it can throw anything at the audience and we’ll just eat it up. They may be right. Or the ratings will take a dip this season if things don’t improve. It really is a crime that they passed 17 or however many people on to Hollywood, yet we see only a handful of those auditions. As I said on chat last nite, we’ll end up with a bunch of Melissa McGee’s~~people who just show up on our radars for the first time at top 24, putting them at a serious disadvantage.

  141. I attempted to drive my car down what I thought was a road but it ended up just being a never-ending ice rink. My car is now stuck in a ravine 4 blocks from my home. I literally skated home and busted my ass twice. With nothing else to do, I popped in for a moment to catch the daily buzz but didn’t make it far reading the posts. Big effin’ mistake. Now I have a headache to go along with my aching hip and back. These fan wars are SO old. :wallbash_tb:

    On the positive side, I saw the Daughtry video on VH1 2 times this morning. I’m staying away from here until chat tonight. Now THAT was fun. This….not so much.

  142. squishy: Top 2 night is the Season Finale. I thought that Daniel Powter performed his song Top 3 night not the season finale?

    Daniel sang on Top 2 performance night. He sang it after Taylor sang DIMYP and it had a montage of all the performers who had left.

  143. Carla D: My car is now stuck in a ravine 4 blocks from my home. I literally skated home and busted my ass twice.

    Sorry to hear that. I hope that you are okay. Ice storms?

  144. Lots to read over this morning.

    –Last night. Dull, dull, dull. Been there, done that, only better in the past. Maybe things will improve. Many cities yet to be shown.
    MJ’s chat helped me stay awake. Thanks mj!!!
    –Best rendition of SOTR – Kimberly Locke. No contest.
    –Why AI 5 was so popular. I think it was the combination of all the factors mentioned here so far. Mostly, as Squishy said, the diversity. Brought a lot of people to the TV set that may not have been interested otherwise. I do believe Taylor brought a unique factor. And a fun factor. And this did contribute GREATLY to the overwhelming popularity of last year’s show. Without him, Season 5 would have been Season 4 redux with Katharine assuming the Carrie role.
    –Taylor will probably never match Daughtry the Magnificent in CD sales because he is not a cookie cutter Rock God. And he has hair. Apparently bald is in. BTW, undecided, Chris was shown with hair in some photos last year and he was kinda cute. Now he is just….scary.
    –The judges this year. Where do I start??? I think they are so over this show. And Paula’s problems last year have apparently been addressed by administering such heavy doses of downers that she was nearly catatonic last night.
    –The backdrops. Oh that the Idol PTB could put up a picture of Chris! They would KILL to do that! But they can’t. Soooo… the ‘Bama boys are relegated to the sidelines.
    –Thanks for the re-cap, mj. I do hope things improve. My guess is, the ratings uptick will be a downtick after last night and will settle into pretty much last year’s numbers, unless the suckitude factor continues unabated.

  145. Boy was I disappointd last night. I hope it gets better from here. Where are the good singers????

    And to add to the saeson 5 debate: I can only speak from my personal experience. I have never watched a season of AI all the way through until season 5. Usually I would catch 1 or 2 audition shows, maybe one hollywood round and check in to see who was the top 12. Then I would drop off until they got down to 6 or so people, because you always knew who the 2 or 3 standouts were, and it was just a matter of which one of them was going to win.

    Season 5 changed all that for me becasue for the first time, so many of them were GOOD. I fell for 4 people straight up from auditons and by the time we got to the top 24, I had picked up 2 more. During the top 24 round even more people started to stand out. Every week I was convinced a new person was going to win, and even then I couldn’t be sure because any of the others were capable of making a run for it as well. And they were all so different from each other that it was amazing. I watched every single episode of season 5, and that had never happened before. And my husband, who hated AI, started watching right along with me because he had picked 2 favorites (Taylor and Paris) himself.

    Anyway, that was my experience, and I don’t think I’m the only one. And I love Taylor. But if it had been just about him, I would have tuned out early on and not come back to the end. Like every other season before.

  146. Re: the sign w/ the pictures of the idols. Having worked as a graphic artist for the last 10 years, I’m willing to bet that a lot of the thought behind the layout was simply the design taste of the artist who arranged the photos around the logo. They look at a variety of photos they are considering using, they arrange them in any number of ways, maybe changing the photos around or even “flipping” them so the opposite arm is going up or down, or they are facing one way or another. In the end, it comes down to what appears to be a balanced look overall. 2 blond women, 2 men, 2 black people – they will want to balance it out overall. I don’t think it’s any “let’s cluster the best ones here or there”. They have more important things to do with their time.

  147. debut cd sales is about fan base particularly when a single is released after a cd is released.

    I will say buying multiple copies of a cd for $5.00 is a lot easier to do than say $9.00. You are getting more for your buck when you shop on Black Friday as appose to doing it during the supposed biggest shopping time of the year.. :laugh_tb:

    Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why they will all have different results, in terms of sales. Why is this so hard to comprehend?

    Because they don’t want too.

    Some fans happiness is measured by who their favorite is beating week in and week out. Sad but true. Taylor even possesses a few of those fans..I guess some see these Idols as extensions of themselves.

  148. Kirsten is correct. Daniel Powter appeared top 2 night.

    He closed the show and missed his cue.

  149. 75 79 Katharine à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Over Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in Pop (was 76)
    106 107 Katharine à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Over Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in HAC (was 117)
    52 53 Clay à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Thousand Daysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in AC (was 56)
    53 55 Bucky à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Different Wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in Country (was 58)

    27 30 Carrie à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wastedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in Country (was 27)
    112 124 Ruben à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Make You Feel Beautifulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in UAC (was 112)

    WHen is Taylor going to be on that list? Please… Anyone?
    Why hasn’t anyone tell us the official add date of JTFTW? What is taking so long?
    Can someone explain this to me? Can Gray find out if Taylor’s single will ever be released to the radio? This is so frustrating.

  150. Squishy, I think the AI producers hope that it wasn’t all about Taylor last year. In fact, to keep the attention on Taylor means that if you don’t find another so unique that grabs the audience that had never tuned in before, you might have a year that is subpar.

    So yes, I understand why they don’t want to remind folks of Taylor too much. They can’t totally ignore him, but I am certain he won’t be front and center often.

  151. “Without him, Season 5 would have been Season 4 redux with Katharine assuming the Carrie role”

    And Chris and Elliott would be? Taylor brought alot of fun to the show. But he wasn’t THE show. Mandisa, Paris, Kelly P, Bucky –just lots of really unique talent and fun. Carrie was a country singer. What is Kat’s genre? They are both pretty though.

  152. Kirsten – I am fine, just a little shaken. We had a major ice storm over the weekend, and with the weather remaining below freezing, there has been no melting and anyone living on a secondary road is left to fend for themselves. My daughter’s school is closed again today and has been closed all week. My boyfriend slid through an intersection yesterday and took out a road sign and my mom took a nasty fall and broke her leg. At least I have power at my house.

    I’m really in a pissy mood, so it’s best I stay off of here today lest I say something I’ll regret later. :guns_tb: Have a great day everyone.

  153. Good morning again. In an effort to stop the continuation of last years’ fan wars (because it’s giving me a headache), I have a question. I would love to see idol do a theme night on a songwriter. I posted this somewhere else, but I think a lot of times the chosen theme is not fair to one gender or the other (like Queen night or Elvis night). If they picked a great songwriter (the one I thought of was Jimmy Webb because of all the Taylor/Glenn Campbell golf stuff) then the contestants could pick any song that person wrote and there would certainly be different styles, artists, genders, renditions, etc. My question is – would they have to get clearance to perform said song from the songwriter, the artist who recorded it, the publisher, the record company, or who?????? Anyone with industry understanding have any idea?

  154. If anything, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s great that Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on the right side, because he always appears right above Cowellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s head.

    But that doesn’t work ’cause Simon has such a big head.

  155. I guess some see these Idols as extensions of themselves.

    Fan wars are always about the fans, not the Idols. The notion that “my Idol is better than yours” is inherently nonsensical in the same way that “steak is better than sushi” is. What it boils down to is “My musical taste is better than yours. So there!” I think the technical term for all this is: human nature. :smile1_ee:

  156. BTW, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard Eve Cassidayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version at least a 100 times ( ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in our CD pile here at the office) and I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hold it in as high of regard as most around here doà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢screechyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ comes to mind.

    GASP!!!

    Nostradamus, while you are entitled to your opinion, Im over here shaking my head and wondering where in hell your ears are. Eva’s version of SOTR was beyond words for ME. Many many people can sing that song flawlessly but until you put your own “flaws” into it, until you make it “your own” as they say and until you can make others FEEL it when your singing it, then flawless and perfect mean very little.

    Everyone has their idea of how that song should be sung and who they think sings it the best. For me its about who makes me FEEL something when they sing. Who makes me so emotional with a song that at times, I could weep. Thats what Eva does for me when I hear that haunting rendition of OTR.

    Kat sings it beautifully but it does NOTHING for my heart. I can clinically listen to it and it sounds without imperfection. For ME, thats not what Im looking for and its occuring to me that its the very reason I love Taylor.

  157. I do not see any of these idols as an extension of myself.

    America voted and got it right. For me Taylor was the best all around performer on AI last session. Till I came here I didn’t even know how many cd’s were sold by an artist and didn’t care. Just heard a voice I loved.

  158. Little Debbi:

    I would love to see idol do a theme night on a songwriter. I posted this somewhere else, but I think a lot of times the chosen theme is not fair to one gender or the other

    They did have a Diane Warren night…although some would say that wasn’t fair to either gender. Paul Anka, Barry Manilow and Neil Sedaka have also had nights (they have written a lot of songs recorded by people of both genders…the first Manilow night was for songs he wrote).

    My question is – would they have to get clearance to perform said song from the songwriter, the artist who recorded it, the publisher, the record company, or who??????

    They have to get permission from the person who owns the rights to the song. That is usually the songwriter, but sometimes the rights are owned by others (such as the Lennon/McCartney Beatle’s catalog of songs).

  159. AI ratings report from Drudge:

    BLOWOUT: FOX SCORES 21.8 RATING/31 SHARE FOR à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹IDOLà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ OPENER; UP OVER 20.5/29 DEBUT IN 2006à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ MOREà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    If they keep up like they started last night, I don’t think that will continue. Last night was boring and really uncomfortable to watch.

  160. ..The 62-year-old singer told CBS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Late Showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  host David Letterman on Tuesday that she is going to be a mentor on Foxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and is planning a world tour in March to promote her new album, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Love You.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ..

    Ross has burned all of her bridges and she was never very well liked as a person anyways. If you have heard her recently, promoting this CD, she sounds pathetic. Like a once graceful, beautiful, talented, if albeit self absorbed diva, she now sounds average at best and painful to listen to at worst.

    If THIS is the best Idol can do this year for mentoring, Id say they are in very big trouble.

  161. Fan wars are always about the fans, not the Idols. The notion that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“my Idol is better than yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is inherently nonsensical in the same way that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“steak is better than sushià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is. What it boils down to is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My musical taste is better than yours. So there!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I think the technical term for all this is: human nature

    My comparison of hot dogs – large market, Sushi – smaller market was about market comparisons for Squishy, not my idol is better then your idol….

  162. I said it before, I think this is the year that Idol “jumps the shark” and if you take a look at the crap thats on opposite it, you get why they rake in the ratings that they do. I think that last year, they would have been able to survive any show opposite them, the show was THAT good but from what I can see so far, you will begin to see the ratings drop slowly but steadily if there is no one who can hold major attention to a very fickle public.

    AI better pray that a show like Grey’s Anatomy does not decide to duel with them in that time slot.

  163. Why hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t anyone tell us the official add date of JTFTW?

    That’s the million dollar question. I personally think it’s gonna be out after Kevin Covais releases his single.

  164. the other Dave
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 10:51 am
    Fan wars are always about the fans, not the Idols. The notion that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“my Idol is better than yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is inherently nonsensical in the same way that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“steak is better than sushià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is. What it boils down to is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My musical taste is better than yours. So there!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I think the technical term for all this is: human nature.

    Yup, the Other Dave pretty much sums it up here. Lets just stop assuming that our taste is better anyone else’s and move on…

  165. Hello everyone! Last Night’s Idol….
    was actually NO DIFFERENT than they usually do (other than a “little” more boring). I think it’s that we all are gettin’ rather tired of the “bad singer, goofy people.. laugh and make fun of them stickt” I have never liked the idea that they purposely put on weird/horrible/goofy singers through to Randy/Paula/Simon (someone pre-auditions them to find these gems). The show judges do NOT have all the kajillion try outs come before them, they are prescreened. I personally don’t like seeing people being used/made fun of, even though there are those just trying to get on tv and using that. But some are really heartbroken. NOT funny when whomever audtioned them knows they stink and are using them to make a show.

    I was sick of this last year as well and only had it on so that I “might” catch a voice or two that was good…so I multi task while they do this terrible thing. I was folding clothes and not paying attention when Taylor Hicks came on, but when he started singing I stopped and mouth dropped open..it was a WOW audition for me. I immediately looked his name up on the computer and found the NPR type radio station with his song samples of stuff like Soul Thing…and WOW. Hooked.

    I think we viewers are wanting more of the GOOD auditions and very few of the bad. It’s NOT funny. Quit it! We’ve grown up a bit.

  166. I completely disagree that Taylor was the reason for the increased ratings last year. I’m sure he was part of it but the others all had a lot of fans. I think many people anticipated a Chris/Kat final which also added to the drama and then there was the Kelly/Calimari stuff. What was different about last season to me was that there was something to enjoy about all or most of the top 12 even if you didn’t particularly like their type of music.

    I watched Taylor on Ellen yesterday and thought the song actually wasn’t bad which is big praise coming from me. I do think it’s too much for his voice and he was reduced to straining and yelling in the higher parts. I thought the same thing when I listened to the recording. I do think it has a chance to do okay on the radio.

    Chris does have a great voice imo. It isn’t exactly the same as everyone else unlike popular opinion here. I think the reason the producers wanted him to win last season was for the reasons the judges liked him so much. His voice is great live and they could tell it would be equally good when recorded and on the radio. They were right. It doesn’t matter whether you like him or his music, the cd is popular and he has a lot of fans including me. :grin1_ee:

  167. Cool then Chris will be in the Season Finale!!!!!

    That’s better than he managed last season.

    Couldn’t resist.

    Okay, I’m hopping off to run errands. Have fun!

  168. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s better than he managed last season.

    Good One!!! :clap_tb:

  169. Cool then Chris will be in the Season Finale!!!!!

    ——–

    No the finals, not the finale.

  170. Metta: Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s better than he managed last season.

    Well, technically, Chris was in the Top 2 Performance night. Ryan told him to shut up and sit down…

  171. shar

    I know that in the AI bubble it is all about numbers but in the real world it is about gaining respect from your peers both in the music and radio. I was in a store yesterday and this DJ for an R&B radio station was singing the praises of Fantasia and her new cd. She spoke about how when she sings you can actually feel what she is singing. Reading your post about Tay and Fantasia made me remember what that DJ said.

    We can argue and debate back and forth about who is the best because of cd sales and all the stuff but when those in the real world stand up and take notice of you because you stand out and is not afraid to, then everything else just fades.

    What I want for Taylor is what Fantasia is getting in the way of respect from her peers in the industry and radio DJs who respect her for her craft. There are many who are still snobbing Fantasia because she does not sound nor look mainstream enough and they will do the same to Taylor. Cd sales alone, IMO is a bit over rated because all it really takes is that one good hit song to catch fire and you can see how things can change. Including the attitude of some of the DJs in the mainstream. I’ve seen it time and time again. IMO, having people who respect you and are pulling for you will guarantee your name being out there and maybe help you get get a few cd sold. Even if all they are doing is singing your praises.

  172. I find it oddly interesting that I am slowly beginning not to care how many CD’s Taylor sells. As long as he can still put out music for my enjoyment then I guess I have come full circle. I was very competitive early on and though it galls me that someone like Daughtry will and has out sold Taylor, I knew that was coming. I knew Taylor was not going to appeal to as many people musically as Chris would and in fact, every single person I dragged, forcefully to my computer when they entered my house (cause I would make them watch taylor vids till they cried uncle lol) ALL were clearly impressed by the VIDEO of taylor. Not so much my the audio alone. I was appalled at the lack of vision my friends and neighbors had because for me, there are songs that I dont have video for but the audio for Taylor is brilliant, amazing and incredibly artful and packed with soul.

    I dont get it but thats the state of music these days OR, Im abundantly talented when it comes to spotting the real deal. Which is it?

  173. Well I did expect more out of Taylor- I am thrilled Jen Hudson did so well eso after Simon said she was nothing more then a cruise ship singer! HEY I seen great talent on Cruise Ships!
    Last nights show was one of the worst. ANd what in the world is wrong with Paula? She acts like she on drugs? She constantly has the coke cup in her hands and is just off the wall. hate even looking at her…

    I know they show bad singers but they allowed for some terrible ones to waste alot of show time knowing they would not go through… and it just was like OK been there done that…. lets get to the meat and potatoes! :jittery_tb: :king_tb:

  174. And then we could compare them all day long like we do Taylor and Chris. They each have their own market and yes, Chris is main-steam and that market is larger then Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s market. But that does not mean that Chris is in any way better then Taylor. Just easier to market to the largest market.

    Taylor and Chris are only being compared now because they were competitors on the same show. It’s really kind of pointless, musically speaking because they’re like apples and oranges. Or maybe I should say apples and pomegranetes.

    This morning’s anecdote on the subject – My Admin’s favorite was Chris last season but she also liked and voted for Taylor, Elliott and Bucky at different points. Like a lot of people, she was shocked when Chris was voted off prematurely (and more shocked that Kat *wasn’t*). But she liked *all* the top 5 guys last season (became an Ace fan after the show) so while she was sad about Bucky, Chris and Elliott, she was happy for Taylor. I agreed with her about that. They were a special group of talented fellas whose personal friendship and mutual respect made it even more compelling.

    Anyway, today we were discussing the guys’ (Chris and Taylor) respective albums and she said that while she likes Chris’s kind of music and his voice, she can’t really sing along with his music. She doesn’t own his CD. I was really surprised because she is a Creed and Nickelback fan and Daughtry is very similar.

    She also said that she *can* sing along with Taylor’s songs and in fact, the guys that she plays pool with seem to like Taylor’s songs too because they can have a good time drinking beer and singing along.

    Different strokes, for different folks. Different kinds of music fits different environments. Not everyone who watches American Idol gets as caught up in the details of the numbers, they just enjoy the music for what it is.

  175. Are the Soundscan numbers up yet today?

    It will be interesting to see just how many Chris sold today as well as the other Idols.

  176. Sorry to change the subject, but haven’t seen much about this on here, or I missed it since I can only check in now and then.
    Re: Diana Ross on morning shows yesterday

    Frankly, I was shocked that she sounded really really really bad, pitchy in places, flat here and there and weak, blah…although still stylish, but some awkward moments. But maybe other’s don’t agree with me. I thought it was BAD.

    I’m sorry, the movie dream girls is fantastic. I’m so happy for Jennifer Hudson I could scream…BUT it “is” fictionalized history we have to remember. In the movie version Beyonce’s part is made much much too nice…Diana Ross was in reality NOT. Although very talented, and I “DID” love the sound of the Supreme’s, Diana especially, and motown DID do some really bad stuff regarding Flo Ballard. Kudo’s to Jennifer Hudson for acknowledging Flo Ballard at the Globes awards!

  177. Yawn! Truly boring season premier last night. My hometown was pretty much bashed and trashed. There really is good talent here…honestly! The editing was horrible. Do we really need to hear the full 5 gruelly minutes of a horrible audition, complete with endless awkward silent moments? I think about 5 seconds is all we really need…then move on.

    In case this hasn’t been mentioned here yet, a few tidbits from the local Mpls Fox station…..

    Jason (the juggler) – kids from his school say he really is a nice guy and he wasn’t acting.

    The Door Dilema – about half way through they put a sign on the door so contestants would quit making fools of themselves.

    Jarrod (us navy) – Fox correspondent said in his blog that Jarrod was a very nice guy and he was really happy for him.

    Rachel (army reservist) who made it through – Fox was at her family’s “viewing” party (which was very lame to say the least). They said she was currently in Texas doing training or something. I would venture that means she didn’t make it to the Top 24.

  178. GASP!!!

    Nostradamus, while you are entitled to your opinion, Im over here shaking my head and wondering where in hell your ears are. Evaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version of SOTR was beyond words for ME. Many many people can sing that song flawlessly but until you put your own à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“flawsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  into it, until you make it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“your ownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  as they say and until you can make others FEEL it when your singing it, then flawless and perfect mean very little.

    Everyone has their idea of how that song should be sung and who they think sings it the best. For me its about who makes me FEEL something when they sing. Who makes me so emotional with a song that at times, I could weep. Thats what Eva does for me when I hear that haunting rendition of OTR.

    Kat sings it beautifully but it does NOTHING for my heart. I can clinically listen to it and it sounds without imperfection. For ME, thats not what Im looking for and its occuring to me that its the very reason I love Taylor.

    thedingoateyobaby,

    My ears are just fine, thanks for asking.

    As someone who owns their own recording studio…and has been around the block a time or two, I listen a little more technically than most. Eva had much better songs to listen to.

    While I agree somewhat with your sentiment of liking those who cause me to “feel” the song….it’s still gotta’ be something that doesn’t cause me to cringe.

    Kat’s version doesn’t resonate with me mostly becasue it was so contrived (Simon’s input) and the song is so damned overdone. I thought she did a great job, but damnit, find somethng less worn out.

    A “perfect song” to me is Bonnie Raitt’s “I can’t make you love me”.

  179. Ohhhhh, I dont think it was Taylor alone who was responsible for AI’s increased ratings last season at all. It was a combination of a lot of things not the least was the chemistry and the talent that at least 6 0r 7 of them had in spades. Taylor was the glue I believe cause he kept the pizzazz in the show and kept it from being utterly boring but with that came the realization for many that Chris was the rocker they had been looking for, E was the crooner they had been looking for and Katherine was…..well she was the cheap prize in the cracker jack box. Leaning on her looks and average voice to see her through which it did as well as her parents antics.

    Kellie was the little “minx”, Paris the very young kid with the powerful voice, Bucky the likeable country wannabe (who BTW is no longer a wannabe) and Ace the Face. Who could forget Ace.

    There were some very rich personalities on last year with great back stories. So far, Im not seeing any of that. Maybe tonight.

  180. squishy: Are the Soundscan numbers up yet today?

    I’ve already posted the Idol songs that made the top 50 downloads.

    We don’t have full the SS numbers yet, but here are Daughtry’s numbers:

    4 DAUGHTRY DAUGHTRY 50,383 (-10%) 1,227,332

  181. Oh the shame. That first series of Pop Idol wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦umà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦a little patchy.

    How can you say that, it was car crash tv at it’s best!!

    Talking of car crash tv, I’m hooked on CBB and thinking about employing hitmen. :guns_tb:

  182. Oh, and Carrie’s:
    15 Carrie Underwood Some Hearts 32,593 (-16%) 4,723,956

  183. thedingoateyobaby,

    My ears are just fine, thanks for asking.

    You can call me Dingo, cause we’re pals, right? Glad to hear that you’re ears are fine. I was concerned.

    A à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“perfect songà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  to me is Bonnie Raittà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make you love meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

    Well I cant argue that one cause I agree 100% and what you said in your post? I said it in another post re Kats recording of OTR. Sometimes flawless is NOT what Im looking for and so when Eva sings it, to MY ears, she sounds almost angelic but in pain and Im sure that her premature death has something to do with why i feel so damn melancholy when I hear Eva sing that song. Bottom line, I wanna FEEL something is all Im saying.

    Ya wanna take a stroll through my batcave?

  184. Lela, I was never a Diana Ross fan but I LOVED The Supremes as a group. Diana was always a pain in the ass diva with NO personality IMHO.

    She sounded like shit yesterday and I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. Not that she needs MY sympathy but I dont feel a thing.

  185. Dingo: She sounded like shit yesterday and I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. Not that she needs MY sympathy but I dont feel a thing.

    I wish I would have known she was on – I would have loved to watch and listen. I did/do like the Supremes and some of Diana’s singles.

    On a personal note that nobody will probably care about. When I lived in the Bahamas in the early 80’s, I saw Diana at our local grocery store at like 7 in the morning on a Sunday. She was hugely pregnant, wearing no makeup and her hair looked like Rosanne Rosanna Danna. It was really scary, but I guess that is one way of stopping people from asking for your autograph. Her and her husband lived in a fancy gated community not to far from where we lived, and my husband actually did some air conditioning work at their mansion.

  186. Ha! I totally agree with you Dingo!
    There was a great meshing of talent, characters and stuff last season..several I liked including the Buckster from the beginning (but I was blown away by Taylor)

    I used to read this blog for AI information (and especially Hicks info) but I have to confess, I now sometimes check in just to see if Dingo is here and what Dingo has to say! And I’m a person who’s cussing only amounts to “carp” in rare instances. WTF is never in my vocabulary. Dingo you crack me up!!!!! :rolleyes_tb: But most of all, I have to say…Dingo has great music insights and wisdoms as well as fashion sense (hey…bunny slippers!!!)

    As I said, I think we’ve all grown up a bit with the Idol tryouts and are ready to change the format of tryin’ to put on a show with way way too many bad/goofy performances..include more of the good voices.

  187. AI5 is like the energizer bunny……it is the season that just won’t quit.

  188. I f/f through Diana Ross last night because I really don’t like her. Her voice is alright but can’t stand her diva ways. How many episodes are going to be auditions? I’m not sure I can keep watching if they don’t show some good singers here and there.

  189. AI better pray that a show like Greyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Anatomy does not decide to duel with them in that time slot.

    I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that ABC changed the starting time of “Lost” so that it won’t have to compete with AI. I wish they would change it back because this year I think Lost would win the ratings battle.

  190. Everyone, say hello to Hapi. My new best friend and make sure you READ her post several times. Truer words were never spoken.

    And Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a person whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cussing only amounts to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“carpà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in rare instances. WTF is never in my vocabulary.

    Thats ok Hapi, I say it enough for the entire blog and then some. I have been trying to curb it, I said TRYING. I do my best stuff in the batcave.

    Thank you for the high praise, that was very sweet.

  191. I don’t think AI has anything to worry with ratings. Just because we liked last season so much doesn’t mean this season won’t be equally good or even better.

  192. I agree about Diana Ross. I guess Im mean spirited today, but want her new album to fail. She was for sure almost embarassing yesterday. I loved the Supremes, but what they (Diana and motown) did to Florence Ballard was BAD. The movie shows her eventually being sucessful, but in reality…no, never happened and she died just before the plans for a comeback for her. And no she did NOT show up drunk at performances and she was NOT too fat…just curvy compared to the skinny Diana. Ok, nuff on this hee hee. Loved Dream Girls and Jennifer!!!!

  193. Morning Little Debbi.

    Gotta go now. Make sure my friend Nostradamus reads my post to him. I think he likes me.

  194. 2 blond women, 2 men, 2 black people – they will want to balance it out overall. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s any à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cluster the best ones here or thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . They have more important things to do with their time.

    Just as I thought. It was more about visual than sales.

    Fan wars are always about the fans, not the Idols. The notion that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“my Idol is better than yoursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is inherently nonsensical in the same way that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“steak is better than sushià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is. What it boils down to is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My musical taste is better than yours. So there!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I think the technical term for all this is: human nature.

    Wow…thank you “the other Dave” for summarized my “shoot from the hip” quote very well and you are 100% right.

  195. :laugh_tb: Lisa

    It was indeed car crash telly, even without Rosie’s all-time worst live performance of an ABBA song (actually, ANY song :laugh_tb:) Remember Laura? She was chronic every week.

    But people forget and it isn’t long before they start re-writing history. Loads of folk I encounter on forums say that PI had the best talent evah, will never be equalled, blah blah blah. Just ain’t true – not from where I’m standing.

    I am trying to stay away from CBB – cannot stand Jade Goody at any price :furious_tb: Do you need a whip-round for :guns_tb: ? :laugh_tb:

  196. Kirsten, thenks for your answer re the songwriter night. I am thinking more towards a songwriter that didn’t really have any hits performing their own songs, but someone who wrote a lot of songs that were recorded by a lot of different kinds of artists. That way the contestants could choose from a larger variety of songs and there would be more of a chance for them to “make it their own”.

    Anyway, first we have to have some actual talent appear this year before I want to hear anyone sing anyone’s songs. :flush_tb:

  197. Chris does have a great voice imo. It isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t exactly the same as everyone else unlike popular opinion here. I think the reason the producers wanted him to win last season was for the reasons the judges liked him so much. His voice is great live and they could tell it would be equally good when recorded and on the radio. They were right. It doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t matter whether you like him or his music, the cd is popular and he has a lot of fans including me

    bean99, well said and I totally agree with you.

  198. I like Abba, ok, go ahead and shoot me. I have seen Mama Mia 3 times now and I heard that a movie is in the works with my favorite actress in the lead role.

    The 1st time I saw Mama Mia I was shocked becasue I knew every song. Those songs have a way of getting into your subconscious somehow or other. I think an Abba night would be fun and or funny.

  199. Oh, and by the way on numbers:

    1 DREAMGIRLS SOUNDTRACK 60,064 (-9%) 512,057

    So, Dreamgirls got gold and managed to smash it’s own record for lowest #1 sales in a week (last week it sold 66,355 to set the record).

    BTW Selling gold doesn’t matter for Dreamgirls…it has already been certified Platinum by the RIAA according to BB.

  200. AI is a ratings juggernaut.

    I am soooo glad TPTB gave Chris props last night for having the best rock debut in Soundscan history since 1991. Last night’s accolades said “EVER” which I am not sure that is true because they didn’t use Soundscan before 1991.

  201. It is interesting that Chris didn’t win AI season 5 but he may end up being the most popular Idol to come out of Season 5 any way.

  202. Oh, and by the way on numbers:

    1 DREAMGIRLS SOUNDTRACK 60,064 (-9%) 512,057

    So, Dreamgirls got gold and managed to smash ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s own record for lowest #1 sales in a week (last week it sold 66,355 to set the record).

    BTW Selling gold doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t matter for Dreamgirlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦it has already been certified Platinum by the RIAA according to BB.

    See so being frist to do something, good or bad, is not a bad thing after all.. :thumbup_tb:

  203. Metta
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:42 am
    Good morning.

    Last niteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show sucked. The only one I liked was Sarah, whose version of SOTR kicked ***à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a$$.

    Thank you! I totally agree. That girl was good, and a perfectly simple, perfectly beautiful version of OTR – *** has ALWAYS put too much melisma in every she sings – one reason I cannot stand her voice – the other reason I cannot stand her voice is it is so “tinny” sounding, and maybe another reason I cannot stand her voice is because I flat cannot stand her.

  204. Metta
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 8:42 am
    Good morning.

    Last niteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show sucked. The only one I liked was Sarah, whose version of SOTR kicked ***à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a$$.

    Thank you! I totally agree. That girl was good, and a perfectly simple, perfectly beautiful version of OTR – *** has ALWAYS put too much melisma in every song she sings – one reason I cannot stand her voice – the other reason I cannot stand her voice is it is so “tinny” sounding, and maybe another reason I cannot stand her voice is because I flat cannot stand her.

  205. Wow, Chris’ “It’s Not Over” has now cracked the Top 20 on the Billboard charts on the Hot 100 that is going to be coming out tomorrow.

    It was number 25 and now it is number 16. All BEFORE the video. It is now number 8 on iTunes. I wouldn’t be surprised if it reaches Top 10 on the Hot 100 Billboard charts in the next few weeks.

  206. Anyone want to explain the fact that Taylor has moved 143% on amazon.com in 24 hours and is now sitting at #20? I surely hope that is reflected in next weeks sales…

    I think it’s a combination of the Ellen appearance and the return of the AI6 (reminding them that Taylor has an album out). What else could it be?

    Tomorrows appearance on Larry King will only help matters as well!

  207. I sometimes wish there was an ignore function on this blog.

    Enjoy the show tonight tatty bye.

  208. History of Popular things?

    Possibilities:

    1. Pet Rocks

    2. The Love Boat

    3. The Macarena

    4. Cheese in a Can

    5. Paris Hilton

    6. Powder Blue Tuxedos

    7. Powder-blue eyeshadow

    8. Goldfish swallowing

    9. Milli Vanilli

    10. Enron shares

  209. OK Folks,

    Something is happening for Taylor’s album…. OVERNIGHT, the album JUMPED from being in the 50’s to at 12 PM EST, Number #20 at Amazon !

    iTunes it is now the #12 POP album.

    Seems to be that the one show at Ellen’s gave his CD sales a huge 100% boost.

    Imagine what a single can do …

    So, naysayers — are you still preparing the funeral for the album ?

  210. Reading all the comments about AI5, I realized that the only audition that I remembered was Taylor’s. Mind you, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him at that point. He grew on me. My other favorite, Elliott, was kind of ignored in the early auditon rounds. If it hadn’t been for the Britenam(sp) twins, probably wouldn’t have seen him until even later. I think both Taylor and Elliott will do well in their own niches–so much talent there.

  211. Good for Taylor! His album, like Kelly’s, should be selling much better. They are both very good. As far as AI last night, I watched food network lol. I hate those lousy auditions and seeing people made fun of. I won’t be watching until the real deal starts in February.

  212. I had never made any plans for a funeral… it surprises me how many people were though :wallbash_tb:

  213. I think that JTFTW is a much better song than “Runaround”. It’s performance on Ellen probably has a lot to do with the changing figures.

  214. Re: Diana Ross on morning shows yesterday

    Frankly, I was shocked that she sounded really really really bad, pitchy in places, flat here and there and weak, blahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦although still stylish, but some awkward moments. But maybe otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t agree with me. I thought it was BAD.

    Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sorry, the movie dream girls is fantastic. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m so happy for Jennifer Hudson I could screamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦BUT it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  fictionalized history we have to remember. In the movie version Beyonceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s part is made much much too niceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Diana Ross was in reality NOT. Although very talented, and I à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“DIDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  love the sound of the Supremeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, Diana especially, and motown DID do some really bad stuff regarding Flo Ballard. Kudoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to Jennifer Hudson for acknowledging Flo Ballard at the Globes awards!

    I could not agree with you more. I was a huge fan of the Supremes and Diana Ross when I was growing up but of course, we didn’t know the truth of what was going on at that time and as young fans. Jennifer’s acceptance speech was classy for many reasons but the dedication to Flo Ballard was the best!

    I can’t see what Diana is going to provide to these kids in terms of “mentoring” as she put it. She said she wanted to advise them on how to have as long a career as she has had, but so much of her career was and is due to others. It will be interesting!

  215. I told my 6 year old granddaughter that I would tape AI for her this year and she and I would watch it together the next day after school…wow am I dreading that decision. Now I gotta sit through this crap twice. please start a prayer thread for me… :blink_tb:

    edited to add—anyone care to send me a copy of season five…I’d rather watch it again anyway :smiley2_tb:

  216. Taylor, Jewel, Katharine and Kellie all made the Amazon movers and shakers list. Even Daughtry has entered the top 10 on amazon. What do these things all have in common?

  217. Griz,

    I think Taylor’s leap on Amazon is a combo of Ellen’s performance which I thought was excellent, the AI show, and FINALLY there is a great debut song to rally around.

    That is great for Taylor and now he will definitely get back on Top 50 on the Billboard charts.

    Now this trend needs to continue with getting air time on the radio for his debut single and a performance on AI.

  218. Gooo Taylor.
    I think it was a combo of Ellen, the NPR Review, the Sirius interview & his podcast on iTunes and even the AI6 premiere.

  219. omething is happening for Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦. OVERNIGHT, the album JUMPED from being in the 50à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to at 12 PM EST, Number #20 at Amazon !

    iTunes it is now the #12 POP album.

    Seems to be that the one show at Ellenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gave his CD sales a huge 100% boost.

    Imagine what a single can do à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    I knew JTFTW and the Ellen show will boost Taylor’s sales.
    I am patiently waiting here for the single release date.. :wallbash_tb:
    Come on. That song needs to be on the radio! Just saying.If the Ellen performance worked, imagine what JTFTW will do for Taylor once it goes to the radio.

    I think that JTFTW is a much better song than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Runaroundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance on Ellen probably has a lot to do with the changing figures.

    Couldn’t agree more. :smile1_tb:

  220. Taylor, Jewel, Katharine and Kellie all made the Amazon movers and shakers list. Even Daughtry has entered the top 10 on amazon. What do these things all have in common?

    Are people really that out of it that they didn’t even consider that any of last year’s Idols have CDs until they sat down to watch AI last night, and then they immediately went and ordered them from Amazon? That just seems…odd.

    Taylor does seem to have gotten a bigger bump than others (maybe?) particularly considering his complete and utter lack of a decent marketing team, er, I mean airplay. All the others have increasing airplay on the radio, so I would expect their numbers to continue to go up. I think the Ellen appearance, and probably even the NPR coverage, helped. (and let’s not forget the HUGE impact of the twice-daily spin of JTFTW in Little Rock)

  221. I think Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s leap on Amazon is a combo of Ellenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance which I thought was excellent, the AI show, and FINALLY there is a great debut song to rally around.

    That is great for Taylor and now he will definitely get back on Top 50 on the Billboard charts.

    Now this trend needs to continue with getting air time on the radio for his debut single and a performance on AI.

    Ok what’s wrong with this picture. I agree with everything you said, squishy! Wow!

    Taylor’s album is in this for the long haul – I think it will sell at a slow, steady pace, but will gain momentum with a single (JTFTW IS a great choice, imo) combined with continued TV appearances and his 4 month tour coming up.

    Since he doesn’t fall neatly into a specific genre like Carrie (country) or Chris (rock), it’s an uphill climb for him, but I think people will discover the album in the weeks and months to come and eventually Taylor will be able to produce a “purist” album – meaning one that totally reflects who he is an artist – less production, more vocals and harp. That’s my hope anyway.

  222. (and letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not forget the HUGE impact of the twice-daily spin of JTFTW in Little Rock)

    :lol_tb:

  223. Taylor, Jewel, Katharine and Kellie all made the Amazon movers and shakers list. Even Daughtry has entered the top 10 on amazon. What do these things all have in common?

    They all hate Simon? ;)

  224. at the very end of the show last night, simon said something to the effect that the day was over, he got up kissed paula, kissed jewel(came very close to a kiss on the mouth) and kissed randy goodbye. the expression on jewel’s face was priceless, she looked like she was going to throw up.

  225. shar….I like Abba, ok, go ahead and shoot me.

    per your request :guns_tb:

  226. Griz,

    Taylor is definitely in it for the long haul. Now it is a marathon. I actually think that Taylor’s promotion has been excellent. It was the BONEHEAD MISTAKE by TPTB not releasing JTFTW as his debut single in the first place even during the Christmas season (they SHOULD have released it then. I don’t care what people say). If TPTB had not made this dumb error, Taylor would be up there in Billboard charts and his single climbing the Hot AC and Hot 100 Billboard charts as we speak.

    I don’t get the DELAY in releasing his single to radio right now. Why delay it until February? That does NOT make any sense to me.

    I personally disagree with the argument that Chris’ music is mainstream and that is why it is doing so well and that is why Taylor is not doing as well. I wouldn’t consider Nora Jones’ music “mainstream” yet she will dominate the charts.

    The mainstream argument needs to be thrown out the window. It is about music, promotion, and timing.


  227. i think Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s leap on Amazon is a combo of Ellenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance which I thought was excellent, the AI show, and FINALLY there is a great debut song to rally around.

    That is great for Taylor and now he will definitely get back on Top 50 on the Billboard charts.

    Now this trend needs to continue with getting air time on the radio for his debut single and a performance on AI.

    I agree 100% with squishy. Now….
    When is JTFTW going to be released?? When?
    That is the million dollar question but I hope it is soon.
    JTFTW is doing great with the general public IMO, so I hope his team doesn’t waste their last chance to help boost his record sales. Single radio release and a video. That’s all they need and Taylor will do GREAT!

  228. Lisa,lol,I was being rhetorical. Both guns blazing no less; reminds me of Taylor’s dancing in the dark performance, point,shoot,blow,holster!

  229. I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t consider Nora Jonesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ music à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mainstreamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  yet she will dominate the charts.

    Well Nora Jones is an already established chart topper, thus she will get the benefit of the doubt and be played on Top 40 based on past successes. You will admit Chris fits very nicely into the Top 40 playlist, right? I don’t think people think of Taylor as top 40 off the bat, but I do believe when they hear JTFTW, some minds will be changed around.

    The mainstream argument needs to be thrown out the window. It is about music, promotion, and timing.

    Not totally. The music has to “fit” the format, regardless of how much promotion it gets.

  230. shar…..Lisa,lol,I was being rhetorical. Both guns blazing no less; reminds me of Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dancing in the dark performance, point,shoot,blow,holster!

    Hey, I don’t do things half way!! And I loved that performance. Contrary to what Simon said, I think he sounded as good as Bruce. But what the h*ll do I know :blink_tb:

  231. I sometimes wish there was an ignore function on this blog.

    LOL! I scroll past so many posts without reading – guess it’s the equivalent of ignore. Makes for getting through the posts much quicker. :)

  232. I don’t think it’s fun watching delusional people in pain. It’s just sad.

    The nutty ones that try out knowing they aren’t any good are kind of fun to watch though, i.e. “The Cowardly Lion”.

    Thought there were a few okay singers last night, but I’m still hoping to hear a voice that knocks me out. Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen tonight.

    Dingo, I think you might be right. This could be the “jump the shark” year.

  233. For those of you, who remember Chris57, she asked me to post this after she saw Taylor on Ellen. Since MJ has changed format, she can’t access it at work.

    please tell everyone that Taylor DOES NOT SING OFFKEY! TAYLOR HAS EXCELLENT PITCH! HE IS NOT, NOT, NOT WEAK! I have perfect pitch..something you are born with. Can’t be learned. And Taylor KNOWS what the notes are! Kat and Chris are pitchy as hell….NOT Taylor! If he is out of his range..true of almost every singer, especially at the beginning of a song…he will sing “softer”. He is NOT nervous or offkey, durnit! Tell Dingo, he NAILED it yesterday–WHOOOOOOOOO!

  234. Squishy, you make alot of sense on the music biz scene.
    Re: My Space and sales. I know people made fun of you about Chris’ My Space but that was a big sign that he would sell CDs. The times I’ve checked, Kat does better than Taylor but 1/10 of what Chris gets. She may have trouble selling CDs since her fans (not all) tend to be younger. Anyway, great news that AI’s return has helped Taylor and the others. Taylor’s popularity on the show has not been reflected in his sales and the reason is still a mystery to me.

  235. Taylor is definitely in it for the long haul. Now it is a marathon. I actually think that Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s promotion has been excellent. It was the BONEHEAD MISTAKE by TPTB not releasing JTFTW as his debut single in the first place even during the Christmas season (they SHOULD have released it then. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care what people say). If TPTB had not made this dumb error, Taylor would be up there in Billboard charts and his single climbing the Hot AC and Hot 100 Billboard charts as we speak.

    I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get the DELAY in releasing his single to radio right now. Why delay it until February? That does NOT make any sense to me.

    Squishy. Everything you said. Ditto. :thumbup_tb:
    JTFTW should have been promoted since the very beginning and the single released to the radio weeks ago.
    I still hope and pray here the radio add date will be HERE soon. I really believe Taylor will do very well once JTFTW hits the radio. It’s a GREAT song. Hope his team is working on this as we speak.

  236. Thanks LBB for posting the Youtube link of JTFTW. I finally got to see what everyone has been talking about.

    Taylor was not offkey. But, man, those backup singers can’t harmonize to save their souls. That was where the problems were coming from. And, anemic singers to boot! Sing with some energy guys – it will help your pitch.

    Have a great day all!

    “That which grows slowly endures”

  237. Hi folks – late and fast, as usual. Didn’t see the show last night, apparently a good thing. Hoping SOTR does not become a show staple or I may have to boycott the entire season.

    Did hear Taylor on Ellen yesterday and if I had never heard all of his cd songs on his website and just heard him there, I would have run right out to buy his cd. Still think a lot of fans were unsure of what a Taylor album would be. That song is reassuring.

    I liked Bo Bice, but to me (consider me general public) he disappeared off the map until I heard a promo of his cd. Was like, “Whatever happened to him?” And even then, I only saw him promo’d once. Think people do need reminders. Guess they got them yesterday. Good for Taylor.

    Nice everyone’s numbers are going up. Happy for them.

  238. General question here: Is anyone having problems with links??? I can’t go to any links – and haven’t been able to in a while – because I have to open MJs back up.

  239. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“That which grows slowly enduresà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    ***********************************

    Hmmmmmmmm. You think the batcave is still growing. Scary.

  240. Are people really that out of it that they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even consider that any of last yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Idols have CDs until they sat down to watch AI last night… cheese
    ********************************

    Cheese, I think that is probably correct. When the cds come out they expect to hear about them; if they don’t, and whether they do depends on what and how much TeeVee/radio they watch/listen to, they don’t exist. Unlike us, they are busy doing life.

  241. LisaATL, Good afternoon dear. Hope you are well. Tell Chris58 I said hello. I’ve missed her around here.

  242. Nostradamas
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 11:22 am

    My ears are just fine, thanks for asking.

    As someone who owns their own recording studioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦and has been around the block a time or two. . . .

    ———

    Has Taylor ever sent you flowers?

  243. No Mass! When he won Idol he sent flowers to that jerk in Birmingham that had him thrown out of his office Carolina
    *********************************
    Oh, yeah, oh yeah. Flowers as a Statement. Nice.

  244. I’m making a prediction for this years AI —

    Every time Simon makes a nasty remark using Taylor as a comparison, Taylor’s sales will spike! :guns_tb:

  245. No Mass! When he won Idol he sent flowers to that jerk in Birmingham that had him thrown out of his office . . . . :smoke_tb:

  246. squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 11:19 am
    Are the Soundscan numbers up yet today?

    It will be interesting to see just how many Chris sold today as well as the other Idols

    I found top 20 soundscan squishy..

    Soundscan 200 – 1/27/07

    3 1 1 DREAMGIRLS SOUNDTRACK 60,064* -9 66,355 512,057
    2 2 2 AKON KONVICTED 55,316 -13 63,699 1,277,046
    8 4 3 TIMBERLAKE*JUSTIN FUTURESEX/LOVE SOUNDS 50,611 -2 51,638 2,479,376
    11 3 4 DAUGHTRY DAUGHTRY 50,383 -10 55,916 1,227,332
    – – 5 JUMP IN! SOUNDTRACK 48,840 999 371 49,214
    12 11 6 BEYONCE B’DAY 40,733 -3 42,028 2,093,072
    6 5 7 VARIOUS NOW 23 37,688 -22 48,094 1,882,210
    13 9 8 BEATLES LOVE 37,042 -17 44,427 1,178,104
    5 7 9 YOUNG JEEZY INSPIRATION: THUG MOTIVATION 35,733 -21 45,329 711,261
    20 18 10 NICKELBACK ALL THE RIGHT REASONS 35,423 -9 38,841 4,719,619
    10 6 11 HANNAH MONTANA SOUNDTRACK 34,104 -26 46,365 2,068,150
    22 13 12 RASCAL FLATTS ME AND MY GANG 33,446 -18 40,644 3,554,084
    – 15 13 SIMON*CARLY INTO WHITE 33,325 -17 40,139 73,657
    4 8 14 NAS HIP HOP IS DEAD 33,190 -26 45,117 535,290
    15 19 15 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE SOME HEARTS 32,593 -16 38,724 4,723,956
    62 35 16 THICKE*ROBIN EVOLUTION OF ROBIN 31,619 38 22,937 297,265
    29 21 17 FURTADO*NELLY LOOSE 31,097 -10 34,703 1,208,568
    24 20 18 FRAY HOW TO SAVE A LIFE 29,202 -20 36,426 1,752,484
    34 24 19 IL DIVO SIEMPRE 29,201 -11 32,727 781,594
    9 16 20 CIARA EVOLUTION 28,825 -27 39,385 870,645

  247. Carolina,

    Well Taylor is going to have another spike.

    Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didn’t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

  248. Has Taylor ever sent you flowers?

    That would be a little odd for a guy to send another guy flowers….dontchathink?

  249. Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

    That’s hardly a surprise since he didn’t even want him to go through to Hollywood. Not only that, but he’s been hearing about it ever since and I’m sure Simon’s ego is sick of it!

  250. Nostradamas
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
    Has Taylor ever sent you flowers?

    That would be a little odd for a guy to send another guy flowersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.dontchathink?
    ———–

    Not at all Nostradamas. . . touche’ !

  251. Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

    Well, then Simon should have voted. You don’t vote? You don’t get to complain. IMO. Paula says she voted, so Simon could have.

    And Simon….what happened to your comments about not talking down about your own product (re: Randy and “My Destiny”). See, this is why I don’t believe in Karma.

  252. Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

    *******************************

    What a wizened little warthog. Guy blows with the wind…or possibly he just blows.

  253. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hardly a surprise since he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even want him to go through to Hollywood. Not only that, but heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been hearing about it ever since and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ego is sick of it!

    But didn’t Simon admit that he was WRONG after Taylor’s Levon performance ? I remember it very well.

    He also applauded Taylor’s performances on numerous occasions. Case in point — TROUBLE (didn’t like the outfit though), You Send Me, You are so Beautiful, Something, In The Ghetto ( “inspite of your balminess, you really can sing”).

  254. Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

    Just goes to show how Simon speaks out of his ass. I won’t go down the list of accomplishments Taylor has acquired since he won the title, but the guy already has 2 Gold records to his name (1 platinum if the 1.2 shipped figure is correct), has a $750,000 book deal coming out in less than 3 months. No need to go down the list further – we all know what they are.

    The correct man won AI. America had it’s say – they voted. Taylor triumphed. ’nuff said.

    BTW, Taylor inched up another spot on amazon – #19 baby!
    #11 on movers and shakers – up 147% over 24 hours ago.

  255. America also had it’s say when George Bush was elected president. Just sayin’.

  256. But didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Simon admit that he was WRONG after Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Levon performance ? I remember it very well.

    LBB, surely you aren’t naive enough to BELIEVE that, are you? Simon has had to eat crow over Jennifer Hudson and now Taylor? Too much for him!

    I’m not surprised in the least. I just think it is stupid of him to foster the idea that the American people got it wrong since the fact that America gets to make the decision IT wants is the entire basis of the show that is adding HUGE sums of money to his bank account.

  257. Actually Simon said on Oprah today he would have “chosen” Chris Daughtry as the American Idol and didn’t think Taylor should have won.

    He didn’t say anything about “voting”.

  258. LBB:

    He also applauded Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performances on numerous occasions. Case in point à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  TROUBLE (didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like the outfit though), You Send Me, You are so Beautiful, Something, In The Ghetto ( à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“inspite of your balminess, you really can singà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ).

    It was rare indeed when Simon complimented Taylor and he almost always made sure to have a backhanded comment in there somewhere (didn’t like the way he was dressed, barminess, purlple jacket hideous, etc).

    I remember seeing a back stage interview with Simon after the final performance night, and the interviewer was trying to get Simon to say that Taylor deserved to win and that he was wrong about it. Simon got very peevish saying that Taylor would win and it’s not about the best singer.

    I hope Paula drives him nuts this year.

  259. America also had ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s say when George Bush was elected president. Just sayinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢.

    lol.

    I’m surprised that Simon would talk about the winner like that.

  260. Is that today’s Oprah? I didn’t know Simon was on. I heard him say the same thing about Taylor months ago on the radio but he didn’t come out and say Chris should have won. He gets some credit for being honest. I guess he makes no $ from Taylor’s Cd or he wouldn’t talk like that.

  261. America also had ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s say when George Bush was elected president. Just sayinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢.

    If America voted for Chris to win, it would have still be the same group voting for GWB. What’s your point?

  262. Again this is no secret. Simon has said several times in the past that the finale should be between Taylor and Chris in which he thought Chris should win but Taylor would probably win it.

    What is interesting is that he continues to say it now on Oprah of all places. I just think he is trying to stir of controversy for the show because the media really hasn’t focused on the different CD sales numbers of Chris and Taylor except for a few recent articles that I have read.

  263. Simon has said all along that he didn’t think Taylor should have won. That is no surprise. It is pretty shitty of him to continually bring it up. There are ways to do it, he could have said he thought Chris should have won but that Taylor is also talented.

    I would like to thank squishy for bringing that up, it really warms the heart.

  264. Little Debbi….LisaATL, Good afternoon dear. Hope you are well. Tell Chris58 I said hello. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve missed her around here.

    I am well, thank you for asking. Hope you are too. And I will tell Chris58 what you said. She misses being on the blog. She and I are going to the concerts at Myrtle Beach and Atlanta and Bham together and have been corresponding by email recently. It started out as a way to keep in touch about the concerts, but now we chat on a very regular basis.

  265. squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
    Actually Simon said on Oprah today he would have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“chosenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Chris Daughtry as the American Idol and didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Taylor should have won.

    He didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say anything about à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“votingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

    ______________________________
    Well, Ain’t that special…Bless it’s little heart.

    IF you noticed, I did NOT refer to him as being HUMAN..

  266. Well Taylor is going to have another spike.

    Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

    Wow , here we go again. Simon, please leave poor Taylor alone…
    Chris is a great talented guy and he is doing very well, thank you very much. Squishy, Chris deserves all his success, don’t get me wrong. But for Simon to bash Taylor that way, is just not fair.

    Now, I really hope this comment won’t make a difference on the chances of Taylor getting on the Oprah show. I wonder if she will invite him one day or she will rather have Daughtry .. Sigh..
    I also hope Simon’s comments today don’t reverse Taylor’s sales boost from Ellen yesterday. I just think it is so unfair to Taylor, the poor guy can’t get a break, it’s always uphill all the time. Sigh….

  267. I think it’s entirely inappropriate for any judge to say who should win, or place or to say who he would have chosen in retrospect. The judge defers to the the audience. And apparently has no problem showing his disregard for it.

  268. squishy: Actually Simon said on Oprah today he would have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“chosenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Chris Daughtry as the American Idol and didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Taylor should have won.

    Simon needs some grammar lessons. “I would have chosen Chris Daughtry” is the past perfect. He should be using “I chose Chris Daughtry” which is the truth ;-)

  269. I think it was pretty obvious that Randy and Simon were Chris fans and Paula was on the E train. Randy and Paula liked Taylor also but I don’t think Simon ever signed out 100%. Not “his cup of tea.” Simon is good at making waves though.

  270. The comment just makes Simon look like the ass he is. It will surely help Taylor – publicity is publicity I say!

    Anyway, Taylor’s appearance on Larry King tomorrow will endear him all over again to those who loved him on the show.

  271. It sounds to me like Simon is telling people in a backhanded way, that their votes do count, since Chris was voted off before even Elliott and Katharine.
    I didn’t watch the show last night…..never do watch the very beginning……..but today someone mentioned a promo for tonights show calling a contestant Taylor Hicks long lost brother. They are saying he is very creepy. Anyone see this?

  272. Griz – I was trying to make a joke but it obviously fell flat.

    I voted for Chris but sure as HELL did not vote for Bush. Bush won, not necessarily because he was the most “popular”, but because supporters got out and actually voted. Dems are notoriously lazy when it comes to voting, apparently very similar to Chris fans. LOL

    I might add I think Simon’s Oprah comments are distasteful but then that’s Simon for ya. It’s easy for him to publicly say this now when Daughtry’s CD is selling well. You can bet if CD sales were reversed, Simon would be lauding praises toward Taylor. As a Chris fan, his comments make me cringe. There will be a huge backlash today against Chris and his fans (as if there’s not enough negative comments anyway) but Simon knows this. You should actually thank Simon for his remark as I expect Taylor will be number 1 next week in CD sales as angry fans empty their pockets to purchase as many CDs as possible to prove Simon wrong.

  273. I would like to thank squishy for bringing that up, it really warms the heart.
    _______________________

    Oh Yes,by all means lets thank Squishy….

  274. Again, Simon likes controversy. Controversy increases ratings. Controversy benefits both Chris and Taylor.

  275. madaboutyou….but today someone mentioned a promo for tonights show calling a contestant Taylor Hicks long lost brother. They are saying he is very creepy. Anyone see this?

    I did. It was a very short clip and at the very end of the show. And it was creepy and a bad imitation of Taylor. Had grey hair and resembled him. I’m sure that he used that to his advantage for whatever appearance he makes on the show tonight. :sick_ee:

  276. squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
    Actually Simon said on Oprah today he would have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“chosenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Chris Daughtry as the American Idol and didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Taylor should have won.

    He didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say anything about à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“votingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .
    —————

    Pie in the Sky!

  277. Carla D
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
    America also had ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s say when George Bush was elected president. Just sayinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢.
    ———

    Xactly !

  278. Simon’s job is to be controversial. What he says may or may not be what he really thinks. It’s “Show business”. Re: “I voted for Chris but sure as HELL did not vote for Bush. Bush won, not necessarily because he was the most à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“popularà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but because supporters got out and actually voted. Dems are notoriously lazy when it comes to voting, apparently very similar to Chris fans. LOL”
    Don’t know how lazy the dems were in voting considering that Al Gore won the popular vote! :laugh_tb:

  279. Masshole
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
    General question here: Is anyone having problems with links??? I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t go to any links – and havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t been able to in a while – because I have to open MJs back up.

    Hi, Mass, what I do with the links instead of just clicking on them (because I don’t like to have to do a back arrow thingie when I finish reading the linked article and close it) is to right-click on the link, and choose Open in New window. That way, I can minimize the new link while it opens (I’m on dialup, so not everyone has the problem of having to wait for things to open) and be right back at mj’s with no interruption. At any time, I can go to that article and read it and then close it – it doesn’t affect mj’s)

  280. I think the best thing that Oprah could do is have Chris and Taylor on her show. Taylor could sing JTLTW and Chris could sing “Home”.

  281. Calimari – True. I suppose I was referring to the last presidential election. But then the Dems really didn’t have a choice, did they? LOL

    However, in the Bush/Gore election obviously the Dems didn’t understand how to punch a ballot or operate a voting machine….very similar to Chris fans who had no idea how to dial a telephone. LOL

    Okay, I’m watching the TIVO of last night’s AI and I’m just shaking my head at how TERRIBLE everyone is. It just makes me appreciate Chris, Taylor, and the rest of the finalists that much more. Simon’s just a media whore who makes controversial comments just to booster his rep as the “bad guy”. I’m sure he’s laughing his ass off right now just knowing he’s pissed off Taylor fans.

  282. Squishy, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but some of Chris fans on other sites are commenting how they love how you are baiting here on M Js. You should probably set them straight. You don’t want to get a reputation for something you don’t do. Normally, I wouldn’t comment on comments from another board, but I just thought I’d let you know what they are saying because I think you have a right to know.

  283. Re:

    Simon’s comments on Oprah. Should surprise no one. And it is right in line with how he moves from position to position, depending upon whom he deems a “winner” and a “loser” at that time. His position can change in an instant, depending upon which way the wind is blowing.
    That said. He has always hated Taylor. He “tolerated” his position as a big vote-getter, but, well, Taylor is the anti-Chris, the anti-Kat, and, more importantly, the anti-Il Divo.

    The Taylor wanna-be tonight. I am sure they will play up this horrid looking, obviously crazy guy tonight to give Taylor a hard time. I expect some long, lingering nastiness to go on with THAT one!

  284. So whats the big deal if Simon does like Chris over Taylor?….Does he not have a right to like who he wants or say he does not agree with who won?..Are we still a democracy?

  285. Hi, Mass, what I do with the links instead of just clicking on them (because I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like to have to do a back arrow thingie when I finish reading the linked article and close it) is to right-click on the link, and choose Open in New window. That way, I can minimize the new link while it opens (Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m on dialup, so not everyone has the problem of having to wait for things to open) and be right back at mjà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s with no interruption. At any time, I can go to that article and read it and then close it – it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t affect mjà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s)

    Desdemona, I think you may have mentioned this once before. I’ve been doing that ever since I read it here and it has helped immensely! Much easier and faster! So thank you! :grin1_ee:

  286. LisaATL……..thanks for that. I won’t be watching any TV today or the show tonite so just curious.
    We need to all enjoy our Idols from AI5, since they can be “here today, gone tomorrow”. Even those that sell alot of CD’s.

  287. Well.I think Oprah should just have KAT on and forget Tay and Chris..lol.lol..

  288. ray: Well.I think Oprah should just have KAT on and forget Tay and Chris..lol.lol..

    I think she should have Bobby on. He just doesn’t get enough press or respect.

  289. Let me start off by saying – THIS IS JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION.

    Bush won because his team managed to scare the bejesus out of a lot of people (and because John Kerry seemed less “likable”). Two years later, I think more people see Bush as the boy who cried wolf.

    Taylor won because people liked him on American Idol voted more for him on the weeks that mattered. It’s too soon to tell what, if anything, that will do for his sales of later releases.

    Chris is selling lots of CDs because his music is popular with the masses, and perhaps there are a few who have something to prove.

    Simon disses previous idols all the time. I heard him diss both Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood last season, and also Clay. It didn’t hurt their sales any. Simon loved Fantasia and he had to eat crow about Jennifer Hudson – on Oprah, no less. He’s entitled to his opinion but he’s not always right.

  290. So whats the big deal if Simon does like Chris over Taylor?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.Does he not have a right to like who he wants or say he does not agree with who won?..Are we still a democracy?

    Ray, haven’t you heard, it’s a Taylorocrasy now :wink_wp:

  291. madaboutu…..We need to all enjoy our Idols from AI5, since they can be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“here today, gone tomorrowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Even those that sell alot of CDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s.

    True. Although I plan to follow Taylor even if he goes back to playing in bars. Wait, that’s called stalking, isn’t it :hmm2_ee:

  292. I think the best thing that Oprah could do is have Chris and Taylor on her show. Taylor could sing JTLTW and Chris could sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

    It would be so much more fun if they mud-wrestled.

  293. If I realized last night that so many contestants would try to exit through a locked door, I would have made that into a drinking game. That would have made the show more fun. Maybe we should all take a drink when someone cries tonight, or when someone rants on about how Idol made the biggest mistake ever by not putting their talentless butt through to hollywood?

  294. Glen Campbell pulled out of the Bob Hope golf tourny – will be replaced by ice – skater Scott Hamilton (of note only because Glen was going to partner with Taylor)…

    Anyway, Taylor is currently prolly on the driving range or has already moved over to the practice putting green!

    He has a bea-u-i-ful day for golf, I must say!

  295. JJ…..It would be so much more fun if they mud-wrestled.

    I think you and Metta should mud wrestle :smirk2_ee:

  296. ray: kirstenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦you got me on that?..who is Bobby?(let me in on the joke)

    See! I told you he needs more press. Not one of Ray’s 11 personalities even remembers him.

    Sigh! Bobby. Bobby Bennett. HUGE Manilow Fan? Sang Copacapana for his grandmother? Has had TWO sold out concerts already? Cruely dissed by Simon. That Bobby!!!!!

    MaryR and Boulder…I’m still waiting for my recap.

  297. BTW, there are reports that JTFTW was playing on an Atlanta station this morning!! Good news kids.

  298. ray: Well.I think Oprah should just have KAT on and forget Tay and Chris..lol.lol..

    Well, she is America’s Sweetheart, afterall. :rolleyes_tb:

    I am all for a Chris/Taylor wrestling match as long as no wallet chains are allowed. I don’t want Taylor getting hurt, even though he has the obvious height advantage.

  299. “Let me get one thing straight. This is not a cheerocracy. This is a cheertatorship, and I am the cheertator. I make the cheercisions. Now if there are no more cheeruptions, we can cheertinue.”

    Anyone seen “Bring It On” and “Not Another Teen Movie”? Anyone? :cool1_tb:

  300. The Taylor wanna-be tonight. I am sure they will play up this horrid looking, obviously crazy guy tonight to give Taylor a hard time. I expect some long, lingering nastiness to go on with THAT one!

    Well, Clay got it last year – no surprise there’d be Taylor wannabes this year. I think it’s good myself! Usually the wannabe is such a poor imitation that it’s comical – Taylor would probably be flattered!

  301. lthough I plan to follow Taylor even if he goes back to playing in bars. Wait, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s called stalking, isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it :hmm2_ee:

    Oh man, I really hope he doesn’t end up in bars all over again. We have to think positive and think BIG for him. He is doing well now with his new single. It was the perfect choice.
    AS I said, we just need the single release date and a JTFTW video. After that watch Taylor’s sales skyrocket… JMHO.

  302. Its not that Dems are lazy.( Here in Chicago the Dems are anything but lazy. They still vote even when they are dead). Its just that GOP voters bought more Go phones.

  303. When is JTFTW going to be released?? When?

    Sad, but the record comoany does not move to the beat of our drums but sometimes thats a good thing.

    please tell everyone that Taylor DOES NOT SING OFFKEY! TAYLOR HAS EXCELLENT PITCH! HE IS NOT, NOT, NOT WEAK! I have perfect pitch..something you are born with. Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be learned. And Taylor KNOWS what the notes are! Kat and Chris are pitchy as hellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.NOT Taylor! If he is out of his range..true of almost every singer, especially at the beginning of a songà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦he will sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“softerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . He is NOT nervous or offkey, durnit! Tell Dingo, he NAILED it yesterdayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’WHOOOOOOOOO!

    Sad thing is, all that was lost because someone choose to draw attention to something as normal as his breathing a little heavy after. Unfortunately, that is where most of the attention went. Go fingure. :rolleyes_tb: It seems to happens quite a bit that the focus moves away from what Taylor is doing artistically and gets placed on someone’s opinion of what he might or might not be doing or feeling. What does that have to do with him singing the song, it’s beyond me…

  304. griz: Glen Campbell pulled out of the Bob Hope golf tourny – will be replaced by ice – skater Scott Hamilton (of note only because Glen was going to partner with Taylor)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    Maybe Scott can teach Taylor how to do a triple axle. Won’t that impress Simon when Taylor returns to sing for AI!!!!

    Scott seems like a great guy.

  305. Ray, havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you heard, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a Taylorocrasy now

    And anyway, Simon is British – he’s not allowed to have an opinion ;)

  306. maracaibo….Oh man, I really hope he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t end up in bars all over again

    I don’t really think that. I just had some smarta** bottled up inside that I had to get out. :smirk2_ee:

    Seriously, I think Taylor will have the career he wants. Not sure if we know what that is yet, but he won’t go away.

  307. Tony – I love it! I’ve seen “Bring It On” waaaay too many times (along with versions 2 and 3). :help_tb:

    Calimari – Great idea on the drinking game. However, I have feeling I would be passed out on my keyboard after 15 minutes. :drunk_tb:

    Oh my, the girl who get singing “women not girls” over and over and over while butchering “Kiss” is on again. My daughter is home from school and she’s watching AI again. Watching it is even more painful the second time.

  308. griz………did you hear about the California lottery having AI scratchers? I told you AI is trying to take over the world. Ha

  309. I suspect Simon would never have said that on Oprah if Taylor had higher sales than Chris. Chris having higher sales than Taylor adds fuel to the media’s and Simon’s belief that Chris should have won.

  310. Bobbi:
    Desdemona, I think you may have mentioned this once before. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been doing that ever since I read it here and it has helped immensely! Much easier and faster! So thank you!

    I did, Bobbi, and thank you for letting me know you found it helpful. :grin1_ee:

  311. Maybe Scott can teach Taylor how to do a triple axle. Wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t that impress Simon when Taylor returns to sing for AI!!!!

    Poor Simon will have druckin’ wedding father flashbacks to last season LOL!

    I hope Taylor lays it on THICK when he appears on AI – if for NO other reason to get Simon’s feathers in a flock again haha!!

  312. grizà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦did you hear about the California lottery having AI scratchers? I told you AI is trying to take over the world. Ha

    Are you serious??? An AI daily scratcher?? Oh Lordy!! haha…

    Wanna back a bet that 3 Taylor’s in a row is the big prize!? That’s too funny!

  313. squishy: I suspect Simon would never have said that on Oprah if Taylor had higher sales than Chris.

    Last year, Simon talked smack about Kelly and Clay. Both of them have higher sales than Chris. Simon likes controversy.

  314. Maybe Scott can teach Taylor how to do a triple axle. Wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t that impress Simon when Taylor returns to sing for AI!!!!

    Scott seems like a great guy.

    Scott does seem like a really down to earth guy. He is actually gone through alot but it does not get publicized as much as Lance Armstrongs does.

    I think Taylor is besides himself because he is also playing with Alice Cooper. I can see him all tongue tied playing with a musical icon.

  315. Simon also dissed Carrie Underwood (praising k. pickler).

    He’s just an ass. Period.

  316. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s free publcity for Taylor. Get his fans stirred up and all.

    Or maybe Simon really likes Taylor and is using REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY to full effect ?? This angle has been mentioned before you know…

    Remember how Jasmine Trias got the huge Hawaiian vote over the much more talented Latoya London because of Simon’s “you’re going home” remark ?

    Could it be that Simon knows the reverse effect of this and is secretly trying to agitate Taylor fans so that they will start buying ?

  317. I think Jerry Springer should have an episode entitled “American Idol Fan Wars: Season 5” :guns_tb: and invite fans of Chris, Taylor, and Kat. All 3 idols could perform and then the fans could spend the remaining 45 minutes arguing over who is better. A type of “anything goes” format, complete with wrestling, pies, water guns, and a “vote for the best” insult contest. Then Dr. Phil could come on as a special guest expert and offer free therapy sessions for all, with a monthly follow-up report featured on his show. It would be a ratings bonanza for Jerry.

    I nominate Squishy as Team Daughtry captain. :thumbup_tb:

  318. Simon just said on Oprah that he would have voted for Chris Daughtry and he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think that Taylor Hicks should have won.

    Simon’s comment must have made you very happy, Squishy. :smile1_tb:

    Actually, I would be hurt if he did like Taylor and made that comment. He had claimed to like Fantasia then made some comments about her at the start of Season 4 to help promote that season. That made me realize he just says what is right for the occasion. A very shallow and empty man, he is..

    Ironically, he shares the same birthday as Taylor. Here’s hoping Taylor has a lot more integrity and not so self-centered.

  319. Could it be that Simon knows the reverse effect of this and is secretly trying to agitate Taylor fans so that they will start buying ?

    That’s possible. Seems the more Simon dissed Taylor toward the end of AI last season, the stronger his numbers got and CEMENTED Taylor’s win. You might be on to something, actually.

    He’s still an ass tho ;)

  320. I heard that there is going to be American Idol Ice Cream —

    Flavors anyone?

    Sweet Tee with Mint

    Big and Sexy Ripple

    next. . . .

  321. I nominate Squishy as Team Daughtry captain.

    I wanna be Taylor team captain!!!! Jumping up and down!!!! I wanna pull Squishy’s hair and call her mean things! :jittery_tb:

  322. Nah-Simon is just an ass and Simon is only concerned about his own damn pockets. Simon likes to create drama when it’s beneficial to him and his big ol’ bank account.

  323. I heard that there is going to be American Idol Ice Cream à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’

    Flavors anyone?

    Sweet Tee with Mint

    Big and Sexy Ripple

    next. . . .

    Bald and bitter ;)

  324. Little Boy Blue: Bingo. I thinks that’s EXACTLY why Simon made his remarks.

    Griz: Yes, Simon also dissed Carrie. However, I actually laughed when he said he preferred Pickler. I don’t really take anything he says seriously anymore. Unfortunately, a lot of people do. I think what he said about Taylor and Chris will end up being a win-win for both of them. Anyway, I’m certain neither Taylor nor Chris give a rats ass what Simon says about them now.

  325. carolina
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
    I heard that there is going to be American Idol Ice Cream à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’

    Flavors anyone?

    Sweet Tee with Mint

    Big and Sexy Ripple

    next. . . .

    Vibrato Vanilla

    Bald is Beautiful Banananut

    next…..

  326. Has soundscan released their numbers yet? I am curious if Taylor got to 25k and if Daughtry beat Disney. Thank you. BTW I liked that kid’s pimple last night. They could’ve covered it up for him. :rolleyes_ee:

  327. Triscuit
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
    Ray, you mean 11 captains for Kat?

    But of course – STAHs – especially HUGE ones – are extremely high maintenance – they just ‘require’ more of, well, just everything. :)

  328. Holy cow…37 million!!

    January 17, 2007

    Simon CowellFast National ratings for Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007

    “American Idol” defied the natural order of things yet again Tuesday, as its season premiere was even bigger than last year’s.

    FOX utterly dominated the night’s ratings with a 20.3 rating/30 share in households; the 37.3 million who watched the two-hour premiere was up over last year’s 35.5 million. CBS was the best of the rest at 7.8/12, followed by NBC at 6.5/10. ABC, 4.6/7, came in fourth, while The CW trailed with a meager 1.1/2.

  329. Dave – Daughtry sold just over 50,000 and is at #4 – one spot ahead of Disney’s “Jump In” and behind Dreamgirls, Akon, and Timberlake.

  330. Dave…I only saw soundscan top 20 and yes Chris beat Disney..

    Soundscan 200 – 1/27/07

    3 1 1 DREAMGIRLS SOUNDTRACK 60,064* -9 66,355 512,057
    2 2 2 AKON KONVICTED 55,316 -13 63,699 1,277,046
    8 4 3 TIMBERLAKE*JUSTIN FUTURESEX/LOVE SOUNDS 50,611 -2 51,638 2,479,376
    11 3 4 DAUGHTRY DAUGHTRY 50,383 -10 55,916 1,227,332
    – – 5 JUMP IN! SOUNDTRACK 48,840 999 371 49,214

  331. Taylor and Fantasia will be on Larry King Live thursday nite talking about American Idol 6. They wanted all 5 winners – but so far it’s Taylor and Fantasia.

  332. I voted for Chris but sure as HELL did not vote for Bush. Bush won, not necessarily because he was the most à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“popularà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but because supporters got out and actually voted. Dems are notoriously lazy when it comes to voting, apparently very similar to Chris fans. LOL

    So, I guess it is not just AI votes that some of Chris’s fans have a problem with getting over. How did this turn into politics again…:ponder_tb:

    Squishy, I know as much as you try to hide it, you want to keep Chris in Taylor’s spotlight but I personally would prefer Taylor to have his time with Oprah with someone else besides Chris. Taylor does not deserve to be in same spotlight with Chris.. :wink1_tb:

  333. Vibrato Vanilla

    Bald is Beautiful Banananut
    ——–

    Desdemona! :clap_tb:

    To date:

    Sweet Tea with Mint

    Big and Sexy Ripple

    Bald and Bitter

    Vibrato Vanilla

    Bald is Beautiful Banananut

    Carla D ! :clap_tb:

    Princess Pea Peppermint

    Calamari County Pecan

  334. Sexygirl – Um, I was JOKING. It obviously didn’t work – tough crowd here today. :doh_tb:

  335. So, I guess it is not just AI votes that some of Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans have a problem with getting over. How did this turn into politics againà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    You haven’t noticed that almost every single day there is at least one political putdown?

  336. I don’t know if anyone is interested, but I got two incredible cd’s for christmas. If you like old music, these are a must have. I grew up listening to these guys.

    Jerry Lee Lewis “Last Man Standing”
    http://www.jerryleelewis.nl/en/NewAlbum.htm

    Tony Bennett “Duets”
    http://www.tonybennett.net/

    And one more bit of old music news for anyone living in the NY area who might be an old country music fan. I just got an e-mail about a presale for three legends that I have always been a huge fan of:

    Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price – backed by Asleep at the Wheel
    Radio City Music Hall March 22
    presale tickets this thursday at 9 a.m.
    regular sale friday at 9 a.m.

  337. Delurking. Can’t take it any more, the constant Taylor vs. Chris stuff. Now the idiotic, ill-advised comment from Simon, summarized by squishy with this addition:

    “Chris having higher sales than Taylor adds fuel to the mediaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief that Chris should have won.”

    Chris was not beaten by Taylor! Or at least, not by Taylor alone. He also placed behind Elliott and Katharine. Why are Simon and others dumping on Taylor? And where are the Kat and Elliott fans in all this? Their favorites are completely overlooked when the Chris contingent starts hollering about how ‘wrong’ the results were. Um, YOUR Idols beat Chris, too.

    If Simon (or anyone else) really thinks Chris should have won, he should say, “Wow, America really got it wrong on top 4 night. Katharine should have been sent home.”

  338. Thanks for the Daughtry numbers. He’s playing a free concert here Monday but I don’t think I’m up for waiting in line to try to get in. He’ll be playing here in March so I can just pay to play then.

    I thought Oprah was supposed to be about Africa today.

  339. Chris will be singing the national anthem at the NFC game of Chicago Bears vs New Orleans Saints according to Daughtry Official.

    I don’t know if DAUGHTRY will perform at half-time.

  340. There is an interview up at star 94.1, radio station in Atlanta, with Dean the hairstylist from AI-he says complimentary things about Taylor, and Elliott. When asked which one had the biggest ego–Chris—Goes on to say that ***’s hair is very fine and he put in lots of extensions. So much for the big & sexy hair.

  341. Falsetto Delight
    Southern Charm Rockyroad
    Soulful Surprise
    Young and Sweet Jubilee

    next….

  342. More flavors…. (Ace, Bucky)

    Fabulous Falsetto Creme
    Golden Cupcake

  343. Carla – Your idea is hilarious! For events we could have:

    Wallet Chain Tossing
    Harmonica Playing
    Soul Patrol shouting
    A dancing contest
    And a guyliner applying contest

  344. DAUGHTRY’s video for INO will debut on MTV right now. It will first be shown on TRL.

    It has been running on VH-1 already.

  345. Sorry, Carla – I didn’t see your flavors when I posted Ace & Bucky names. :)

  346. Desdemona – hey, atleast we’re thinking the same with Ace! And we’re attempting to lighten the mood around here. Yay!

    Gotta go play with the dogs out in the ice! They love sliding around – just like little kids. Hopefully I won’t fall on my ass again.

    Have fun! Until tonight’s chat….. :bye_tb:

  347. Does anyone know if Simon is on the Oprah that is being aired today on the East Coast? My TV said it is about stuido audience topics.

    I just saw the tour list for Daughtry and there are several around me (surprise, surprise) since I am in Raleigh. The band is not on the calenar for the venue in Raleigh, but I have an email into the venue (they are not answering there phone). I have a question for Chris fans, does anyone know what “Greensboro downtown” for the Greensobor concert?? Are tickets requiered, etc. I’m definately going to the Raleigh one assuming I can get tickets.

    And for those that were around this weekend when I made my big confession that I was a Kevin Covais fan before I became a Chris fan (I know, I know, I’m probably not going to get to be on the chris team for the contest now, lol). So, of course, I am smitten with this years Kevin Covasis type that we met last night. Matt Seto. I was yelling for him to get through and bawled when he called his mom. Although, I did find his acne to be a bit distracting while he was singing.

  348. How about

    “Gray Chip” ice-cream instead of chocolate chip ;)

    “Cookies and gray-cream”? LOL… never mind – that sounds perverted.

  349. Griz – when I read Gray creme, I kept thinking of Ben Gay creme. That would not be an apetizing ice cream, lol!

  350. A few corny ice cream names:

    Jamin’ Yamin
    Bucky Road
    Pickler & Cream
    Chicken Little Chocolate
    Mandisa Mandarin
    Paris Brulee
    Ace’s Wild Berry
    Tucker Pucker Lemon

  351. The “hairdresser” says Chris’ ego is big. When did he ever get near Chris who had no hair. That said, Chris probably is a bit arrogant. Taylor need to be well prepared for the Larry King interview. He needs to appear more grateful, fun, excited because (to me) he just comes across as someone with not much to say and dull as dirt. But, of course, I’m not “Taylorized.” Hope he’s not going spend the whole time talking about “whomp.”

  352. The DJ’s asked which contestant was the most full of himself and he said Chris was—That’s exactly what was said–The interview is up on the website star 94.1.

  353. jpfan,

    The “hairdresser” was NEVER around Chris because Chris doesn’t have any hair…LOL! Never trust someone who didn’t even interact with the person.

    Isn’t the hairdresser the person who spread the rumor that Chris and Ace were the 2 divas of Season 5.

    Sounds to me that the hairdresser wanted to have a ChrAce sandwich and probably was rebuffed by Chris and Ace :wink_wp:

  354. Carla: Desdemona – hey, at least weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re thinking the same with Ace! And weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re attempting to lighten the mood around here. Yay!

    Right! It gets pretty heavy in here sometime and I usually don’t even want to contribute anything. Been fun giving the idols their own ice cream flavor names though. I really do like all 5 of the guys and 4 of the girls.

    Gotta go play with the dogs out in the ice! They love sliding around – just like little kids. Hopefully I wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t fall on my ass again.

    Be careful, Carla!

  355. CarlaD

    I was joking also. That is why I tried to post the smiley that was suppose to be a someone pondering.. It just did not come out. Oh well, I guess I have to learn how to post those smileys better…
    :tongue_wink_ee:

  356. You know, squishy, sometimes you actually make me believe that you really don’t harbor any bitterness about last season anymore. And then you post things like this:

    I suspect Simon would never have said that on Oprah if Taylor had higher sales than Chris. Chris having higher sales than Taylor adds fuel to the mediaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief that Chris should have won.

    It appears that this is what you believe, in any event. It also appears that it’s really, REALLY important to you Chris be acknowledged repeatedly as the “rightful winner” in some fashion, doesn’t it?

    Whatever. Somehow I doubt it. If Simon only singled out those who were seemingly less successful (in UNITS or awards) than someone else from their respective seasons, he wouldn’t diss Kelly C., Carrie and Clay, he would have to admit to being wrong about Ruben and Fantasia. Simon said he prefered Chris pretty much all of last season, along with Kellie Pickler, he vacillated on Kat, he gave lukewarm praise to Elliott, and he was pretty consistently dismissive or critical of Taylor. Yet, apparently, Taylor was always a front runner.

  357. Fuck Simon. I wouldnt mind if he said (and I have NOT heard yet what he actually said) but if he said that in his opinion, he felt that Daughtry should have won, I could live with that but if he made a blanket statemnt and said Taylor should not have won AI, thats totally uncalled for and outright rude.

    WHY? Why should Taylor not have won?

    Fuck Simon if he said that.

  358. MaryS-NJ,

    I actually don’t have any bitterness. My point was I doubt Simon would have said what he said if Taylor had higher sales than Chris. Others don’t agree.

  359. calamari crunch & salmon swirl for Pickler
    Kat: black horse & cherry chip?

  360. RE: JTFTW on Atlanta Station(s)

    If Taylor’s single starts appearing, it will most probably be first on 94.1 in Atlanta (Star 94).

    This station had interviews with Taylor more than once since he won AI and they play mostly current singles.

    When JTFTW comes out, they will embrace it unquestionably.

    Taylor is also considered somewhat of a local boy since his brother currently lives in Georgia ( goes to school there )
    and because Alabama is a neighboring state.

    Taylor also has ties to the area. He has played many times in Atlanta, has lots of friends there and of course, used to date a local girl for his prom.

    Atlanta will be one of the first to play JTFTW.

  361. Maybe the hairdresser played with chris’ facial hair, manscaping him.

  362. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hairdresserà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was NEVER around Chris because Chris doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have any hairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦LOL! Never trust someone who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even interact with the person.

    Not to get in the middle of this…but someone must have had to shave Chris’ head everyday. Maybe he did it himself. I do remember some stylist during the season talking about working on his eyebrows each week.

  363. Maybe the hairdresser played with chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ facial hair, manscaping him

    Maybe Chris wasn’t into being “manscaped?”

  364. RE: JTFTW on Atlanta Station(s)

    If Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s single starts appearing, it will most probably be first on 94.1 in Atlanta (Star 94).

    This station had interviews with Taylor more than once since he won AI and they play mostly current singles.

    When JTFTW comes out, they will embrace it unquestionably.

    Taylor is also considered somewhat of a local boy since his brother currently lives in Georgia ( goes to school there )
    and because Alabama is a neighboring state.

    Taylor also has ties to the area. He has played many times in Atlanta, has lots of friends there and of course, used to date a local girl for his prom.

    Atlanta will be one of the first to play JTFTW.

    Could this really be Taylor? Lots of inside info. :surprise_ee:

  365. the hair guy helped to pencil in chris’ sideburn design and the make-up chair was by the hair guy and chris’ scalp had make-up applied after guyliner sessions.

  366. Squishy & jpfan, I can guarantee to you that just becaues Chris doesn’t have hair, that the haistylist wasn’t around him. Chris rocked the eyeliner and all of the contestants went to hair and make-up, so eventhough the beloved Chris doesn’t have hair doesn’t mean that Dean wasn’t around him backstage are on the set.

  367. Taylor also has ties to the area. He has played many times in Atlanta, has lots of friends there and of course, used to date a local girl for his prom.

    Atlanta will be one of the first to play JTFTW.

    Thanks so much Little Boy BLue. I want to hear Taylor on the radio. Why isn’t his team hurrying up?
    Damn it ! When is this song finally goin to be released?
    Now I am looking at Kat promo ads all over the radio stations websites! What’s up with that? What about Taylor? So frustrating..

  368. Entertainment Weekly has the Top 10 Idol performances of all time.

    http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20008701_10,00.html

    1. Fantasia’s “Summertime”
    2. Kelly Clarkson’s “Stuff Like That There”
    3. Elliott Yamin’s “A Song for You”
    4. Bo Bice’s “In a Dream”
    5. Jennifer Hudson’s “Circle of Life”
    6. Chris Daughtry’s “Hemorrhage”
    7. Rubben Studdard’s “Superstar”
    8. Clay Aiken’s “Solitaire”
    9. Trenyce’s “Proud Mary”
    10. Constantine Maroulis’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”

  369. mnsoul,

    Chris said he shaved his own head every other day and did his own facial hair. He said that the hairdressers never touched his head.

  370. I remember Dean talking about the only thing he could do for Chris was those hot towel head wrap things because he couldn’t style his hair.

  371. I actually donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have any bitterness. My point was I doubt Simon would have said what he said if Taylor had higher sales than Chris.

    It doesnt matter WHY Simon said it. IF what I typed upthread is what was actually said by him, it was unprofessional and plain wrong. He can have an opinion on who HE thought should have won (in this case it would be Chris) but he cant say….Taylor should not have won. He DID win and who is Simon to say he shouldnt have.

  372. 6. Chris Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hemorrhageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    This song sounds soooo IT’S NOT OVER……will chris ever stretch as a performer and I am not talking about his short height.

  373. Interesting choices by Entertainment Weekly.

    I would have added Clay Aiken’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”.

  374. 1. Fantasiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Summertimeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    2. Kelly Clarksonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stuff Like That Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    3. Elliott Yaminà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Song for Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    4. Bo Biceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In a Dreamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    5. Jennifer Hudsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Circle of Lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    6. Chris Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hemorrhageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    7. Rubben Studdardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Superstarà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    8. Clay Aikenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Solitaireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    9. Trenyceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Proud Maryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    10. Constantine Maroulisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bohemian Rhapsodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Out of that Top 10 list, the ones I remember are:

    1. Fantasiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Summertimeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    3. Elliott Yaminà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Song for Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (although I think his “Trouble” was more memorable)
    4. Bo Biceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In a Dreamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (assuming this is the one he did acapella)
    45. Jennifer Hudsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Circle of Lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
    10. Constantine Maroulisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bohemian Rhapsodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Kind of surprised that Taylor’s TI2TS was not on there, unless they are only counting once they are in the top 10/12.

    I never considered “Summertime” nearly the moment everyone else did.
    I also would add Clay’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. That was pretty much the high point of that season.

  375. The hairdresser POWDERED Chris’s head, don’t you remember that God awful tape, I think it was on Extra or one of those types of shows.

    Dingo, I agree 100% with the Simon comment, he is an asswipe and a prostitute of the worst kind, all about the ratings.

    On Leno when Jay played the TI2TS performance, Simon said he liked that guy, ie. Taylor.

    Simon sucks toe jam filled toes…and LIKES it.

  376. Entertainment Weekly has the Top 10 Idol performances of all time.

    I would have placed Bo’s WHIPPING POST there instead of Trenyce’s PROUD MARY.

    And I personally prefered Taylor’s YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL over Ruben’s SUPERSTAR.

    But that’s just me.

  377. I can’t believe they left Katharine’s SOTR off the Top 10 list. :tongue2_tb:

  378. History of Popular things?

    Possibilities:

    1. Pet Rocks

    2. The Love Boat

    3. The Macarena

    4. Cheese in a Can

    5. Paris Hilton

    6. Powder Blue Tuxedos

    7. Powder-blue eyeshadow

    8. Goldfish swallowing

    9. Milli Vanilli

    10. Enron shares

    PRICELESS.

    :clap_tb:

  379. I would have included Taylor’s “You Are So Beautiful” – and am surprised to see that ***’s OTR isn’t on that list since so many raved about it.

  380. EW – subjective list for sure.

    I would put Kelly Clarkson’s “Natural Woman” at the top.

    I agree with the Clay choice. “Solitaire” was amazing.

    Elliot. I would pick “Moody’s Mood”

    Trenyce. I would not put on the list at all.

    Taylor’s “Takin’ It to the Streets” sure should be in there, but he had a lot of really good performances. Hard to choose. :wink_ee:

    Edit: Oops. Forgot Tamyra’s “A House is Not a Home”. Should be near the top of anyone’s list.

  381. I wouldn’t sweat what the hairstylist said. It’s just one guys opinion. I could see Chris having a bit of ego, or wanting things just right. I could see Taylor being nitpicky too. I could see Kat being whiny and impatient.

    None of our idols are perfect.

  382. DAUGHTRYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s video of INO is coming on right now!!!!!

    Its not like its a live performance. Its a video that has been seen before. Its nice its on MTV but its not like a different version.

  383. None of our idols are perfect.

    Taylor’s not? Dang! You just burst my bubble, mnsoul. :)

  384. Hi Dingo! I haven’t watched the Oprah thing yet. But if that is what Simon said, it’s bullshit that he said anything at all. Yeah, it’s cool for him to have is favorite, and I respect that but since Simon is part of the AI franchise, it is his responsibility to support the winner for the sake of the franchise, so I guess what I’m saying is Simon should take one for the team and support the winner even thought he wasn’t his favorite.

  385. Thanks Squishy for letting us know. I haven’t seen it on TV yet, just on the computer. Off to turn on TV.

  386. I missed the show last night –does simon still have man boobs—I read he went in for some work and thought that this could be an area to have re-done

  387. Yeah, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cool for him to have is favorite, and I respect that but since Simon is part of the AI franchise, it is his responsibility to support the winner for the sake of the franchise, so I guess what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m saying is Simon should take one for the team and support the winner even thought he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t his favorite.

    Dee, I was trying to cut him some slack but IF thats what was said, he is plain wrong any way you look at it. I shall have to wait and hear what his actual words are. I agree with you 100%.

    Shar, I actually LIKE Simon or DID before this was said. Im watching Oprah now. I will have to hear it for myself in a few minutes.

  388. …#

    Are we still a democracy?

    Oh man, don’t get me started on this one. :) Now, off to the political blogs for me.

  389. AI Ice Cream flavors – Update !

    Sweet Tea with Mint – carolina
    Big and Sexy Ripple- carolina
    Bald and Bitter – griz
    Vibrato Vanilla – desdemona
    Bald is Beautiful Banananut – desdemona
    Princess Pea Peppermint – carla d
    Calamari County Pecan – carla d
    Falsetto Delight – carla d
    Southern Charm Rockyroad – carla d
    Soulful Surprise – carla d
    Young and Sweet Jubilee – carla d
    Fabulous Falsetto Creme – desdemona
    Golden Cupcake – desdemona
    Jaminà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Yamin – little debbie
    Bucky Road – ”
    Pickler & Cream – ” (ha !)
    Chicken Little Chocolate ”
    Mandisa Mandarin ”
    Paris Brulee ”
    Aceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Wild Berry ”
    Tucker Pucker Lemon ”
    Wallet Chain Chocolate Chip – dave
    Blueberry Eyed Soul – dave ( !)
    crunch & salmon swirl for Pickler – calamari
    Kat: black horse & cherry chip? – calamari

    pointy pose pecan – carolina

    Flavor of the Day

    Fuck Simon if he said that Fudge – dingo !

  390. Dingo, let me know if in fact if that is what Simon said. If he said it, I totally stand by post. I posted before that Simon is just about drama and his bank account, but it does really annoy me that he can’t be supportive of the winner of the show that he is part of. It’s not like Simon is just a judge, he has production and all kinds of other titles.

  391. That hairdresser knows what he’s talking about!

    He powdered The Chris Noggin and trimmed up those flamethrower sideburns.

  392. You know, squishy, sometimes you actually make me believe that you really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t harbor any bitterness about last season anymore. And then you post things like this:

    I suspect Simon would never have said that on Oprah if Taylor had higher sales than Chris. Chris having higher sales than Taylor adds fuel to the mediaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief that Chris should have won.

    It appears that this is what you believe, in any event. It also appears that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s really, REALLY important to you Chris be acknowledged repeatedly as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“rightful winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in some fashion, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it?

    Wow, I like you more and more, MaryS.. You’ve not noticed that everything Taylor does, Chris is doing it also. Lassie has yet to take Chris out of Taylor’s spotlight but continually insist that there is not competition.

    Chris said he shaved his own head every other day and did his own facial hair. He said that the hairdressers never touched his head.

    So Chris is going to shave his own head when there is a hairstylist to do that for him. Did he do his own make-up also? Did Chris even come in contact with anyone backstage or did he have his won personal door to the stage? :ponder_tb:

  393. OK I just watched Oprah and her interview with Simon. He did not say Taylor should not have won. Thats all I needed to hear.

    OK, me and Simon have made up now. Its ok that he doesnt particularily like Taylor’s style, he didnt get personal or if he did, that was cut out of the interview I saw.

  394. When Simon asked Taylor if he was drunk last season after singing CLTCL, it sickened me. The look in Taylor’s face was heartbreaking, sort of a cross of disbelief and sadness. Simon had to know the back story of Tay’s mom being an alcoholic and I thought that was the worst kind of cruelty. The son of an alcoholic has issues, I know of what I speak, my sister is an alcoholic.

    My nephew loves his mom but there is a dark side, being afraid to bring friends around because of the fear of her condition or what she will say to them. He walks on eggshells not knowing what kind of psychotic mood she will be in any given day. And, I really think he blames himself somewhat thinking that maybe he wasn’t well behaved enough or whatever.

    Point is a child of an alcoholic parent will always have issues and imo Simon was a son-of-a-bitch for those comments.

  395. I see Fantasia maintained her spot on the top of the list..Way to go Fantasia. I would agree with most of the list. What Kat’s SOR is not on the list…

  396. I think Jerry Springer should have an episode entitled à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idol Fan Wars: Season 5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ³ :guns_tb: and invite fans of Chris, Taylor, and Kat. All 3 idols could perform and then the fans could spend the remaining 45 minutes arguing over who is better. A type of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“anything goesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  format, complete with wrestling, pies, water guns, and a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“vote for the bestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  insult contest.

    You forgot the Elliott fans…they could come armed with those now infamous fire ants. :cool2_tb:

  397. Simon is an ass. Said if Taylor didn’t have silver hair he wouldn’t have won. Thinks it became a popularity contest rather than talent. I’m not saying anything bad about Taylor, he’s a nice guy…he’s got a good voice. In there he says he would have voted for Chris.

  398. Also from the Simon interview, it doesnt look like things are going to be much better for those of us looking for a standout tonight. He was not enthused about anyone and pretty adamantly said this would not be a great year TALENT wise because it appeared to him that the people who auditioned were far too anxious and nervous.

  399. But dingo – you just named the American Idol Ice Cream Flavor of the Day —

    Flavor of the Day

    Fuck Simon if he said that Fudge – dingo !

  400. Ladybug – so totally agree with your post. Natural Woman was outstanding and certainly would eclipse Stuff Like That There at least to me – but both should be on the list. I also agree that Moody Mood for Love should be on the list and Bridge Over Troubled Water. I would also remove Proud Mary from the list — and Bohemian Rhapsody as well. I think Bo’s Spinning Wheel was excellent too – but it didn’t eclipse his a capella moment. Taking it to the streets was good but wouldn’t have made it to top 10, imo.

    Summertime was certainly memorable — but both of Kelly Clarkson’s songs would beat that one, in my opinion.

    My top twenty list would be 1. Natural Woman 2. Stuff Like That There 3. Summertime 4. A Song For You 5. Moody’s Mood for Love 6. In a Dream 7. Circle of Life 8. Solitaire 9. Bridge Over Troubled Water 10. Spinning Wheel —then 11. Hemmorrhage 12. Superstar 13. Somewhere Over the Rainbow (KIMBERLY LOCK) 14. Weekend in ny Kimberly Locke 15. Taking it to the streets 16. SOTR – Kat 17. Elliott’s Trouble 18. In the Ghetto 19. Bohemian Rhapsody 20. George Huff’s Taking it to the Pilot

  401. You need a “hook” for American Idol in those very early stages and so I think Simon may be right about Taylor’s gray hair in that, he was noticed IMMEDIATELY as the guy with the gray hair. I think that was definitely a plus for him in that aspect of it.

    As the show moves forward you begin to learn their names but it can never hurt to be a standout among so many as long as you have a good voice and Taylor stood out and has a great voice so that all helped him to be noticed and set apart from the rest of the pack if you will.

  402. #

    He said that the hairdressers never touched his head.

    This just does not sound right. Anyone else other than me on the floor laughing their butts off at this comment? :lol_tb:

  403. Dream Myself Awake WFLO (Richmond, VA)

    4:18PM EST

    Just To Feel That Way KLAZ (Little Rock, AR)

    3:26PM CST

    These two stations are very consistent!

  404. Gray just announced that Taylor went platinum – go read!

    It goes on to say:

    The first single, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Just To Feel That Way,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ goes to radio this week
    Hicks begins his first headlining U.S. tour on February 21st.

    NEW YORK, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current reigning champion Taylor Hicks is now a platinum recording artist. His self-titled debut album TAYLOR HICKS (Arista Records/19 Recordings) was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America selling over one million copies since its release on December 12, 2006.

    Hicks has reached this coveted platinum milestone prior to the release of an official single. The first single, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just To Feel That Way,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  goes to radio this week.

    To ring in the New Year Hicks will also kick off his first headlining tour on Wednesday, February 21st, in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida Theater with dates currently scheduled to run through April 27th in Kansas City, MO. This is the first time fans will be able to see him perform songs from the new album in a live venue.

    After a lifetime steeped in blues, soul, pop and R&B, Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s artistry was reaffirmed and validated in no uncertain terms this past year, when he won the fifth season of FOXà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s American Idol on May 24, 2006….”

    /me does the happy happy dance!!! :clap_tb:

  405. Yay! The single released to radio “this week”! Not a week too soon either! Am so happy that he has officially been certified Platinum and the news release is out.

  406. JTFTW went to adds this week. So, maybe that is why some have been hearing it already. :thumbup_tb:

    MJ, I LOVE your blog but why is it so slow at certains of the day?

    BY THE WAY, DID I SAY HOW HAPPY I AM THAT TAYLOR HAS OFFICALLY BEEN CERITIFIED PLATINUM. SO THAT MEAN HE WENT PLATINUM WITHOUT A SINGLE.. :thumbup_tb: SORRY I HAD TO GO THERE. DON’T GET ME WRONG I WANT TO TURN ON MY RADIO AND SING-ALONG TO JTFTW.

    I Can’t believe I actually watched yesterday’s performance at least four times so far. That is just so not me. I will watch Taylor’s performance twice after the initial performance but I just love that song…

  407. ok – at Gray’s in the press release he posted it says “Just to Feel That Way is being sent to radio this week”. Huh?

  408. ok – at Grayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in the press release he posted it says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just to Feel That Way is being sent to radio this weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Huh?

    I think that means that Taylor’s crack marketing team sent an mp3 or something to KLAZ in Little Rock.

  409. how is taylor platinum?? how many albums has he actually sold…it’s not a million, is it?

  410. YEAH-Platnium record without a single on radio. Single going to radio this week. Good news from an official press release. I think Nevada was right, a lot of folks were leaving during the 7th inning. Taylor is in for the long haul and I couldn’t be happier for him right now. I guess I was wrong about JTFTW as the single, and I’ve never been happier about being wrong….Dingo, can I have an Oreo? Please?

  411. Nevada, we need ya, is this an idol record to go plat without a single???

  412. Congrats Taylor, I am so happy for you; this is a well deserved event. Keep making it do what it do and the rest will take care of itself. I love you man!

  413. Here are the AI6 premiere ratings by the half-hour, according to TVTracker:

    Fox
    8:00 p.m. American Idol
    17.4/26 — 31.09 million — 12.8/32

    8:30 p.m. American Idol
    20.2/29 — 37.08 million — 15.4/35

    9:00 p.m. American Idol
    21.3/31 — 39.70 million — 16.7/37

    9:30 p.m. American Idol
    22.5/33 — 41.84 million — 18.0/40

  414. RE: Simon’s Interview with Oprah

    Let’s not twist what Simon said.

    1) Oprah asked him if he liked Taylor.

    2) Simon said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“no I would have voted for Chris but Taylor has a good voice.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Simon never said in that interview that Taylor should not have won. He was expressing a PERSONAL PREFERENCE.

    That’s OK by my book.

  415. JTFTW went to adds this week So maybe that is why some have been hearing it already

    Well, they might have told the industry about it. They’ve had all the Idol songs that are releasing in the next month (including this week) mentioned on industry sites for weeks. They’ve been running ads for Kat’s single all over the place. Clay Aiken’s fans like to complain that the record company isn’t pushing his single, but he’s getting a great push compared with Taylor (crappy compared to Kat).

    What, is this some kind of stealth marketting plan? Did they they wrap his CD single in brown paper and leave it on the radio stations’ front steps? Do the radio stations have to find easter eggs in Kat’s single in order to access Taylor’s?

    Kat, Clay and Bucky released their single in the industry standard approach this week and they are all top 100 in their formats. Taylor used the “new, specially designed” release approach and his single is being played by an unmonitored station in Little Rock. Can’t argue with that strategy.

  416. Okay, how to say this without it being really, really ugly, but I was one of probably many who predicted *** would reveal her cd cover the day that Taylor’s cd dropped, and she did just that. Now, finally we get news that Taylor’s single is released to radio – 2 weeks before her album is released. And I don’t give one damn if this rains on her parade. Not one damn.

    So, I’m an ugly person. Right now, I don’t care. Am just so very weary of the way this game’s played, and it seems like Taylor has been taking so much ridicule and smack because the 4th place idol has been outselling him right out the gate, and the runner up just might, too. (I don’t believe she will, but still hard to read it and watch everyone getting radio play except him.)

  417. Dingo and LBB –

    Thanks for posting the TRUTH about what Simon said on Oprah today.

  418. from the pulse boards..

    IDOL Sales:

    > Chris moves from No. 3 to No. 4 on the Billboard chart. He sold 50,000, down 10% from last week’s rounded-off 56,000, but considering that sales as a whole were off 14%, this can be considered a relative plus. His total’s now up to 1.23 million, and just to round things off, his primary role model, Nickelback, jumped from 18 to 10 this week. (They’ve sold 4.72 million.)

    > Carrie’s back up again, 19-15 (and could see more boosts in the buildup to the Grammys Feb. 11). Her sales (33,000) were off 16%, but weaker competition enabled her to rebound on the chart. Total: 4.72 million, same as Nickelback (actually about 40,000 ahead of the Canadian Daughtry sound-alikes).

    > Taylor drops 47-53, selling a feeble 14,000 (off 26% from last week). I say “feeble” not to be insulting, but to note that an American Idol champ selling 14,000 in just his fifth week out is an unhealthy sign, and as a fan I really hope a single or other factors will get the album going again. Total is 572,000, which almost assures him the title of worst-selling Idol-winner debut album, now held by Fantasia (1.7 million).

    > Speaking of Fantasia, her second album is down to 11,000 in its fifth week, a decline of 21%. She’s down only slightly on the chart, 66-68, and her total is 242,000. It’s tough out there.

    > Tough week for Kellie, too. She stays even at 83 on the chart, but is down 17% in sales to 8,800. Total: 372,000.

    > Ruben’s still off the chart, though not by that much: He sold 2,700 and No. 200 on the chart is at around 3,700. His weekly sales were off 21% from the previous week, and he’s sold 193,000 to date.

    > Clay declined 39% to 1,900 units sold, bringing his total to 494,000.

  419. Also from pulse

    NEW YORK, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current reigning champion Taylor Hicks is now a platinum recording artist. His self-titled debut album TAYLOR HICKS (Arista Records/19 Recordings) was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America selling over one million copies since its release on December 12, 2006.

    Hicks has reached this coveted platinum milestone prior to the release of an official single. The first single, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just To Feel That Way,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  goes to radio this week.

    To ring in the New Year Hicks will also kick off his first headlining tour on Wednesday, February 21st, in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida Theater with dates currently scheduled to run through April 27th in Kansas City, MO. This is the first time fans will be able to see him perform songs from the new album in a live venue.

    After a lifetime steeped in blues, soul, pop and R&B, Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s artistry was reaffirmed and validated in no uncertain terms this past year, when he won the fifth season of FOXà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s American Idol on May 24, 2006.

  420. I am blasting “Just To Feel That Way” !!! Taylor is taking all his fans on that wire, and he won’t let us go !!!

  421. LBB: Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not twist what Simon said.

    I want to see some sound clips of this. There have been repeated posts stating that Simon said that Taylor should not have won. But other sources said he did not. Surely, both cannot be correct?

  422. I think Nevada was right, a lot of folks were leaving during the 7th inning.

    That is why I love NEVADA..

    how is taylor platinum?? how many albums has he actually soldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not a million, is it?

    It means that they shipped Platinum and those “crackpots” behind that are handling his business believe in him. :thumbup_tb:

  423. Dingo I want an oreo too!
    Yaaay! Platinum for Taylor and the Best News:

    JTFTW will be going for radio adds THIS WEEK! The only problem I have with this is, today, tomorrow, Friday, can they a bit more specific?
    Oh well, it’s all GOOD. Can’t wait to heat JTFTW on the radio and then sales will definitely continue to pick up.

    By the way I just found Simon’s comments on Oprah. He wasn’t that rude to Taylor, let’s just say he praised Chris a bit more.

    Here is a transcript:

    Oprah “..Well we’ve seen that looks are all kinds of variations…if the country chooses people who look tall, thin, blonde, black and big and all sorts of different shapes and sizes.”

    Simon: I would say Taylor Hicks changed that perception for good yeah.

    Oprah: Were you not a big fan of Taylor?

    Simon: Uh…I’m going to be honest with you…no. Uhm, I’ve heard a lot of singers like that before and I know this is going to sound terrible…I think if he didn’t have silver hair, he wouldn’t have won. Uhm…I don’t…I really don’t. I would have voted for Chris. I’m not saying anything bad about Taylor.
    You know he’s a nice guy, he’s got a good voice. I think it became more of a popularity contest with him rather than talent.

    Simon went on to say that it is a popularity contest with contestants which is why they have to be careful of what they say after they perform.

    Whatever Simon. Taylor is Platinum! And JTFTW will be on the radio soon. It’s all GOOD!

  424. Dingo and LBB –

    Thanks for posting the TRUTH about what Simon said on Oprah today.

    Hey! What am I? Chopped liver? :smile1_ee:

  425. Sorry my bad.

    I got it from another blog that Simon said that he would have chosen Chris and didn’t think that Taylor should have won.

    Sorry everyone. I apologize.

  426. Taylor drops 47-53, selling a feeble 14,000 (off 26% from last week). I say à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“feebleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  not to be insulting, but to note that an American Idol champ selling 14,000 in just his fifth week out is an unhealthy sign, and as a fan I really hope a single or other factors will get the album going again. Total is 572,000, which almost assures him the title of worst-selling Idol-winner debut album, now held by Fantasia (1.7 million).

    Don’t be so quick to assume that. Taylor’s single is dropping this week – we should DEFINTIELY see a spike in sales after that… in any case…

    TAYLOR IS PLATINUM BABY!!!!!!!!!!! That’s 2 Gold, 1 Platinum so far. :)

  427. Why all the hoopla for Taylor being certified? I thought they shipped platinum, baby. He’s sold less than 600,000 units. Nothing has changed except there was a press release stating things already known. Any numb (ber) nuts out there to help me understand?

  428. Congratulations Taylor on his platinum shipped album!

    You all should have a platinum party.

  429. Too bad none of the radio stations know the single is dropping this week.

  430. rita416: Nevada, we need ya, is this an idol record to go plat without a single???

    No. Every other platinum certified Idol had a single released within a few weeks of album release (if not before).

    But, I hate to rain on parades, but this is for shipping. There is a long way to go to platinum level sales. It’s almost a bookkeeping exercise.

    But, this is good news to go along with rising sales and a single on the radio soon (please, Arista, ask others in the industry how to push a single to the radio. Don’t just drop it at their feet like a cat presenting a dead mouse to its owner).

  431. Why all the celebration. He went platinum the day they shipped 1 million CDs. He still has to sell 400,000 plus to actually sell 1 mil records. It’s like a music industry scam to make things sound better than they are. Hopefully, he’ll actually sell platinum also.
    What makes this news change anything anyway?

  432. Why all the hoopla for Taylor being certified?

    Well I’m an unexcited Taylor fan. It would be nice if he had actually sold 1 million CDs to actual individual buyers like he probably would have by now if he received normal, competent promotion for the album.

    I’m more excited about the “single released to radio” part of the press release, but then again, I’m not sure that I even believe that part of it. I suspect it might mean that, this week!, the label is thinking about maybe pressing some promo CDs to be sent out to radio at some undisclosed point in the future.

  433. I agree with Simon and I’ve said it before… Taylor is VERY talented, but it’s not his voice that propelled him to victory..it was his gimmicks. I think ALL idol contestants have a gimmick of some sort, but I think Taylor really brought it to a new level…

  434. Ok, I am a little confused here.
    how come Taylor sold only 14,000 copies this past week and his total is 572,000 and yet he is certified PLATINUM? :ponder_tb:

    Not that I am complaining or anything.. Just want to know how this certification works. In any case I know the single release will help sustain his sales.

  435. coco
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
    6. Chris Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hemorrhageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    This song sounds soooo ITà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢S NOT OVERà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦will chris ever stretch as a performer and I am not talking about his short height.

    ———————————–

    Oh, Coco, now you’ve done it. I’ve got tears in my eyes from laughing so hard! :snake_ee: Hemorrhage and INO alike. OMFG. It’s just so f–ing hilarious, this comparison. Okay, I’m done giggling….. Thanks, I needed the laugh!

  436. Thanks for putting the transcript down.

    Simon is not directly saying that Taylor shouldn’t have won but he is saying that he has heard a lot of singers like Taylor and he won because of popularity instead of talent.

    That still doesn’t sound too good.

  437. Why all the celebration. He went platinum the day they shipped 1 million CDs. He still has to sell 400,000 plus to actually sell 1 mil records. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s like a music industry scam to make things sound better than they are. Hopefully, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll actually sell platinum also.
    What makes this news change anything anyway?

    It’s common practice to award Platinum on a CD that not sold 1 million “yet”. (just as it was for Chris)… J Records anticipates it going platinum (and it will after the single catches on). It’s a GREAT day for Taylor and his fans!

  438. RE: Chris selling more Albums than Taylor and getting more radio play

    Taylor’s music is uniquely and wonderfully different than today’s top 40 music, (thank god) I hate top 40 music to me those people, although some are very talented, are a dime a dozen… when I hear Chris I think Nickelback (not bashing Chris, he is talented, just not my cup of tea) and Katherine reminds me of Jo Jo or Rhianna.(not Bashing Kat either)Taylor is taylor and has a distinct sound, and there is not anyone that I know of in the music industry today that is like him, and while I am totally aware that not everyone will love him the way I do, I still believe he has staying power and will be around for a long long time!!! his tours are gonna be earth shakingly awesome!

  439. I think that means that Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s crack marketing team sent an mp3 or something to KLAZ in Little Rock.

    LOL!

    My fave AI performances are as follows (This is subject to change in the next hour. lol):

    1. A Song For You – Elliott
    2. Audition – Taylor
    3. You Are So Beautiful – Taylor
    4. In The Ghetto – Taylor
    5. Weekend In New England – Jennifer
    6. Moody’s Mood For Love – Elliott
    7. A House Is Not A Home – Tamyra
    8. Summertime – Fantasia
    9. Natural Woman – Kelly
    10.Living For The City (Top 2 perf) – Taylor

  440. From Gray

    If all goes smoothly this week (and there could always be kinks) JTFTW will start rolling out to radio early next week on a rolling release schedule. The primary early target will be Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary stations. Decisions about how to target traditional Top 40 will happen a bit later.

  441. Was Bo’s CD certified platinum but he never actually sold platinum?

    After hearing JTLTW on Ellen, I think that Taylor will definitely sell platinum plus. I think it is a good song and will chart well on Hot AC. I doubt that Taylor will fall into the Bo trap of shipping platinum but never selling platinum.

  442. RE: Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Interview with Oprah

    Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not twist what Simon said.

    1) Oprah asked him if he liked Taylor.

    2) Simon said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“no I would have voted for Chris but Taylor has a good voice.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    You mean that Squish twisted Simon’s wordsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ making it appear more Chris friendly, and Taylor non-friendly than it actually was!!!! I am SHOCKEDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ NOT.

  443. squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
    Thanks for putting the transcript down.

    Simon is not directly saying that Taylor shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have won but he is saying that he has heard a lot of singers like Taylor and he won because of popularity instead of talent.

    That still doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sound too good.

    _____

    As Rosie said to Donald “Sit and spin my friend…sit and spin.”

  444. Hey Cheese! – Go read Grays’s new post. You were right about the mp3! :lol_tb:

  445. The primary early target will be Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary stations. Decisions about how to target traditional Top 40 will happen a bit later.

    Well, hallelujah! See? ADULT contemporary and ADULT Top 40, which, duh! Geez, we’ve only been saying that since the album was released. But this is good news, finally.

  446. Kat, Clay and Bucky released their single in the industry standard approach this week and they are all top 100 in their formats. Taylor used the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“new, specially designedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  release approach and his single is being played by an unmonitored station in Little Rock. Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t argue with that strategy.

    Maybe, the usual “throw a single out and see if it sticks” mentally is not the way Taylor’s folks choose to go with his single. They abviously trust that he will sell or else they would not have certified him platinum while his cd is selling so slowly. Here is an upbeat thinking, it only took Taylor a little more than a month to receive his platinum status. Almost the same amount of time it took his single to be certified gold. That placed a smile on my face. :grin1_ee:

    Ealbino, I am happy Taylor is selling. I have seen to many cds drop and then shoot back up the charts to focus all the attention on such things. I refuse to continue playing the silly competition game. I will look at it as Taylor gaining 14,000 new fans this week.. My cup is half full. Here is another upbeat attitude, Taylor only fell five positions on the chart. That is fine with me..

  447. My favorite AI performances:

    1. You Are so Beautiful – Taylor
    2. Audition – Taylor
    3. Crazy Love (Audition) – JPL (what?!)
    4. Summertime – Fantasia
    5. Something/Trouble/Ghetto (tie) – Taylor (I cheat!)
    6. Drift Away/Whipping Post – Bo (I cheat again!)
    7. Stuff Like That There – Kelly
    8. Take Me To the Pilot – George Huff
    9. If You Really Love Me – Elliott
    10. I Think I Love You – Constantine (so shoot me)

  448. Bo’s album was not shipped platinum, was never certified platinum, and hasn’t sold platinum. The most recent update for Bo’s sales for “The Real Thing” was from USA Today on 11-07-06, and indicated that 654,000 CDs had been sold in 47 weeks of release.

    Taylor’s album was shipped platinum, has apparently been certified platinum, and I suspect will eventually sell platinum. According the the USA Today figures — since the SoundScan 200 hasn’t show up — “Taylor Hicks” has sold roughly 572,000 CDs in 5 weeks of release.

    There are many albums that take months or years to reach platinum in sales, and many others that take months or years to even hit gold. Regardless, these albums are every bit as gold or platinum as those that do it in a few weeks.

    This isn’t a sprint…it’s a marathon.

  449. After hearing JTLTW on Ellen, I think that Taylor will definitely sell platinum plus. I think it is a good song and will chart well on Hot AC. I doubt that Taylor will fall into the Bo trap of shipping platinum but never selling platinum.

    I agree squishy. As I predicted the election of JTFTW as his first single was key. It’s a GREAT song and he will attract a new audience. I think he will sell beyond paltinum.

    I also think the song will do well first on AC and HOT AC stations and if it does extremely well it will cross over to Top 40.
    Just like Kelly’s Breakaway, I think she started with AC stations and then she got her break on Top 40 with the same song.
    Anyhoo, I really think Taylor will do so much better than Bo. His record is WAAAAAAY better.

  450. Okay, this is the first time I’m hearing of Adult Top 40. Is that the same as Adult Contemporary?

  451. When the #1 album this week ONLY sold about 60,000, let’s not dump on Taylor only, okay? He’s STILL the 3rd best selling idol THIS WEEK.

    It’s nothing to write home about for ANY ONE on that list….

    Shall we mention that Fantasia is down to 11,000 in its fifth week, a decline of 21% for a total of ONLY 242,000. She was WINNER of Season 3.

    Kellie is down 17% in sales to only 8,800 for a GRAND total of 373,000.

    Rubenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still off the chart, again, another AI WINNER only selling 2,700, selling a total of 193,000 to date.

    Clay declined 39% to 1,900 units sold, bringing his total to 494,000.

    Let’s just say the whole CD market went to sh*t the past 2 weeks. Look for Taylor to start gaining shortly, in any case.

  452. 1. A Song For You – Elliott
    2. Audition – Taylor
    3. You Are So Beautiful – Taylor
    4. In The Ghetto – Taylor
    5. Weekend In New England – Jennifer
    6. Moodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Mood For Love – Elliott
    7. A House Is Not A Home – Tamyra
    8. Summertime – Fantasia
    9. Natural Woman – Kelly
    10.Living For The City (Top 2 perf) – Taylor

    I will weigh in on my favorites:

    1.The Audition – Taylor
    2.In the Ghetto – Taylor
    3. the one he sang acapella – Bo
    4. YASB – Taylor
    5. Try A Little Tenderness – Taylor
    6. Summertime – Fantasia
    7. LFTC (finale) – Taylor
    8. Trouble – Taylor
    9. You Send Me – Taylor
    10. TITTS – Taylor

  453. I saw updated figures yesterday in a newspaper article that Bo has sold 661,000 cds.

  454. If all goes smoothly this week (and there could always be kinks) JTFTW will start rolling out to radio early next week on a rolling release schedule. The primary early target will be Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary stations. Decisions about how to target traditional Top 40 will happen a bit later.

    FINALLY we see some strategy; from J Records. I’m a HAPPY CAMPER today, folks!

  455. Boulder, my friend. Was I right or was I right???

    “That which grows slowly endures.”

  456. Simon is not directly saying that Taylor shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have won but he is saying that he has heard a lot of singers like Taylor and he won because of popularity instead of talent.

    Were those his words or yours, Lassie? Hmmm, it sounds more like your interpretation. Sorry, I think I will stick to what LBB posted and say Simon can say whatever he wants. He did not care for Kelly either.

    Boy Lassie, Seems like you love to take those subtle little digs at Taylor…:wink1_tb:

    I am happy you like JTFTW.. Was yesterday the first time you heard the song?

  457. My favorite AI performances:

    1. Hemorrhage – Chris
    2. Walk the Line – Chris
    3. In a Dream – Bo
    4. Summertime – Fantasia
    5. Stuff Life That There – Kelly
    6. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Clay
    7. Kat’s standard’s week performance
    8. Circle of Life – Jennifer
    9. A Song for you – Elliott
    10. Bohemian Rhapsody – Constantine

  458. I”m surprised Taylor’s YOU SEND ME isn’t on anyone’s fave list. For me, that was THE SONG last year.

    Remember that ending? Simon the ass said it was “Magic!”. Sometimes he gets it right.

  459. This isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a sprintà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a marathon.

    yet another reason to LOVE Nevada. :)

  460. Well when Larry King introduces Taylor tomorrow night … “Platinium Selling Artist” Taylor Hicks – Very cool.

  461. “….JTFTW will start rolling out to radio early next week on a rolling release schedule….”

    This is when things will start jumping for Taylor. Can’t wait!!

  462. Selling 14k a week, Taylor will need anoter 30 weeks to really hit platinum. Seems premature to call it platinum now. to me.

  463. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ m surprised Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s YOU SEND ME isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t on anyoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fave list.

    Scroll up. It’s on the list of the person whose a$$ will be kicked.

  464. KTINTN,

    Taylor is a platinum-shipped artist but eventually will be a platinum-selling artist.

  465. I really don’t like JTLTW. I just don’t. I’ve tried, but it just ain’t happening. And I know I’m not alone.

  466. but hs – why should Taylor be any different from any other recording artist? As long as ANY artist has shipped platinum, they are considered a platinum artist as per RIAA. I’m not saying their rules are right, but those are the rules – so not premature.

  467. Selling 14k a week, Taylor will need anoter 30 weeks to really hit platinum. Seems premature to call it platinum now. to me.

    Okay, let’s not single Taylor out here. MANY artists get platinum recognition BEFORE they actually SELL platinum. It’s a common practice in the music industry.

  468. And I know Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not alone.

    It’s good to have companionship.

  469. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ m surprised Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s YOU SEND ME isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t on anyoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fave list. For me, that was THE SONG last year.

    Remember that ending? Simon the ass said it was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Magic!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Sometimes he gets it righ

    That was my favorite Taylor performance too griz. He looked so prefessional and handsome that night. And his vocals were Spot On, Perfect!
    Simon really liked that one, MAGIC indeed!
    He always included a negative comment with he praised Taylor. For YSM he said: “When it started I thought lame cabaret and Then…. MAGIC!” That Simon.
    I really believe Simon liked very much Taylor’s voice but didn’t like the overall package, you know the dancing, quirks and gray hair. JMHO.

  470. Scroll up. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on the list of the person whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a$$ will be kicked.

    Oh yea!! I knew there’s a reason I liked JJ! But, I WILL help you kick her a$$ if you need me ;)

  471. Nevada

    Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album was shipped platinum, has apparently been certified platinum, and I suspect will eventually sell platinum. According the the USA Today figures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  since the SoundScan 200 hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t show up à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Taylor Hicksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  has sold roughly 572,000 CDs in 5 weeks of release.

    There are many albums that take months or years to reach platinum in sales, and many others that take months or years to even hit gold. Regardless, these albums are every bit as gold or platinum as those that do it in a few weeks.

    This isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a sprintà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a marathon.

    There was a blurb from the record company a couple weeks ago that they had shipped 1.2 million CD. Keep in mind that to the record company these shipments are SALES. They have sold and shipped over 1 million to retail outlets. That is why RIAA can certify. It is a much strong press release to say that Taylor has been certified platinum than to say we shipped over 1.2 million copies.

    I agree with Nevada this is a marathon and we are at the beginning of the race.

  472. But, I WILL help you kick her a$$ if you need me ;)

    Thanks, but no assistance will be required.

  473. hs
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
    Selling 14k a week, Taylor will need anoter 30 weeks to really hit platinum. Seems premature to call it platinum now. to me.

    Sigh! He’s had NO radio play yet, hs. It’s remarkable, to me anyway, that he sold 14,000 last week – I’ve heard that some people still don’t even know he’s got an album out. His sales will very likely increase quite a bit when they start playing JTFTW on the radio. And the tour is coming up in little over a month. I honestly doubt it’s going to take 30 weeks to sell 400K (425K? – whatever the true numbers needed to reach a million) .

  474. But, I WILL help you kick her a$$ if you need me ;)

    Now you are officially out of the threesome of me you and Taylor.

  475. Here is the link with updated sales figures for past idols including Clay, Bo, Justin, & Mario

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16655157/

    Since WHEN did Chris come in 3rd??? He’s a FOURTH place finisher LOL! Shall we tell Elliot about this? What a dumb ass writer – it reads, in part –

    à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all about taking every single opportunity that you have in front of you and just making the best of it,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  2006 third-place finisher Chris Daughtry says. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not saying you have to go on a TV show, but you definitely have to put your neck out there, and sometimes youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve got to open a lot of doors to go through the right one. You donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know which opportunities are gonna be the ones that seal your fate.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

  476. There is nothing to spin. I was wrong and apologize.

    Simon is not directly saying that Taylor shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have won but he is saying that he has heard a lot of singers like Taylor and he won because of popularity instead of talent.

    So you are saying that this quote is not a spin. But, but, your qoute above is still not close to LBB posted Simon actually said. :smile1_tb:

    Okay, back to being happy that Tayor has officially be certified platinum..

  477. Certification is not driven from SALES at retail it is SALES from the record company. The next million will be alot slower because it will require the retailers to reorder….and they are not going to order at the same rate they did the initial orders.

  478. Taylor Hicks will be interviewed on MONDAY at Star 98.7 in Los Angeles at 8am Pacific Time. Was scheduled for the end of this week but there was a scheduling conflict thus it was changed to Monday.

    FYI, Star98.7 is a big radio station in LA that plays alternative rock and Hot AC. I am sure they will play JTLTW.

    It you want to listen to it the interview live, the radio station is streamed online.

    http://www.star987.com/main.html

  479. I just watched the Simon interview on Oprah. They started out by talking about this season. He said all areas seemed bad this time but Seattle wins by having the worst. He also said that the contestants are more savvy and it seemed to hurt those that went to Hollywood. They were very stessed & nervous and some good ones went home then. They showed a clip and he said there are a lot worse ones and we’ll see on tonight’s show.

    There was a clip of Leona, the idol from the UK. She has an incredible voice!

    They were talking about who he liked and said it was similar to season 1 where he’d have been talking about Tamyra but hadn’t noticed Kelly Clarkson yet at this point. He thinks 2 or 3 of the women have potential but aren’t that confident in themselves and one guy who doesn’t look like an idol. That got them into looks and Oprah mention how America has voted in different colors, shapes, sizes, etc and Simon said that Taylor Hicks changed that perception for good. That got Oprah to say “Were you not a big fan of Taylor’s?”. He said no and that he’d heard a lot of singers like that and that if Taylor didn’t have silver hair he probably wouldn’t have won. He said he’d have voted for Chris. He went on to say he wasn’t saying anything bad about Taylor, that he’s a nice guy and has a good voice. Simon also said it’s more of a popularity contest than a talent one.

    I agree that Simon shouldn’t have said that about Taylor. I know I wouldn’t be happy if I were a fan.

  480. Can anyone ask Gray if Taylor will be doing a video soon for JTFTW? I just want to know so I don’t get my hopes up. I think it will be a great way to promote his new single too.

    That’s the last thing I want to know from Taylor’s camp.

  481. Okay, back to being happy that Tayor has officially be certified platinum..

    We’ll just chose to overlook the fact that he’s 425,000 units short of selling platinum, lol.

  482. Taylor Hicks will be interviewed on MONDAY at Star 98.7 in Los Angeles at 8am Pacific Time. Was scheduled for the end of this week but there was a scheduling conflict thus it was changed to Monday.

    FYI, Star98.7 is a big radio station in LA that plays alternative rock and Hot AC. I am sure they will play JTLTW.

    It you want to listen to it the interview live, the radio station is streamed online.

    http://www.star987.com/main.html

    Thanks so much squishy, you are the best! At least that’s the perfect way for Taylor start promoting his new single on the radio.

  483. hs
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
    Selling 14k a week, Taylor will need anoter 30 weeks to really hit platinum. Seems premature to call it platinum now. to me.

    *******************************************
    Please don’t Fret—It’s ALL good :exclaim_ee: :exclaim_ee: :exclaim_ee:

  484. RE:

    Here is the link with updated sales figures for past idols including Clay, Bo, Justin, & Mario

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16655157/

    Clay’s A THOUSAND DIFFERENT WAYS is actually just 11,000 units shy of GOLD ( 489,000 sold thus far ).

    Not bad for an album with a single just coming out.

    Just shows you what your solid fanbase can do for you.

    As I said — EVEN WITHOUT A SINGLE, the Claymates and Soul Patrol will more or less guarantee GOLD or close to it.

  485. FYI, Star98.7 is a big radio station in LA that plays alternative rock and Hot AC. I am sure they will play JTLTW.

    I’m not so sure. Can someone ask KLAZ to e-mail their mp3 of JTFTW to this LA station? :smile1_tb:

    BTW, thanks for the info squishy

  486. Damn, I would love to get Simon’s list of other singers that sound like Taylor. I would love to add more Taylor-like music to my collection!

  487. I hope tonight’s Idol won’t be boring like last night.

    Clay’s CD isn’t doing too good.

  488. Certification is not driven from SALES at retail it is SALES from the record company. The next million will be alot slower because it will require the retailers to reorderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.and they are not going to order at the same rate they did the initial orders.

    Well, you may never know…

  489. hs
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
    Okay, back to being happy that Tayor has officially be certified platinum..

    Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just chose to overlook the fact that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 425,000 units short of selling platinum, lol.

    He has sold over 1 million (1.2) just not at retail. The record company can’t be concerned with what happens at retail that is up to the retailer. I would have loved it, during my 17 years as retail buyer, if the maufacturer took a vested interest in whether I sold all the inventory I bought…but they don’t. That is up to the retailer to figure out how to sell the products they purchase. One of the first ways is floor position, followed closely by getting the inventory out of the stockroom.

  490. If I remember correctly Simon really liked justin guarini and found him to be one of the BEST :lol_tb:

  491. so let me get this straight….

    it is news that simon did not like taylor.

    wow. how did i manage to figure that out LAST JANUARY!!! come on people….this is not new ground. simon never liked taylor. this has been well established. simon liked chris– no secret there. hence, chris was the biggest shocker ever. as EVERYONE thought chris was going to win.

    none, none, of this is news. zero.

  492. but…i did like that article that basically called kat out for her downward spiral of a career…

  493. He has sold over 1 million (1.2) just not at retail.

    For the sake of argument, what happens if retailers don’t sell 1.2 Million ? Are they allowed to return it to Arista ?

    One more question — what is the difference between Arista and J Records ? I hear the names used interchangeably when it comes to Taylor’s album…

  494. Thanks for the Daughtry numbers. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s playing a free concert here Monday but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m up for waiting in line to try to get in. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be playing here in March so I can just pay to play then.

    dave – where is the concert going to be? I couldn’t get playoff tickets, darnit.

  495. That is up to the retailer to figure out how to sell the products they purchase. One of the first ways is floor position, followed closely by getting the inventory out of the stockroom.

    Another way would be for the FUCKIN’ record company to release a single. That might help a little.

  496. dave – where is the concert going to be? I couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get playoff tickets, darnit.

    House of Blues on Monday but he’ll be at Double Door in March. I’m pretty sure HOB is a free MIX101.9 show. I heard only 300 tickets for it.

  497. Another way would be for the FUCKINà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ record company to release a single. That might help a little.

    *****************************************

    Evidently you did not hear—-A test is being conducted >>courtesy of the Record Company :wink_ee:………

  498. Little Boy Blue
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
    He has sold over 1 million (1.2) just not at retail.

    For the sake of argument, what happens if retailers donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sell 1.2 Million ? Are they allowed to return it to Arista ?

    I’ll take the first question. It depends on the contract (purchase order) between the retailer and vendor. If they agreed to a return policy then they can return the CDs but there are usually all kinds of fee attached so it is not very attractive to a retailer to do this. There is usually a timeframe that the return is good through…very rarely is this a open end deal.

  499. He said no and that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d heard a lot of singers like that and that if Taylor didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have silver hair he probably wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have won. He said heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d have voted for Chris.

    I find that hard to believe that he’s heard a lot of singers like Taylor but did not say the same about Chris’s even though Chris’s style of singing is all over the radio. I guess Simon don’t spend alot of time in United States. If he spends more time in England than here, then I will say I agree with him because England has a lot of artist who does shares Taylor’s style of singing. I would not be surprise if his cd gets marketed over there real soon.

    The problem with Simon is he is very close-minded and can be very shallow. He also did not get Carrie Underwood either. He just felt she was perfect for marketing to the Country Music World.

  500. Niteowl
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
    I saw updated figures yesterday in a newspaper article that Bo has sold 661,000 cds.

    That’s certainly possible; although dropping off the SoundScan 200 often seems like a fate worse than death, in reality, those albums do continue selling. And I noticed my Target had a little American Idol section this Xmas, which included Bo’s album along with the rest, so it’s still available out there.

    If the newspaper cited SoundScan as a source, I’d be interested in seeing that…?

  501. I find that hard to believe that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s heard a lot of singers like Taylor but did not say the same about Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s even though Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s style of singing is all over the radio.

    ***************************************

    NAW….chris is a TOTAL ORIGINAL :lol_tb:

  502. Also the retailer doesn’t want to return something that they are going to turn around and repurchase in 30 days…again this would cost prohibitive.

  503. Another way would be for the FUCKINà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ record company to release a single. That might help a little.

    I realize Taylor fans have been whining no end about when the single will be released…

    SEE HERE : http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070117/nyw118.html?.v=86

    There is the key sentence that says :

    The first single, “Just To Feel That Way,” goes to radio this week. ( second paragraph ).

    Hopefully, that ends the speculation.

  504. dave
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
    That is up to the retailer to figure out how to sell the products they purchase. One of the first ways is floor position, followed closely by getting the inventory out of the stockroom.

    Another way would be for the FUCKINà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ record company to release a single. That might help a little.

    Yes …that would also be a very good way to sell more CDs.

  505. BTW, to Taylor Hicks fans — YOU MIGHT WANT TO UPDATE TAYLOR HICKS’ BIO at Wikipedia to reflect the fact that his album has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

    All I see there right now is just DIMYP certified GOLD.

  506. WARNING: Taylor fans do not get serious/angry on me…I can’t help myself being I am not normal and have 11 personalities..so here goes: I do wish Taylor would win 12 grammies,sell platinum,brass,gold, and steel,etc,..I wish every radio station in America would be required to play his single on every hour 24 hrs a day…I wish he would make a music video that is about about 4 hrs long…I wish he would have an hr long talk show on every night and he would be the only guest….I wish every city would require a billboard the size of a football field on it declaring him Season 5 winner and keep it up for say around 10 years….and oh,maybe a commercial on every station every hour with him selling hair gel?….or maybe even a new reality tv dance contest called,”Dancing With The Stars, Taylor Hicks Style” airing 2 nights a week..And, of course Simon starts every new season with a statement saying Taylor is the most talented,unique,charissmatic, winner to ever grace the AI stage…then ,maybe just then he would get his “fair” treatment by all those folks that are trying to hinder his success.:)

  507. Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just chose to overlook the fact that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 425,000 units short of selling platinum, lol.

    I am sure they would not have done it if they did not feel it was possible but you can keep an eye on the numbers for us, okay… Let us know when Taylor’s cd OFFICALLY sells 1,000,000.00,.. :wink1_tb:

    Selling 14k a week, Taylor will need anoter 30 weeks to really hit platinum. Seems premature to call it platinum now. to me.

    Well, at least he’ll still be selling. That’s all that matters to me…:laugh_tb:

  508. huh, I think Paris’s song sounds like the songs that my sons listen to on the Disney channel or kid movies. If she’s marketed that way, she could be very successful!

  509. Ray – Awww, you are too sweet! Do you think that could all happen for Tay?

  510. Gosh, thanks, Ray! Why didn’t we think of some of those things yet! :tongue_laugh_ee:

  511. BTW, to Taylor Hicks fans à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  YOU MIGHT WANT TO UPDATE TAYLOR HICKSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ BIO at Wikipedia to reflect the fact that his album has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

    All I see there right now is just DIMYP certified GOLD.

    Go for it Big Boy.

  512. Somehow I doubt J Records is up to the challenge, Ray. Maybe if we put our 12 heads together, we could come up with a viable plan.

  513. Metta..forgive me for my sarcastic post! I figure if all that would happen everyone would get thier “fill”… I just am venting my “tired of Taylor” thoughts..but I still love you!!!!!!

  514. WARNING: Taylor fans do not get serious/angry on meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t help myself being I am not normal and have 11 personalities..so here goes: I do wish Taylor would win 12 grammies,sell platinum,brass,gold, and steel,etc,..I wish every radio station in America would be required to play his single on every hour 24 hrs a dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I wish he would make a music video that is about about 4 hrs longà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I wish he would have an hr long talk show on every night and he would be the only guestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.I wish every city would require a billboard the size of a football field on it declaring him Season 5 winner and keep it up for say around 10 yearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.and oh,maybe a commercial on every station every hour with him selling hair gel?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.or maybe even a new reality tv dance contest called,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Dancing With The Stars, Taylor Hicks Styleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  airing 2 nights a week..And, of course Simon starts every new season with a statement saying Taylor is the most talented,unique,charissmatic, winner to ever grace the AI stageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦then ,maybe just then he would get his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“fairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  treatment by all those folks that are trying to hinder his success.:)

    You missed the pope declaring him the 1st living saint, him being named an honorary member of every sports team in existance and George Bush officially declaring that Taylor is more popular than he is.

  515. Oh no, Metta. Now that Ray is around you won’t talk to me. Thankgoodness he’s locked out of chat. :devil_tb:

  516. The first single, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just To Feel That Way,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  goes to radio this week. ( second paragraph ).

    strong> Little Boy Blue,

    You are for real right. That quote will either be ignored or disected for the mean of “Goes to radio this week.” :wink_ee:

    Ray, you are bring tears to my eyes. :cry_tb: I also wish the same things to your favorite…

  517. I just am venting my à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“tired of Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  thoughts

    Your rants are HOT!

    but I still love you!!!!!!

    Never doubted it for a minute. ;)

  518. Ray, can I assume that Taylor is not your favorite?

    Ray, You know our utmost love goes to YOU…Taylor does not come on this blog and post, so he plays second fiddle to you, okay..

  519. Thankgoodness heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s locked out of chat.

    Shhhhhhhhh! ;)

  520. Simon always ragged on Taylor for being karaoke and a wedding/bar singer type so I’m guessing he doesn’t think he’s unique. I have to agree. I’m not sure that people would have noticed him if not for the hair, the dancing, and the soul patrol shout outs. I believe he calculated very well in developing his persona for the show but whether it will help in sales and radio play is hard to say.

  521. I believe slick-headed chris was certified before actualllllllly going PLAT too.

    Yeah, but everything Chris does gets over-looked becuase he is GOD and you know no one questions the actions of God…

  522. That quote will either be ignored or disected for the mean of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Goes to radio this week.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    What’s to dissect? GC has already confirmed that “goes to radio this week” in fact means “goes to radio next week in the form of an e-mail (fingers crossed).” JRecords says pfffffffftt! to RCA and all their fancy promo CDs and pretty, shiny ads on industry sites.

    I still think something is amiss with the single release, but, I’m tentatively happy with the news.

  523. ray………how sweet of all of you to wish that for Taylor. And now explain why you think it is that Taylor fans feel so defensive and protective?

  524. does not come on this blog and post

    Sure he does, he comes to hear how Metta’s a$$ kicking is going.

  525. Metta, you and JJ cannot have all the men on this board. It is bad enough they are far and few without you two hogging them for yourselves.. :nono_tb: :laugh_tb:

  526. I really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like JTLTW. I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve tried, but it just ainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t happening. And I know Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not alone.

    Such is the nature of music, art, clothing, food, etc. We all prefer different things. It’s okay. I’m not fond (to say the least) of Ashlee Simpson’s “music”, but she sold more than 2 million copies of her first album.

    I like JTFTW but then I am fond of Taylor’s voice and music – especially his original songs.

  527. coco: I believe [] chris was certified before actualllllllly going PLAT too.

    According to the RIAA, Daughtry was certified on December 14, 2006. By that date it had sold 614,331 according to SS (released December 13th).

    Dreamgirls was listed as certified as platinum last week and, at that time, it hadn’t even reached 500K in sales.

  528. Okay, I am off for a while but Metta, I am watching you… :mad2_ee:

  529. hs
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
    Okay, back to being happy that Tayor has officially be certified platinum..

    Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just chose to overlook the fact that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 425,000 units short of selling platinum, lol.

    Here’s some more facts you can overlook regarding units sold at the time of platinum certification:

    Kelly’s “Thankful” certified platinum 05-19-03, sold 695,573
    Kelly’s “Breakaway” certified 2x platinum 03-28-04, sold 1,766,367
    Kelly’s “Breakaway” certified 3x platinum 07-14-05, sold 2,607,395
    Kelly’s “Breakaway” certified 4x platinum 11-22-05, sold 3,654,210
    Kelly’s “Breakaway” certified 5x platinum 01-18-06, sold 4,547,555

    Clay’s “MoaM” certified 2x platinum 11-17-04, sold 1,185,735

    Fantasia’s “Free Yourself” certified platinum 01-06-05, sold 685,913

    Carrie’s “Some Hearts” certified 2x plat 01-06-06, sold 1,636,689
    Carrie’s “Some Hearts” certified 3x plat 04-28-06, sold 2,699,673
    Carrie’s “Some Hearts” certified 4x plat 11-06-06, sold 3,650,575
    (I’m pretty sure I read that “Some Hearts” has certified 5x platinum recently. Current sales? 4,723,956.)

    Chris’s “Daughtry” certified platinum 12-13-06, sold 614,331.

    Facts indeed.

  530. And now explain why you think it is that Taylor fans feel so defensive and protective?

    I think is just more noticable because there is more Taylor fans here than others. But Ray, I will help defend your favorite for you if you want me too. It will be hard thou but for you I will try… :wink_ee:

  531. Kirsten
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
    coco: I believe [] chris was certified before actualllllllly going PLAT too.

    According to the RIAA, Daughtry was certified on December 14, 2006. By that date it had sold 614,331 according to SS (released December 13th).

    I thought that Chris’ album couldn’t be certified until it had been out a month on Dec.21. Anyway, it had sold platinum by 5 wks.

  532. Sure he does, he comes to hear how Mettaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a$$ kicking is going.

    Which feverish lobe of your brain is that falsehood emanating from?

  533. Here are the accurate SS numbers for all Idol albums that are in the top 200:

    1 Dreamgirls 60,064 (-9%) 512,057
    4 Daughtry 50,383 (-10%) 1,227,332
    15 Carrie 32,593 (-16%) 4,723,956
    47 Dreamgilrs (Collectors) 15,381 (-16%) 112,028
    53 Taylor 13,946 (-26%) 572,475
    68 Fantasia 11,080 (-21%) 242,193
    83 Kellie 8,808 (-17%) 372,090

  534. Okay, so normally they wait until people sell around 600,000 before they certify platinum. Again, hopefully the single makes the difference and he sells a million. If calling him a “platinum selling artist” makes that happen faster, great.

  535. Little Boy Blue
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
    He has sold over 1 million (1.2) just not at retail.

    For the sake of argument, what happens if retailers donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sell 1.2 Million ? Are they allowed to return it to Arista ?

    One more question à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  what is the difference between Arista and J Records ? I hear the names used interchangeably when it comes to Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    Taylor is with Arista. (Pick up the CD and check.) J Records & Arista are both labels, along with RCA, in the RCA Music Group, headed by Clive Davis, which is owned by Sony BMG.

    Arista & J Records share a website, on which both Arista & J Records artists are featured.

  536. Gotta go. Have fun in chat. I’ll join when I can.

    Have a good night, Ray. :)

  537. Okay, so normally they wait until people sell around 600,000 before they certify platinum.

    It has nothing to do with sales. If the record company shipped 1 Million cd’s and the artist sells 1, they can still certify platinum. According to the record company, they have a sale when the retailer buys it. Returns are rare.

  538. Dave…don’t get comfortable in chat with my Metta..I may buy a new computer just to stop that!:)

  539. bean99: I thought that Chrisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ album couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be certified until it had been out a month on Dec.21.

    This has been a topic of discussion in the past. It seems that albums that would be certified around Christmas time are certified in less than 30 days. At other times of the year, it takes at least 30 days. Carrie’s album also took less than 30 days to certify platinum.

    What can I say, the RIAA says on their website it was certified on December 14th. They are the keepers of those records.

  540. Maybe when that grey haired guy auditions tonight Taylor will get another bump in sales. Jewel, Abba and Kats SOTR went up at Itunes because of AI last night.

  541. I believe you, Kirsten. I was just assuming that because of what we were told earlier on. :smile2_tb:

  542. I hope that tonight is more about fun and funny rather than dull and depressing.

  543. WARNING: Taylor fans do not get serious/angry on meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t help myself being I am not normal and have 11 personalities..

    ray… #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 …

    I know we Taylor fans are persuasive but, I’m guessing you had a bad day today or something because I know you wouldn’t be the kind of guy who would be unfaithful to Kat (or Metta). I think what you need is a Margarita. Or some meditation. But Margaritas are better.

  544. “According to the record company, they have a sale when the retailer buys it. Returns are rare.”

    Then the retailers want Taylor to sell platinum even more than his fans.

  545. Do retailers return CDs back to record companies if they don’t sell?

  546. News about Taylor’s album is getting around to the news circuits :)

    http://www.keyt.com/entertainment/5239571.html

    “…Taylor Hicks’ Self-Titled Debut Album Certified Platinum by RIAA
    NEW YORK– Taylor Hicks is now a platinum recording artist. His self-titled debut album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling more than 1 million copies since its release on Dec. 12, 2006.

    Hicks has reached this milestone prior to the release of an official single. The first single, “Just to Feel That Way,” goes to radio this week…”

    more at the link

    Also:

    http://www.4cdmusic.com/2007/01/17/taylor-hicks-goes-platinum/

    “…Taylor Hicks Goes Platinum
    Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not just talking about his hair, American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s current reigning champion Taylor Hicks is now a platinum recording artist. His self-titled debut album TAYLOR HICKS (Arista Records/19 Recordings) was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America selling over one million copies since its release on December 12, 2006.

    Hicks has reached this coveted platinum milestone prior to the release of an official single. The first single, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just To Feel That Way,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  goes to radio this week. To ring in the New Year Hicks will also kick off his first headlining tour on Wednesday, February 21st, in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida Theater with dates currently scheduled to run through April 27th in Kansas City, MO. This is the first time fans will be able to see him perform songs from the new album in a live venue….”

    more at link

  547. I don’t understand how they can say that Taylor SOLD more than 1 million copies since its release on Dec. 12, 2006 when Soundscan said he sold 572,475 CDs.

    I agree with “shipped” platinum but “sold” platinum doesn’t make any sense to me.

  548. Daveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get comfortable in chat with my Metta..I may buy a new computer just to stop that!:)

    Ray, I’ll try to behave but it is the internet and its a chat room.
    :devil_tb:

  549. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure that people would have noticed him if not for the hair, the dancing, and the soul patrol shout outs
    ____________________________________

    I noticed him when I heard him sing the lyrics.

    I was Booorn By The River….In a Little Tent
    And just like that River,
    I’ve been running ever since..

    He could have been on the radio as far as I’m concerned…That voice would have been noticed.

  550. griz: News about Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album is getting around to the news circuits

    It’s amazing how well some of those press releases work. Once they hit the wires, they can end up in 100’s of newspapers/websites, etc. And, nobody does much to edit them so they end up painting a pretty rosey picture.

    Maybe the PR firm does know what it’s doing. This is a great time to release AI-related information (especially, now that the first AI episode has aired and news agencies are scrounging around for other Idol related information).

    I just saw this little blurb (hope I didn’t miss somebody else posting it):

    http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/UPDATE/70117044

    Arriving about two hours before his tee time, Lopez talked music with Alice Cooper and American Idol Taylor Hicks.

  551. If Taylor has “sold” 1 million CDs eventhough Soundscan said 572,000, then what does it mean to be “sold”.

  552. MaryS-NJ…..I’m fine, I just tired of Taylor talk so much(sorry!).I don’t even go to my idol’s site cause get tired of overkill on every single detail.. but I love the posters here! I like it when the talk is diverse and subject matters change….now its pretty much when is the single and whats his sales and how fine he will be when folks catch on to him,etc,etc….I almost wish my Kat would do something stupid just to change the flow…sure on her release Jan 30-the subjects will change(I may be wishing everyone go back to talking Tay then…hehe)….:)

  553. squishy: I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand how they can say that Taylor SOLD more than 1 million copies since its release on Dec. 12, 2006 when Soundscan said he sold 572,475 CDs.

    Maybe he sold 428,000 through Sams Club and Costco ;-) (they apparently don’t report to SoundScan).

    Nevada has said that the record company sells the CDs to the retailers, so technically, the phrasing is correct.

    What does it matter what the press says? They also report that Taylor got 63 million votes on finale night, so they tend to be a little slick with the numbers.

    Who does it harm if they say he’s sold 1 million? Why, nobody.

  554. Too bad that press release happened today instead of yesterday.

    Last night American Idol was strutting its stuff about past Idol contestants’ accolades which included Kelly Clarkson’s Grammies, Carrie Underwood’s CMAs, Jennifer Hudson’s Oscar buzz, and Chris Daughtry’s highest selling debut rock album ever. They could have said Taylor’s platinum “selling” album besides just showing him winning AI as previous winners.

  555. Who does it harm if they say heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sold 1 million? Why, nobody.

    Right, NOBODY except for a few no-lifers like the ones that post on these AI blogs care to know exact numbers – they hear “platinum seller” and that is what they know – they don’t question sold vs. shipped.

    Soooooo, we can know refer to Taylor as a “Platinum and Gold Seller” for his single and his album.

    :)

  556. Kirsten,

    So if Taylor never actually sells a million CDs, he would still be considered a platinum selling artist?

  557. They could have said Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s platinum à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sellingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  album besides just showing him winning AI as previous winners.

    Who cares? The information was not released until TODAY. Doesn’t matter really, does it?

    The information is getting out to the new press just now – and no doubt will be mentioned tomorrow night on Larry King :)

  558. #

    MaryS-NJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m fine, I just tired of Taylor talk so much(sorry!).I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even go to my idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s site cause get tired of overkill on every single detail.. but I love the posters here! I like it when the talk is diverse and subject matters changeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.now its pretty much when is the single and whats his sales and how fine he will be when folks catch on to him,etc,etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.I almost wish my Kat would do something stupid just to change the flowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦sure on her release Jan 30-the subjects will change(I may be wishing everyone go back to talking Tay thenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦hehe)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.:)
    # 646

    Does that mean you don’t want a Margarita, or Eleven? :wink_wp:

    Seriously, I know. This place is packed with partisans but it’s usually pretty civil and entertaining. We all reach our breaking point at some point and the snark flows, but I like the fact that there’s always someone here to challenge and snap woolly-headed fans back to reality.

  559. Wow. Could we please steer clear of the Chris vs Taylor fan war stuff?

    Good lord, the new season has officially started and we are still at war here?

    One more note. PLEASE don’t make judgements on your fellow posters. There’s been some really judgemental language creeping up in some of the posts. Stick to YOUR opinion, and allow YOUR fellow poster’s their own opinions, please.

  560. MaryS-NJ…..I could drink a Black Russian!..or maybe a little Irish Creme on the rocks!:)

  561. mj, a question…

    The daily chat posts are no longer going to be linked in the sidebar?

  562. GC has already confirmed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“goes to radio this weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  in fact means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“goes to radio next week in the form of an e-mail (fingers crossed).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  JRecords says pfffffffftt! to RCA and all their fancy promo CDs and pretty, shiny ads on industry sites.

    I still think something is amiss with the single release, but, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m tentatively happy with the news.

    Did Chris & Kat also sent mp3’s emails to radio stations to promote their singles or they used fancy promo CDs and pretty shiny ads?
    Just wondering here, what is the most used procedure, becuase it definitely worked for Chris.

  563. sorry mj…but i have to point this out. YO SQUISHY….i remember very clearly that when chris was certified platinum and had only shipped and not sold them that you CROWED LOUDLY AND FREQENTLY about how great he was….

    so get this…get off your horse. you sound idiotic and i picture you as the dog chasing its tail.

  564. mj, a questionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    The daily chat posts are no longer going to be linked in the sidebar?

    Right. The “Latest Posts” will be a list of articles, rather than just a list of posts.

  565. and one more thing..

    this has been explained OVER AND OVER AND OVER….

    i swear to god, you have multiple degrees here… use them for reading comprehension. SHIPPED EQUALS SOLD TO RETAILERS.

    can i make it simpler?

  566. After all the Chris is a rock god, chris shipped and sold platinum,chris is not arrogant, blah.blah.blah, I broke down and listened to snippets of 5 of his songs on Amazon.

    Home was ok, the rest have that 1-2,1-2 mindless beat that so many rock songs have today with his goat like bleating voice bellowing,then screaming..whatever floats your boat I guess.

    For me old dead-eye,literally dead eyes,is boring as hell.

  567. Thank you – I do read your posts/articles at the top of the chat posts. Really do like this new format for comment posts so much better than haloscan, too!

    Almost time for tonight’s Seattle auditions. Would so like to see more of those that actually made it through than the silly stuff.

  568. Folk,

    I was very happy about Chris’ platinum album for he was the first non-winner and non-runner-up to got platinum but I DID MAKE A DISTINCTION between platinum “shipped” vs “sold”. I think there is a difference and I did talk about shipped NOT sold when I talked about Chris’ platinum album. I made that distinction for you all were making the same distinction as well as there should be.

  569. From Variety.com:

    According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, the opening night of auditions on “American Idol” averaged a 15.7 rating/36 share in adults 18-49 and 37.3 million viewers overall, up about 5% vs. its premiere of one year ago. The only other “Idol” telecast to rate higher was the May 2003 season finale between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.

  570. sorry mjà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but i have to point this out. YO SQUISHYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.i remember very clearly that when chris was certified platinum and had only shipped and not sold them that you CROWED LOUDLY AND FREQENTLY about how great he wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

    so get thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦get off your horse. you sound idiotic and i picture you as the dog chasing its tail.

    WORD!

  571. Did Chris & Kat also sent mp3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s emails to radio stations to promote their singles or they used fancy promo CDs and pretty shiny ads?
    Just wondering here, what is the most used procedure, becuase it definitely worked for Chris.

    Not sure about that but I know Chris did a lot of promotional radio stops, inclusing radio interviews plus performing an acoustic version of It’s Not Over at the radio stations.

  572. you know what squish…there is no difference. everything you post is redundant.

    get over yourself and your obsession.

  573. Shar You posted earlier that ” Point is a child of an alcoholic parent will always have issues and imo Simon was a son-of-a-bitch for those comments. ” Amen WORD !!!

  574. but I DID MAKE A DISTINCTION between platinum à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shippedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  vs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    YAWN. When do the my idol did better than your idol fucking fan wars end?

  575. Well, Arista has to spin, spin, spin for Taylor somehow, but the Press Release is very deceiving as Taylor has NOT sold over a million copies of his album. Wholesale shipments are not selling the album because they could be returned if not sold at retail.

  576. I am one who is going to go with units sold when it comes to platinum talk. Certified platinum is wonderful, but I want to see Taylor actually sell 1 million CD’s at some point.

    The only reason I say this is because I feel the buying public who makes his CD sales platinum are getting something for their purchase money.

    Crap galore sells platinum. To me, that means very little other than something to crow about in a press release. Or to tout your guy/gal over another guy/gal.

    When a really quality artist, like Taylor, sells platinum. This means something to me.

  577. and squish…too bad we cannot go find the archives. cause i am pretty sure we had to EXPLAIN the difference to you. perhaps your weekly newsletter from RCA had yet to arrive.

  578. jpfan
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
    à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“According to the record company, they have a sale when the retailer buys it. Returns are rare.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Then the retailers want Taylor to sell platinum even more than his fans.

    638 squishy
    Jan 17th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
    Do retailers return CDs back to record companies if they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sell?

    It all depends on what was negotiated between the buyer and the record company. But why would retailer return a new CD that hasn’t been out even 8 weeks and the artist is getting ready to go on tour and release a single… which will sell more CDs?

  579. Folk,

    Please read MJs rules again. I am surprised that you are getting personal with me. You can rip on the Idols all you want but you are crossing the line when you rip into me.

  580. Well, Arista has to spin, spin, spin for Taylor somehow, but the Press Release is very deceiving as Taylor has NOT sold over a million copies of his album. Wholesale shipments are not selling the album because they could be returned if not sold at retail.

    In the real world WHO CARES? Do you think Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smo will question the platinum? – will they go and search the internet between shipped and sold? No way, Jose.

    As far as the world in concerned, Taylor is a platinum selling artist now. End of story.

  581. terry and shar……….I hear what you are saying about the Simon comment and how he must have known Taylors story. If not, he should have apologized to Taylor after someone clued him in. I, too, know what that does to children. I know it hurt Taylor. He mentioned it on the first Leno show.

  582. For example…Walmart purchased a CD with an exclusive track, highly unlikely that the record company would produce this CD without Walmart agreeing to purchase outright (no returns…no matter what happens). Other traditional music outlets may pay a higher cost but have some sort of return agreement. Most retailers would rather purchase at the lowest price so they have more room to merchandise (price)at retail level.

  583. terry, that was such a low blow from Simon, it nauseated me. I do think after Taylor’s initial sock he became very angry. I think in a different format and a different time our southern gentleman would have kicked Simon’s cockney ass, a feat that may still happen.

    If and when I want front row sseats and I am putting my money on that strapping YOUNG man, Mr. Taylor Hicks who has now gone platinum.

  584. alot of soul patrolers are scratchu=ing their heads still even when it’s in black and whit saying taylor got platinum how with less then 600.000

    all future platinum certified winners did not have 1mill when they got the platinum title

    artisa shipped 1,2 albums ..stores who does not use soundscan ..are added by what is not shipped back hence sold 1.2 million platinum
    now that his single is out next week..tuesday..taylor will sale more..this week should improve sales for next week billboard

  585. Simon always ragged on Taylor for being karaoke and a wedding/bar singer type so Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m guessing he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s unique. I have to agree. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure that people would have noticed him if not for the hair, the dancing, and the soul patrol shout outs. I believe he calculated very well in developing his persona for the show but whether it will help in sales and radio play is hard to say.

    Wow, why such angry post. Did someone say something outside of Chris is GOD on on this blog today? Someone must have forgotten that it is ONLY Taylor that you are allow to criticized. NEVER EVER CHRIS because…well..he is GOD. :nono_tb:

    I need to think about your post for a minute…Yep, I happen to like the bar singing, karaoke sounding guy with the gray hair. We all can’t be in love with SCREAMING rocker without an original nor unique bone in his body. Let’s just say, being the business man that Simon is, he just saw dollars signs in his eyes when he saw Chris. Don’t forget he was the man who formed the Spice Girls..very original, I must say…Where is the Spice Girls today? :ponder_tb:

  586. Another thing interesting about the Wikipedia explanation of platinum is that Taylor gets paid based on how many the LABEL (wholesaler) sells rather than how many the RETAILERS sell. That’s a good thing. And Taylor or anybody else for that matter actually sells MORE retail than is reflected by Soundscan (and therefore Billboard) because some outlets don’t report to Soundscan.

    OK…on to the second night of “World’s Worst Auditions (and Judges)”….

  587. Some things are VERY DEEP SEEDED (like hate)…and even a genius could have problems with resolution

  588. oops, initial sock should be initial shock. Off to watch AI and am praying that Simon and Randy don’t get their rocks off laughing at mentally handicapped people tonight.

  589. It really isn’t about me but it is about just how well Chris is doing. Chris is doing phenonemonally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I will just focus on just how great Chris is doing. Getting personal isn’t what I am about. That is childish and sophomoric.

    Here is what the MSNBC article said today:

    “(Daughtry finished fourth on American Idol last year, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming the most successful spawn of the fifth season. As a part of the rock band that shares his last name, the artist has been a fixture on The Billboard 200 with his self-titled debut, which has already sold more than 1 million copies.)”

    I am proud that Chris is the most successful Idol contestant from Season 5.

  590. Can someone ask Gray or some insider if Taylor will also be doing a video for JTFTW? I think that will further help him boost his sales, they could play his video on VH-1, for example.
    Video= More exposure. I hope they already have plans to make one.

  591. Squishy – “successful” is really subjective. I see you define the word as “units sold”.

    I think we know what “successful” means to Taylor. To him, and Taylor if your reading, which I doubt, correct me, is that he now has the ability to do what he loves, performing and traveling and singing in front of thousands of people each night, record albums, touching people with his music and getting his voice heard. THIS is what success means to Taylor, and to many of us as well. Taylor has achieve success in spades over the past year – I say HE’S the most successful WINNER thus far, in my opinion.

    “Success” is NOT ONLY defined one way. I see it is to you, tho. For that, I’m feel sorry for you.

    He said AI is the biggest opportunity he ever been given and for that he will always be grateful.

    Case closed.

  592. Lassie, I understand your intentions, but really. It’s time to drop it.

    Constantly saying the same things about Chris, positive or not, is not going to help matters and it only fuels the “idol vs. idol” crap. You may not consider it baiting, but it is.

  593. Arista would be foolish if they didn’t do a video for JTFTW, and even if GC knows that/when a video is in the works, I have a hunch GC would only announce it after the video’s done.

    My brothers’ Kat-loving babysitter couldn’t stop humming JTFTW this morning. Hah.

  594. OK…just watching AI..Did I just hear Simon tell that girl to stick her used chewing gum on Taylor’s face?(pics on wall behind her)….for the first time(even as a Katfan)-I defend Tay- I say Simon was an A$$ to say that…that was just plain tacky. TACKY!

  595. Did Chris & Kat also sent mp3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s emails to radio stations to promote their singles or they used fancy promo CDs and pretty shiny ads?

    I heard that they both got mps3 uploaded to the radio station. I’ve also seen pictures of the Single CD that was sent to radio stations to promote Kat (there were also ones for Clay, Bucky and Kellie). I haven’t seen any for Daughtry, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have one (just that I haven’t seen it).

  596. Squishy, Did you see that Chris is coming to Raleigh? I am so excited. It doesn’t look like the tickets are on sale yet.

  597. OKà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦just watching AI..Did I just hear Simon tell that girl to stick her used chewing gum on Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s face?(pics on wall behind her)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.for the first time(even as a Katfan)-I defend Tay- I say Simon was an A$$ to say thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦that was just plain tacky. TACKY!

    Simon STILL can’t get over Taylor’s triumph last year eh? LOLOL….

    He should comiserate with some of Chris’ most vocal supporters.

  598. Re: earlier comments that Taylor got ahead not so much by talent but by “gimmicks” or a personality contest. This is a reality TV show. That means that it is not 100% real. The people on the show are chosen to create a “cast” for the show. Yes, people vote, but not until it’s weeded out by the judges & certain folk get lots of on air time to help guide a set “cast” for the show. The hard luck person. The unattractive person. The youngster. The hot/sexy male/female. The geek. They all will have a certain level of talent and from there it’s going to be a combination of things:
    Their singing ability – definately. Hopefully by top 12 everyone can at least carry a tune in a bucket.
    Personality – why else would they talk to them, show back story, etc. except to reveal personality & let people become invested? Otherwise it would just be StarSearch – sing it/pick a winner.
    Looks – good or bad, makeover, what they wear, is their hair too big, whatever all plays a part. Some people would not vote for Mandisa just because she was big. Others would not vote for Taylor because he was considered too old.
    It factor/charisma – some have IT, some don’t. It will become revealed as the weeks go on.
    In a nutshell, they ALL have their gimmicks. Calamari? Chicken Little? My gramma won a grammy? I got married at 20 & adopted her kids because I’m a wonderful man? I’ve just been working at the drug store & people call me snaggletooth? I love to play the harmonica & premature gray runs in the family? Yeah – let’s all pick on the guy who developed a talent w/ an instrument & can’t help the fact that his hair color changed. Makes perfect sense because, well, THAT’S a gimmick!

  599. Platinum, folks. That means at least 1,000,000 copies have been sold.
    the man’s voice has been heard.
    and it’s just the begining.

    ps
    ummm GRIZ
    don’t I win a prize here or something?
    from the guess his sales contest?
    I did say he’d go PLATINUM!

  600. Jennifer,

    I am soooo happy for you!!!!!!!

    I am very excited that I may be able to go back stage and meet Chris and the 4 J’s at the HOB Anaheim concert.

  601. Jennifer,

    Make sure you get your tickets that day for the shows are selling out very quickly!

  602. With Simons comments, he is being nothing less than hypocritical, and as a representative of AI, is basically saying on Oprah, that the viewers are irrelevant because they make the wrong decisions anyway. On the other hand, he takes part in a promo in which he says that only “the best” win American Idol, basically then saying that the voters DO get it right. Which is it then?

  603. NICE article from CBS News (just released)!!

    http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/music/main2368848.shtml

    Sneak Peek: Taylor Hicks’ New Single
    “American Idol” Winner Releases “Just To Feel That Way”

    NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2007

    Taylor Hicks is looking forward to kicking off his tour on March 14 in New Orleans. (J Records)

    (CBS) Last year’s American Idol, Taylor Hicks, is out with a new single, “Just To Feel That Way.”

    The track is from his self-titled debut album, which entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart on Dec. 12 at No. 2.

    The 30-year-old Birmingham, Ala. native has described his debut album as a blend of old and new.

    “It’s my modern take on modern soul music,” Hicks told The Showbuzz in December. “I like to say the word ‘modern whomp music,’ because it’s just got that funky, bluesy, jazzy, but modern edge. And that’s kind of the route I wanted to take on this album.”

    Hicks begins his tour in support of the album on March 14 at the House of Blues in New Orleans. He’s also scheduled to appear in St. Charles, Mo.; Green Bay, Wis.; Atlantic City, N.J.; Baltimore; and Kansas City, Mo. with more dates to come.

    During the “American Idol” tour this summer, Hicks had a chance to perform in much larger venues than he’s ever played.

    “Playing on arena stages was exhilarating,” said Hicks. “The energy was interesting because there’s definitely a longer place to get to the energy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  from the fans to the stage. You really have to connect with people who are all the way back in the audience.”

    But Hicks said he is more comfortable performing in small theaters and clubs, as he will on his upcoming tour.

    “I enjoyed the experience of playing arenas, but for me, as an artist, I think the more intimate settings and the more theater-oriented settings is right for my music,” said Hicks.

  604. Jennifer,

    Did you see that Chris is holding steady on the Billboard charts at number 4! That is really fantastic. Most of his cohorts have fallen by the way side. Chris is close to outselling Jay-Z by now when Jay-Z sold double to Chris on debut week.

    Very very impressive!

  605. Hicks has reached this coveted platinum milestone prior to the release of an official single. The first single, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Just To Feel That Way,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  goes to radio this week. To ring in the New Year Hicks will also kick off his first headlining tour on Wednesday, February 21st, in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida Theater with dates currently scheduled to run through April 27th in Kansas City, MO. This is the first time fans will be able to see him perform songs from the new album in a live venueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Come on Griz, you have got to love Taylor’s marketing people. It is clear to see that Taylor’s folks know what they are doing. There seem to be quite a method to their madness and I must say, I love it.. What cd is out on the charts selling with out a single? Also by certifying the cd now it will drive his concert sales. Nowing that this cd is platinum might encourage more people outside of his fanbase to check out the concert. It is all part of marketing.

    We are scream about a single but we seem to miss what is really happening. Taylor just accomplished a feat. Selling cd, albeit slowly, without a single in place. I don’t recall any Idol doing that but I am open to be corrected.

    This is the cd that was not mainstream by any stretch of the imagination and yet it has managed to sell close to 600,000.00 without a single. You have artist droping singles after singles trying to keep their cd afloat and Taylor is now, after a month and almost 600,000 cds under his belt releasing a single. If that is not a feat in and of it’s self then I don’t know what is.

    One can spin this however they want but it is an accomplishment all the way.

  606. as always I spend most of my MJ time in lurkdom…always playing catch up and I have to say.. I liked all the guys this year.. and yup purchased DAUGHTRY’S CD and let me tell you I almost want to go break the freakin thing in half.. just from being here and listening to all the OMG Chris has accomplished this and oh he is an amazing singer … look he proved AI is flawed …he really is the BEST to come out of season 5 …yada yada yada… crap…
    makes me want to hate the guy and it is not even his fault

  607. I’m not surprised that Arista had Taylor certified platinum.. that way they can say all the winners had platinum albums.

    It is nothing new that they can certify platinum if shipped platinum. There are many artists with platinum records on their walls that never scanned platinum. What is fair for one is fair for all.

    I’ve checked All Access and Radio and Records and they do not have Taylor listed for going for adds this upcoming week (1/22). Did his press release give a date?

    Also, according to R&R Kat got 12 adds, All Access 20. That is a decent amount.

  608. Too bad that press release happened today instead of yesterday.

    Last night American Idol was strutting its stuff about past Idol contestantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ accolades which included Kelly Clarksonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Grammies, Carrie Underwoodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s CMAs, Jennifer Hudsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Oscar buzz, and Chris Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s highest selling debut rock album ever. They could have said Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s platinum à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sellingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  album besides just showing him winning AI as previous winners.

    It’s fine Lassie, Taylor will get his praises in time. He does not always have to be bunched with everyone else. I am sure he is not losing sleep over not being mentioned with all the platinum AI alumnis, so maybe you should not worry… :wink_ee:

    ETA: Maybe it was part of the plan. You may never know…

  609. Come on Griz, you have got to love Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s marketing people. It is clear to see that Taylorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s folks know what they are doing. There seem to be quite a method to their madness and I must say, I love it.. What cd is out on the charts selling with out a single? Also by certifying the cd now it will drive his concert sales. Nowing that this cd is platinum might encourage more people outside of his fanbase to check out the concert. It is all part of marketing.

    Perhaps, just perhaps they know what they are doing? Today was a GREAT day for Taylor and his fans. We got a release date for the single, we got a Platinum certification and we got Taylor climbing on amazon.

    I’m a HAPPY fan!

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