As a side note, I know the peeps here love them some Fred Bronson from Billboard magazine, but I’d like to point your attention to the blogger, Chris Molanphy from the music blog Idolator who does a weekly chart column, and this week he’s got some interesting thoughts on David Archuleta’s chart debut and also a few words about David Cook and Jordin Sparks. Check it out HERE.
This week’s Idol Billboard Chart right HERE. Follow along, will you?
Worth noting:
- By now, most of you know that David Archuleta’s “Crush” had a big debut on the Billboard Hot 100, a Hot Shot Debut at #2. But it appears and debuts on many other Billboard Charts this week as well. Here is the rundown: Pop 100 - it debuted last week, climbed from 63-12. Pop 100 Airplay - debuted last week, climbed from 43-39. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (where Idols currently have 3 songs in the Top 10) debuts at 29. Mainstream Top 40 - debuts at 40. Hot Digital Tracks debuts at Number 1. Hot Digital Songs - debuts at Number 1.
- “Crush” debuted nicely on the Canadian charts as well: Canadian Hot 100 - Hot Shot Debut at 7. Hot Canadian Digital Singles - Debuts at 5.
- David Cook’s “Time of My Life” - That rainbow must truly be magic, ’cause there’s no stopping it! I assumed the song would die a quick death, like most coronation songs, but not The Rainbow! Thanks to NBC deciding to use the song in their Olympic coverage, it got a very nice bump in the charts this week: Hot 100 - 36-28. Hot 100 Airplay - 34-29. Pop 100 - 39-32. Pop 100 Airplay - 37-37. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks - 3-3. Mainstream Top 40 - 32-29. Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks - 7-7. Hot Digital Tracks - 37-25. Hot Digital Songs - 40-27. The Canadians weren’t as impressed, as the song dipped, or stayed the same on those charts–more likely they were watching their own Olympic coverage: Canadian Hot 100 - 32-37. Hot Canadian Digital Singles - 39-39.
- In all the hoopla over “Crush” let’s not forget that Kristy Lee Cook also released a digital single last Tuesday, but Ken Barnes at Idol Chatter doesn’t list her numbers this week. Hm. “15 Minutes of Shame” climbed on the Hot Country Songs chart, from 60-46.
- Jordin Sparks “One Step at a Time” continues to inch slowly up the charts. It’s climbed from 24-21 on The Hot 100. Hot 100 Airplay - 36-30. Pop 100 - 13-9. Pop 100 Airplay - 11-11. Mainstream Top 40 - 13-11. Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks - 31-26. Hot Digital Tracks - 15-15. Hot Digital Songs - 18-18, Hot Canadian Digital Singles - 21-20. Canadian Hot 100 - 21-16.
- Jennifer Hudson’s “Spotlight” climbs from 83-67 on the Hot 100. Hot 100 Airplay - 59-49. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Airplay charts - 13-12. Mainstream R&B Hip Hop - 26-24. Hot Adult R&B Hip Hop 8-6. Hot Dance Club Play - 14-13.
- Daughtry’s “What About Now” debuts on the Mainstream Top 40 chart at 35.
- Carrie Underwood’s “Just A Dream” debut on the Canadian Hot 100 at 89.
- The Idol albums all had a GREAT week on the Billboard 200. The spikes are probably due to Daughtry and Jordin Sparks (with Jesse McCartney) getting back on the road after short breaks. Carrie just released a new single “Just a Dream” and has been keeping her profile up in the media: Daughtry climbed 83-70. Jordin Sparks, 93-71 and Carnival Ride, 54-38. Daughtry also re-enters the Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts at 25 and 20, respectively.
Song and album links to iTunes…
And since its somewhat related, David’s reaction to finding out he was #2 on the hot 100.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHHNcDDzwto
Oh man, he cracks me up! “What…what do you mean?” he had no clue what she was talking about. LMAO.
*Sigh* This is probably why Season 7 will be the one and only AI season I will ever watch. How do fans go through this year after year? I know this shouldn’t upset me - it’s semantics - Cook outsold Archie by 70,000 (more or less) within a shorter timeframe, but “only” charted at #3. And is made to sound like a loser. I’m not sure how charting higher but selling less units is outperforming. This just raises my defensive hackles; I know better, but can’t help it. I’ve read enough here (and elsewhere) to know that these comparisons are inevitable, but they’re frustrating.
I think I’ll just wait for Cook to guest star on an AI episode next year to tune in. Although I could never give up this blog. It’s the first place I go in the morning! :)
I see the fact that David Cook is being labeled as “Crushed” by all the headlines as just bad and lazy journalism. They all latched on to one sentence that was written by Fred Bronson in his Billboard article (I guess he wanted an exciting line in his article that this is the second time that the runner up charts better than the winner) and just went with it.
This type of comparison, specifically one that’s not based on facts (Hot 100 placement being relative to timing and other songs on charts etc.) is not doing either David any favors. It fuels the fan wars which unfortunately in the Idol universe are inevitable. Archie’s accomplishment is great on his own merit. He should be proud of himself and his fans should be proud of him. David Cook shouldn’t be labeled a loser when he is also doing fantastically well. Because of some semantics everyone is on the defensive. How sad. It would be so much nicer if we could just stick to reporting the facts without sensationalizing and creating drama where there is none.
My problem with how the media is going about this is some are using the term outsell . No matter how you slice it he didn’t outsell him. Beat him in chart position? Yes obviously. But the term outsell is clearly lazy and wrong. Until DC releases his first album single, not performed on AI, months after the finale aired and if/when he has a crappy debut then I’ll feel the media has a right to say Archie outsold him. Fred Bronson is all about chart positon so I can see where he’s coming from. Though his Ruben/Clay comparison is also lopsided since they released the same day and Clay DID outsell him. What’s cracking me up is the whole “crushed” term. I get the obvious play on words, but one lousy difference in placement is being crushed? But like it’s been said semantics, apples & oranges, nothing will change once the media latches on to a big headline.
Ultimately, if you like the music you buy it. You don’t care who outsold who. I don’t at least. I buy and listen to what I like and don’t give a flying f… what position it made on what. This is the first year I’ve been invested and thought one single thought after the finale…oh for the good old days
Archie out-performed Cookie on the charts. I think both Bronson and the Idolator guy do a really good job explaining exactly what that means. Molanphy, in particular points out that Cookie sold more and that how high an artist charts depends on many factors. He also mentions that Cookie could go to #1 with his first debut single.
I’ve read some lazy follow-ups to Bronson’s article, but I think both he and Molanphy do a good job putting the so-called “competition” in perspective.
My thoughts exactly, gingerly. I don’t think I’ve ever paid any attention to who charted where and when until now, shows how invested I became, lol.
EmmaJK……..Believe me, there are a lot of people here that feel and have felt frustration. Following Taylor Hick’s practically put me in a clinical depression! The media seemed SO mean and dismissive of him and so intent on making fun of him and destroying him. I hated it.
I like Archie, Cook, Castro….in that order. I appreciate their individual style and personality. I like to enjoy EACH of their accomplishments as they come to pass. It’s too bad the media can’t just give the facts and the kudos as they occur for an artist, and STF up with the comparisons. They make AI into this never-ending sport that never has a true final playoff, ever. It’s SO ugly.
Wow, that’s a long chart update. The “Archie outsells Cook headlines” are kind of annoying, but I’m hopeful that DC will at least get to release a real song before he’s written off forever as a complete loser by the media. Plenty of articles got the facts straight and some even mentioned DC’s chart accomplishments (11 songs on the Hot 100, which is sort of impressive in its own right)
Wow, the Idolator post sure was lengthy, but thanks for posting it. It does present a good perspective that allows for a more apples-to-apples assessment. I must add that I’m proud of Jordin! Her music doesn’t exactly move me, but I guess I always like to see someone achieve against expectations, as she clearly is doing. Hope she has a long career.
Media, Schmedia. I really believe DC is going to do just fine and IS doing just fine. I’m actually thankful for mj’s take on fan wars because it’s caused me to step back and appreciate Archie more than I would have if I didn’t read this blog. (Although I admit I would love to see DC at #1.)
I’m also thinking that DC is very aware of what all these things mean. I think the article is very clear and fair with explaining what’s going on. It’s just too bad other journalists (perhaps biased, perhaps lazy?) aren’t following the same pattern.
JudyOhio, I think the Fraze would be a perfect venue for Jason, don’t you?
Wishful thinking?
I’ve decided to try my best just to be happy that Magic Rainbow has done as well as it has and to dismiss those who say that Cook was outperformed as wrong. DA did very well and got a high chart placement, but he didn’t sell more or have more radio play than ToML in his first week. (That said, I suspect that, ultimately, Crush will sell a bunch and do very well in terms of radio, just from what’s going on with the radio charts.)
Re: KLC: After DA hit the top of the itunes top songs chart, I checked to see where KLC had landed, and she wasn’t there. So then I checked itunes’ Top 100 Country Songs. And she wasn’t there. There were songs that were a couple of years old, but not hers. So far, I’ve yet to see it on that list. I’m sure that she must have some sales, but I have a feeling that they can’t be very many, given what’s going on with that chart. That doesn’t necessarily mean that she won’t sell a bunch of records, but so far, the single doesn’t seem to be taking off.
This is true but remember: Cook’s “Time of My Life” was released IMMEDIATELY after the finale so it had big publicity and hype surrounding it. Archie’s “Crush” not only debuted THREE MONTHS AFTER the finale but also with minimal publicity and limited radio airplay yet still managed to make it to #2, selling 166K downloads.
So that just about, umm, make them even, I think?
While I think Cook is FAR from being a loser and will be extremely successful, Archie’s “Crush” debut is MORE impressive considering all the factors mentioned above.
Just a side note the 166k is on a 6day sales week and not a full 7day one also. Since it was releasedon a tuesday, billboard sales week is mon-sun.
But either way they will both do just fine. ^__^
COOKCRICKET!!! The Fraze would be absolutely PERFECT for Jason. I was just there the end of July and saw “Boston”, and I can easily imagine a nice summer evening at the Fraze with the daydreamin’ boy :)
Correct me if I’m wrong but don’t most new songs hit iTunes on Tuesdays? I’m not sure I remember any new songs going up on iTunes on a Monday.
True, but big sales aren’t a guarantee simply because you just won and are coming off show hype. Jordin’s coronation song was released the same exact way as David’s was and didn’t she sell well below 80k her first week? I know her number was nowhere near 236,000.
This is what was said in the RCA press release regarding his first week total
Good point but two things: Downloading performances from iTunes was a relatively new concept at least for “Idol” viewers at the time (whereas in Season 7, Seacrest was hyping on iTunes since the first performance week) plus Jordin didn’t have as big a fanbase as Cook despite the fact that she won.
Thanks Trina for the information! I was wondering about that very same thing! I like how they say digital or physical.
JudyOhio, I love that place.
I wish the media wouldn’t make it a competition anymore either because there is still that percentage of people out there who would buy both their cds just to be supportive that may pass now just so their idol is the “big winner”. It may be a teeny tiny percentage but dangit, I want those guys to get as many sales as possible!
I’m really proud of both David’s accomplishments and I hope that we see more of them from other idols from this season!
JudyOhio, I hear you on the Taylor stuff! That was an insane time! Being a fan and seeing success should be fun and the media stole that from me. I refuse to let that happen again with the David’s!
Comparing TOML to Crush is truly like comparing apples to oranges. I don’t think it’s fair to compare the success of an AI coronation single to a “regular” single (and I say this as a Cook fan who has gradually become a fan of Archie as well). Crush hasn’t had anywhere near the exposure and promotion that TOML had right out of the gate (just by virtue of being the coronation single). I agree that exposure and promotion doesn’t always guarantee huge sales, but most coronation singles tend to do pretty well. In the case of Jordin, season six wasn’t nearly as popular as season five or seven, for example, so that may be a reason for the lower sales of This Is My Now. Away from the Idol bubble, her non-coronation singles have done extremely well. That being said, TOML has proven to have a shelf life beyond what most AI coronation singles usually have, and you really can’t attribute it entirely to the SYTYCD/Olympic exposure (although it has obviously helped).
Any way you slice it, the debut of Crush is impressive. If the song had more airplay, it would have debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. I was thrilled to see Cook making Billboard history following his win, and I’m equally thrilled to see Archie doing the same with his Crush debut.
I agree that these two singles can’t accurately be compared in any way. I am glad for Archie’s success. I am just mystified as to how or why Cook is being written off as a failure when he hasn’t even released anything of his own from his album (especially considering that he has done better with the CS than any winner since Kelly).
But I have no control over the media; it’s just disappointing to see such talent wasted before it has even been given a chance to shine.
Cook being written off as a failure? I know some of the articles are spinning this with an “Archuleta beats Cook” angle because Crush charted higher than TOML in its debut, but I haven’t seen any press suggesting that DC is a failure as an Idol winner.
I don’t know that I would agree with the concept that DC is being written off as a failure. I think that what some of us have found annoying is that DC is being labeled as having been outperformed. Looking at the numbers, DC sold 236,024 copies of ToML in four days of sales for his first week, for an average of 59,006 per day. DA sold 166,247 copies of Crush in six days of sales for his first week for an average of just shy of 27,708 per day. So Archie’s sales rate was around 47% of DC’s on a per-day basis. (Actually, Crush’s performance, on a per day basis, was pretty similar to Dream Big’s from that first four-day week.) Even if you assume that half of DC’s sales that week were because of proximity to the finale—which, given ToML’s continued sales seems pretty tenous to me, but I’ll assume it for these purposes—DC’s per-day sales still would have been (slightly) higher than DA’s.
In short, even if you assume that DC got extra sales because his first week sales were right after the finale, and don’t take into account that some DC fans just couldn’t stomach the thought of buying the Magic Rainbow song, I just don’t see how someone can accurately say that DA outperformed DC. Outcharted in a qualitatively different week? Sure. Did very well? Sure. Outperformed? Not so much.
And the other thing to keep in mind is that with six days of sales and airplay, TOML very well may have hit #1.
FolkFan, thanks for that analysis. It certainly puts things in perspective. Knowledge is power, as they say. And with you laying out those numbers that way, it’s easy to dismiss those sensationalized, misleading headlines as just that - sensationalized and misleading.
Umm… take a deep breath, my friends. Both guys are talented and will have some success. :-)
Perhaps a lot of the angst over all of this is due to the fact that we are still waiting to hear music from DC. As FolkFan stated, many Cook fans do not consider TOML his single in any way, shape or form. It is just frustrating to have him be the last one out of the gate with original music with no rainbows attached. Yes, both Cook and Archie are talented and should both be successful. The only question that remains is whether they will both be given opportunities to do so. I think that there are a lot of fans who don’t want Cookie’s only claims to success to be a one-shot major label record deal and a Skechers endorsement. He is capable of so much more, if given the opportunity. That opportunity is what we are all waiting for (albeit impatiently).