‘Idol’ show still strong despite ratings slip
A boost in airtime this season and the addition of iTunes as a fourth core sponsor (with Coca-Cola, AT&T, and Ford) have helped to make the business “stronger than it has ever been,” says Robert F.X. Sillerman, chief executive of CKX, the firm that co-owns the franchise with FremantleMedia.
His company is the best proxy for the health of what might be called Idol Inc.: CKX subsidiary 19 Entertainment - run by “Idol “creator Simon Fuller - collects license fees from Fox, signs recording deals with the winner and any other top-50 contestant it wants, manages their careers, handles the annual summer concert tour and licenses the brand.
CKX reported last week that its “Idol”-related operating income in the first quarter rose 63 percent, vs. the same period last year, to $24 million on revenue of $28.8 million, up 42 percent.
The main reason for the increase: Fox ordered 53 hours of “Idol”, up four hours from 2007. Although that’s “a great business decision for Fox,” Sillerman says, it may have diluted ratings for each show.
Sillerman says he’s “sure” that his company will sign record deals with semi-finalists David Archuleta and David Cook - and may pick up others.
“There’s a thought that there may be a (Chris) Daughtry lurking in the weeds in this year’s crop, someone who was voted off a little bit early who might have some value.”
On ‘Idol,’ good singers make for a dull season
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This season of “American Idol” had talented singers, a doe-eyed teenage contestant for the prepubescent crowd, visits from pop royalty, stinging comments from Simon Cowell and jaw-droppers from Paula Abdul.
So why have some fans and observers found it a dull slog as the show builds to its David Archuleta vs. David Cook finale next Wednesday?
Because contestants who were good but not memorable made for mediocre television, watchers say. Where was the drama, the unpredictability, the oddball personalities? In short, where was the fun?
Such criticism is ironic given the heat “Idol” took last year when Sanjaya Malakar, more a hairstyle than a singer, held the spotlight. Or the reaction when dancin’ man Taylor Hicks won the title in 2006, trading as much on charm as skill.
Producers of the Fox show made an effort this year to go for vocal gold over glitz, and this is the thanks they get — along with remaining the No. 1 show, albeit with slimmer ratings.
Was Jeff Archuleta Banned from Idol for Trying to Make a Side Deal?
We told you last week that Jeff Archuleta had been banned from backstage at Idol for various reasons, including TMZ’s story that he cost the show lots of money when he changed some lyrics to son David Archuleta’s song. The National Ledger now reports that the last straw that got Stage Dad from Hell banned was the fact that he tried to make a side deal with one of Idol’s sponsors while they were on a video shoot. Apparently, Jeff may have tried to get an endorsement deal for David and harassed the sponsors.
‘American Idol’: “Idol” psychics pick a David
And the next ” American Idol” is David. But David who? Not everyone agrees on which David will win Wednesday night.
The winner: David Archuleta. There’s no question David Cook is a far more original and versatile performer than his young opponent, but as Randy has told “Archie” so often, “Dude, you can sing the phone book.” Add to that Archie’s devoted legion of prepubescent and postmenopausal fans. And then there’s this year’s coronation song, which is bound to be more syrupy than a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth’s. No one serves up syrup sweeter than Archuleta. We can already imagine his dad saying, “Pour it on.” - Daniel Bubbeo
Underwood most popular ‘Idol,’ Castro overrated
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer Carrie Underwood is the all-time most popular “American Idol” winner, and dreadlocked Jason Castro was voted the most overrated contestant this season, according to a poll released on Monday by AOL Television.
With the most watched U.S. television show reaching its climax this week, finalists David Archuleta, 17, and David Cook, 25, are running neck and neck in terms of best performances of the seventh season, according to the poll.
Rocking (chair) ‘American Idol’
It’s David vs. David in finale of highest-rated TV series that is aging and entering its declining years
This time every spring, readers of newsprint across the land can expect to see those confident, can’t-miss lists of “Ways to Improve ‘ American Idol.’” “No Paula!” “New judges!” “Less predictability!” “Change the voting!” “Get rid of the early rounds!” “Better contestants!”
And so on. They’re terribly easy to write, require no thought, can be banged out between cups of coffee, and the consequences are almost nonexistent. Chances are, the producers aren’t even reading them anyway, so what’s the point?
There is none. Hence, no lists today.
David vs. David
Even if David “wonder teen” Archuleta vs. David “the Rocker” Cook is the most predictable “American Idol” finale matchup in the show’s seven-season history, that doesn’t mean the outcome is a slam dunk.
While we’re pretty sure the next “Idol’ will be named David (yeah, we’re smart like that), viewers still have to choose if they want their winner to be the squeaky-clean, angelic Archuleta or the mysterious and scruffy Cook.
High and low notes of a lackluster ‘Idol’ season
We’ve been there the whole way this season with “American Idol”: from the goofy guy in the preliminary rounds who endured a hair waxing to the sad departure of big-voiced Carly Smithson. Fresno Beehive bloggers Felicia Cousart Matlosz and Donald Munro chronicled a relentlessly hyped but ultimately lackluster season. As we head into a David Cook vs. David Archuleta showdown, here are five high (and low) points from the blogs:
Whichever David wins, ‘Idol’ needs an overhaul next year
We were told this would be the strongest group of contestants we’ve ever seen on “American Idol.” It wasn’t.
We were promised that after last year’s disappointing installment, the show would come back strong. It didn’t.
And now, with this week’s “Idol” season finale, we’re supposed to be excited about the prospect of David Archuleta squaring off against David Cook. Sorry, but we’re not.
This was seen as a make-or-break year for “American Idol,” and right now the “Idol” model seems broken.
And then there were two — the two we all had expected
Is anybody surprised that it’s David Archuleta vs. David Cook in this week’s “American Idol” finale?
Really, unless you’re in the fog of extreme fan denial over dreadlocked Jason Castro’s recent dismissal or you still think Kristy Lee Cook got robbed, you must have known for weeks that it would come down to these two.
That, in a nutshell, is one of the key reasons that viewers have been drifting away from what’s still, by far, the top-rated show on television.
The Nielsen numbers tell the tale of a show that looks like it’s past its prime.
‘American Idol’: Song showdown
David Archuleta vs. Jennifer Hudson? Fantasia vs. Ruben? You decide which American Idol sang the song best.
Chesney gets top country award but criticizes vote
Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year for the fourth straight time at the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday — but said backstage that organizers had devalued the top prize by making it a “sweepstakes” up for vote on the Internet.
Carrie Underwood was named top female vocalist for the second year in a row and 18-year-old Taylor Swift, country music’s hottest young star, snagged her first award and stole the show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a wardrobe-changing, water-drenched performance.
Chesney after ACM win: Fan votes shouldn’t decide
For the first time in the show’s 43 years, the top prize — traditionally decided by ACM members — was determined through online voting. With the win, Chesney ties Garth Brooks and trails only Alabama, which won five in a row.
Chesney said immediately backstage that he thought fans should be included, just not by voting for the show’s most important award.
“The entertainer of the year trophy is supposed to represent heart and passion and an amazing amount of sacrifice, commitment and focus,” he said. “That’s the way Garth won it four times, that’s the way I won it, that’s the way (George) Strait won it, Reba (McEntire), Alabama all those years. That’s what it’s supposed to represent.”
Carrie Underwood also took home her second consecutive female vocalist trophy.
“I know I don’t deserve it, but I’ll take it,” Underwood said. “Fans got me everything I have, and I owe everything to you.”
‘IDOL’ SANJAYA SEEKS IDLE APT.
Wanted: Two one-bedroom apartments and a pair of tickets to stardom.
Former “American Idol” contestant Sanjaya Malakar, 18, and sister, Shyamali Malakar, 21, are pounding the pavement in Manhattan, looking for new digs and fresh starts to their music careers after last year’s ride to fame for the young man.
Debut Jennifer Hudson Album Due In September
Academy Award-winning actress/former “American Idol” contestant will release her debut album, a self-titled affair, in September via Arista Records. The first single, “Spotlight,” will impact U.S. radio outlets on June 9 and be available for sale via digital outlets the following day.
“Spotlight” was written by Ne-Yo, who co-produced along with Stargate. Additional contributors on the album include Timbaland, Robin Thicke, the Underdogs, Diane Warren and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, among others.
“I think people will be pleasantly surprised, because it shows a side of my work that no one has heard before,” Hudson says of the new album.
Bucky Covington, Phil Stacey Treasure “Idol”
“American Idol” is ostensibly a pop music show, although it’s succeeded in launching careers for a number of country acts. Among the acts who’ve made country hits after coming to prominence on “Idol” are Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington and even Kelly Clarkson, who joined Reba McEntire on “Because Of You.”
Former “Idol” Phil Stacey released his first album last month, and he says his experience on the TV show gave him an instant fan base.
Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler and Sarah Buxton Impress Crowd at ACM New Artists Show
Kellie Pickler’s bubbling personality has made her a favorite of fans on the road as an opening act for Brad Paisley and others, and she was one of the favorites at the ACM party, too. In addition to her hit, “Red High Heels,” she introduced a new song, apparently titled “Rocks Instead of Rice,” about a wedding that is sure to eventually lead to divorce.
Uh-oh, if his dad is that engaged in his career who would want to manage or record him? See — that’s why the kid doesn’t have a deal before Idol…I knew something was wrong with David A., too much micro-managing by the dad and it probably ticks off other agents and producers. Even though Sillerman said he was going to sign both Davids, I wonder how they’re going to contain the dad?
In less than a year, DA turns 18, so if worst comes to worst, they could wait to sign him.
The VFTW story doesn’t make a lot of sense. If JeffA is banned from backstage rehearsals, that does not mean he is banned from accompanying his 17 year old son to the filming of these ‘pimpmercials.’
And if JeffA is trying to get a side deal for his son with a sponsor, that has no bearing on musical creativity issues. So on this one I say with deep regret, good for JeffA in exposing TBPB for what it is..ridiculously exploitive of naive and desparate young talent.
I believe that the final two are finally the right final two, and that should boost the ratings. I dare to say that most America will love to see the right one win for a change, and that is David Cook - who has rightfully earned it. Nothing against Archie - he’s a good and talented kid. But after S5 fiasco, if DC wins, AI may just get their reputation back.
Season 5 fiasco? I think the right person won….never was in the bottom 3; huge fan base; highest number of posts on the Idol message boards….highest number of votes to win…highest ratings year…
The true Season 5 “fiasco” was not the winner. EvilC putting out a CD that sucked the soul right out of the artist was the true fiasco.
With all due respect to Taylor, nice guy but he was not my cup of tea. Daughtry should’ve won S5, and he came out outselling the top 3. That’s what I’m talking about. No offense intended. My point again, DC will outsell anyone this season. AI is better off doing everything they can to make that happen.
Sorry flgurl
Taylor won AI5 and deserved to win. Daughtry finished 4th because he did not get more votes than the other three ahead of him. Daughtry should not have won. Record sales after the fact do not indicate who the winner should have been.
The true Season 5 “fiasco†was not the winner. EvilC putting out a CD that sucked the soul right out of the artist was the true fiasco
Exactly!!!
I don’t care about the AOL poll, as to who was the most overrated person on AI, but, I think Carly or David A. belong there, rather than Jason. Jason’s Hallelujah, and, SOTR, both allowed the original artists’s songs to skyrocket on ITunes.
And, yes, I do think David A. is overrated. He’s a one-trick pony balladeer.
I sure hope this doesn’t hurt his career because of the haters out there.
I’m thinking 19E may pick up Carly, and, I also think that will be another deficit in their pocketbook. Or maybe they’ll sign MJ, and, although I like him as a person, I think he was also overrated. His vocals are mediocre, nothing unique about him at all.
Lands, is this season 5 debate still going on? Taylor won, end of discussion.
I think 19E’s gonna pick up MJ. I don’t think they’re going to pick up Carly.
I kinda want them to sign Brooke and Jason too but I’m not sure that’s the direction I want them to go with their music. They might be more successful if they have a free hand.
19E is the management, not the record company. They take huge splits of the artist’s money. Having said that, Kelly C., Clay, and, Fantasia fired them when they had the money to buy out their contracts with them. I’m thinking that Chris D. may do the same in the near future.
Only two Idol contestants have gone gold with no help from 19E: Josh Gracin and Elliott Yamin (although Bucky might get there eventually).
I don’t think that either Josh or Elliott would agree that they had no help from AI. After all, without AI, I doubt we would have ever heard of either one.
A hotdish article at cmt.com says the comic strip Sluggo has sluggo loving him some carrie underwood, singing her songs in the strip, and that nancy, his girl, is jealous. lol
I’m thinking that Chris D. may do the same in the near future.
I often wondered if Chris has come out good financially given his mega sales success. I guess now that he is touring with Bon Jovi he and his band are making a lot of money.
WHOA!
Look what just came up in my Google Alert!
From FOX News:
Incredible!
It must be because of the popularity of David Cook!
Have they ever had to do that before?
I was reading at the AI forum that the AOL Poll was hacked. I know when I went over there to vote, it seemed to look like someone who had no life had spent the entire day skewing the results. Too bad it’s being treated as credible by Reuters.
I’m just glad Jason doesn’t seem to be affected by what people write or say about him.
.
.
.
This is amazing power!
“”Phone usage is up,” he says. “Text usage is up. And for the finale, in New York, you’ll see that it’s the second-highest night of the year for takeout-food delivery (after the Super Bowl). If you’re going to order out, get your order in soon.”"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2008-05-18-american-idol_N.htm
Here’s one of the better interviews with Jason (from Latina.com), found over at Castrocopia.
I don’t know if it’s true or not but I read elsewhere that they had to add another date in David A’s area also. I’m glad for both of them!
Maybe not the right place to ask this but does anyone know if there will be spoilers of who of the previous years’ contestants will be on Idol?
David Cook’s Brother Unlikely to Attend Idol Finale
While David Cook prepares for this week’s two-night American Idol season finale, PEOPLE has learned that it is unlikely that one of his biggest supporters, brother Adam Cook, will be in the audience.
Adam, 37, who has been battling brain cancer for the past ten years, was able travel to Los Angeles to see David perform live on April 15, but will likely stay home this week due to his condition.
Adam’s health is “a day-to-day thing,†his wife Kendra told PEOPLE last month. “I can’t look at tomorrow. I have to look at today. If I start planning out and thinking about too much in the future, I can get overwhelmed in all the details. I have to concentrate on today.â€
David Cook and David Archuleta will go head-to-head on Tuesday’s live performance show from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The results will air live on Wednesday’s two-hour season finale.
Cook supporters will host a viewing party in Terre Haute, Ind., where Adam lives, on Wednesday, but Adam, Kendra, and their two young children, will most likely watch the show from their home.
People
I think Michael is the non-f2 that’s most likely to be signed by 19 and agree with the poll results about him being most likely to do well. His studio recordings and previous record shows that his voice is very radio friendly.
I wouldn’t call Jason the most over-rated even though I think he went farther than I ever thought he would. I think that for me would be one of the girls not named Carly.
‘American Idol’ Expert Roundtable: Season Seven Was Improved By …
MTV.com - USA
Seated at this illustrious roundtable were: EW.com’s Michael Slezak, who, in addition to writing popular episode recaps and blog entries, hosts the Web show …
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587724/20080519/id_0.jhtml
“American Idolatry”; MJ Santilli of MJ’s Big Blog, which has become the official “go-to” place for weekly song spoilers, as well as meticulous coverage of past “Idol” contestants’ whereabouts; and Rickey.org’s Rickey Yaneza, who has been posting MP3s and videos of each “Idol” performance for as long as we can remember and treats every “Idol” season as a full-blown political campaign, complete with slogans, nicknames and online rallies.
EEP! I can’t watch! LOL.
Let me know how it is. Be honest!
BTW, I put myself out there, so I’m fair game. I expect some not-so-nice comments. I’m a big girl (literally!) so I can handle it :).
Wow, that just breaks my heart. Being the mother of young children myself, I cannot even fathom facing the prospect of doing this all myself. I can’t imagine looking at the little ones every day knowing the soul-sucking heartbreak they’re about to face any day. Ugh you stupid vulture reporters - leave this woman alone.
LOL! It was GREAT!
OK, I actually watched it. I’m not as freaked out as I thought I’d be.
Weren’t the panelists great? I thought everyone did an awesome job.
Fun to watch. You did good, Mj!
Oh MJ - you’re look of irritation when he brings up Paula and the lack of an apology - complete with head shake is freaking priceless! You and Slezak are on the same page on that one - and you’re both right.
You’re hair looks great by the way. I just forwarded the video to Spense-friend, because I told her you would be on and she wanted to see it. We’re both very excited that we got to see the show last year with someone who is so famous now lol.
No, no wrong! I think Rickey did a great job. He’s got a very quiet way of speaking, but he’s articulate, he made some great points.
omg, mj! You did amazing. You looked great sitting next to my boo Slezak, too.
LOL @ the flames shooting out if DCook wins. Please let that be true.
I enjoyed the interviews and thought everyone did a terrific job. I thought MJ was wonderful and can’t believe how sane Rickey is. I almost forgive him for all the Sanjaya nonsense.
I just watched the roundtable! Loved it! I thought everyone did an excellent job and made some excellent points. I love Jim C’s comment that for once he’s not the most cynical person at the table.
I’m already trying to figure out six degrees of separation…
MJ…you were so great at the roundtable!
I nominate you to replace Pauler.
Am I the only one who wants to disagree w/ the story from JSOnline.com about the 2 left are the 2 everyone knew would be in the finale all along? I was a Cookie fan from day ONE, but I honestly didnt see him in the public’s final 2, for no other reason than MJohns and Castro seemed to have a huge following from the get go w/ their good lucks and cute charm. As Paula said around top 10 time, Cookie was the “dark horse.” I dont think it was until MJ got voted off that most ppl started to jump on the Cookie wagon. But whatever…
DCFTMFW! =)
I loved the rountable. Totally cool! MJ, you were great. It’s nice to put a face to the bloggers whose words I eat, sleep, and breathe every Idol season. :)
Regarding the “s5 fiasco,” I believe the right person did win, what I was upset about was the final 2. Never dreamed (and still get a sour attitude) that Kat made it further than BOTH Chris AND Elliot. That is just crazy to me. And from what I heard about the tour that year (that I still kick myself over not going to) she got a very lukewarm reception at most arenas compared to that of the 3 guys. But again, whatever…
DCFTMFW!
MJ…Honey…You did GREAT!!! SO proud of you and you got to sit next to MS…..YEAH!!!
BTW…the hair was totally FABU!!!!
Great point.
I enjoyed it so much, I watched it twice.
Really enjoyed the roundtable discussion! Everyone did a great job and had a lot of good ideas for improving the show. TPTB need to put you all on their payroll. ;)
I kind of liked the idea Jim (I think it was) was getting at about bringing in producers from Project Runway. I think Idol should take a page from America’s Next Top Model, and have the Idols work on a certain skill each week (ie, how to give a good interview, photoshoots, etc.) and make it like a mini-challenge for the Idols. Cut out the Ford music videos and replace it with these mini-challenges. (But, that would probably require the results shows to stay at 1 hour so…)
MJ you were just lovely on MTV! Great points made by all. I loved that there was such a varied mix of opinions and you all made some great suggestions towards the improvement of the show.
I also agree with Slezak, that AI needs Cook to win this year.
Just random info from JoesPlace at IDF:
Last week, Cookie got 41% of the vote to Archie’s 32%.
41 32 27 = 100
Uh huh. So….Syesha would be the 27, huh?