Jason Yeager:
He’s just a tad bit bitter. I don’t blame him.
- What he thought went wrong, “Well, you know, I was kind of in a lose-lose situation. The first week, Simon bashed me — you know, all of them really kind of criticized me for being too old-fashioned. They criticized me for not doing a ‘’singer’s song.” So, I was at a loss for words. I didn’t really know what to say or do with myself at that point.”
- On choosing a song, “First of all, you’ve got themes, so you’re restrained to a decade. Then you’re listening to all these different songs. The producers have lists of songs that are cleared for television, so you can pick off that list — but what are the odds that any of those songs are really going to be you? There’s not a whole heck of a lot of time given to do really good research and to listen and try to find a killer song for yourself. And sometimes you’re back to the drawing board if the song isn’t approved. There’s so much more that goes into it that people don’t see. Some artists are completely off-limits that I really enjoy and would really showcase me. You have a couple of hands tied behind your back.
- More on song choice, “I had some Boyz II Men lined up because they were thinking about doing ’90s week. Next week was going to be ’80s, so I thought, ”Well, great, Journey would totally showcase my vocals” — but we ran into problems with getting rights. The killer song for me never really seemed to pan out. I don’t want to place blame on song selection. I wish I could have found that one song… I had so much against me.”
- Like what? “Nobody knew who I was before I showed up in the top 24. Colton [Berry] was in the same boat; Garrett [Haley] was in the same boat. It’s kind of sad sometimes. I think you’re definitely at a disadvantage, and I don’t care what people say: You are at a disadvantage when you know that you were there, but according to America, it’s like, ”Why didn’t they show you during your first round?” I don’t know. ”How come they didn’t show you during Hollywood?” I don’t know. ”How come they haven’t done any backstories on you?” I have no idea. So now I’m faced with being in the top 24 — and blessed to be there — but now I’ve got to do something that’s going to get people behind me. It just made me laugh when Simon was like, ”I think your problem is that you don’t stand out.” I just laughed to myself on the inside, because I did everything everyone else did — all the interviews and whatnot — but I have absolutely no say over what gets used on the show. It was just disappointing. I have so much more I could have shown people if I had the chance. Right now, I’m just trying to swallow all that up.”
Alaina Whitiker, Robbie Carrico and Alexandrea Lushington…
…After the Jump.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, MTV
Alaina Whitiker:
- On being called to the stage with Kady Malloy, “Yea, we were really good friends and we had hung out a lot through this whole thing. She was really shocked. She told me she thought she would be the one going home. I kept telling her all day, “You need to stay really positive,” because it’s really bad to be down on yourself. So it was kind of ironic when it came down to me and her, but I’m really happy for her. She has a great voice. … It means a lot to me that people — I mean, it’s a compliment that they were shocked. They didn’t think that I was going to go. I don’t know if it makes me feel better about it…I got really emotional. I think I was a little surprised at the outcome. It’s not that I thought Kady [Malloy] was going home at all, but at the same time, I didn’t think I was going home.”
- On Simon calling her the Dark Horse of the race, “I definitely think that had something to do with it, because I’ve always thought that Simon knows what he’s talking about. America may think he’s really mean, but I think they respect what he says. So I thought that when he said that that maybe that was a good thing.”
- Is she glad she decided to sing anyway? “I’m definitely glad I sang. Looking back, I was saying, ”I can’t sing, I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” but in the back of my mind I knew I had to. You know, this is a good ending to my journey and everything. So I don’t think it was a question of, Am I going to do it? It was a question of, How am I going to do it? How am I going to remember the words, and how is it not going to sound horrible because I’m crying? I definitely think I would have regretted it if I hadn’t sang.
Robbie Carrico:
- Is it a wig? “I have been growing this hair for a very long time, and I think it’s ridiculous that they have to come up with something like that.”
- How he’s feeling, “I’m feeling a little better today. It was a pretty emotional night last night, and it was a lot to process. I would have loved to have gone further in the competition. That’s not really how the cards played out. There’s some great opportunities opening up, and hopefully more. Like my dad told me earlier, ”Hit the ground running! Keep the momentum going with what we got!”
- About his “authenticity”, “Well, that’s tough for me. That’s kind of a tough situation, because they were saying they weren’t sure if I was a rock singer. I had the look and everything, but they weren’t sure. Simon had said he wasn’t sure if I was the kind of guy who had played the grungy bars and paid my dues, but that’s what I’ve been doing the last six years.”
- What song would he have done from the 90s? “There’s a song we do back home that I love so much, from a band called Seven Mary Three, called ‘Cumbersome.””
- What’s next, “Well, the reality of it is that I’ve got my band back home. I’ll get back with those guys and see what’s going on with that. I’ve got my job back home — I’m a painter. My dad owns a painting company, so I’ll go back and jump into the family business.”
Alexandrea Lushington:
- Why the girls were having an off night on Wednesday, “A lot were nervous and a lot had to do with song choice, I guess. And everybody watching everyone else do what we thought was really well, and [hearing] the feedback they got. It was kind of discouraging, but at the same time it was like, Now we have to step it up. We all went out there and we did the best that we could, and I have no regrets at all.”
- On her song choice, “Well, I have no regrets about my song choice. I still think it was a really good song that I picked, even though I never heard that song. It ended up growing on me. Everybody had a tough time that night. But it’s over now”
- On being the Underdog, “…I had yet to prove myself and really show what I could do. And I wasn’t really letting myself come out like I wanted to. I was doing, like, piece by piece. But it’s okay now. I’m still the underdog, and I’m going to continue working and following my dreams.”
- On David Archuletta, “I remember telling him from the beginning, “You’re going to be a huge chick magnet.” He is a phenomenal singer, and he’s going to do great. It was so funny, because we were getting picked up form the airport and he was sitting next to us, and my dad said, “Isn’t that that kid who was on ‘Star Search’ with you? Was his name David?” I looked over and was like, “I don’t know!” because he looked different. My dad asked him and said, “Do you remember her? She was on ‘Star Search’ with you. She sang ‘My Funny Valentine.’ ” And he was like, “Oh my God!” … From then on, we were just really close…We had a really cool relationship. It was sad to leave, and I know he was upset to see me go.”
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I think she’s going to eventually sell more than 1 million records. It’s going to take a bit of time, but it’ll happen, imo.”
I think Jordin is struggling too. I don’t think she had outsold Taylor yet and he was dropped. After “no air” I don’t know what bides for Jordin.
What I am suggesting is that marketability on the paper is very different from reality. So we will have to wait and see.
The Disney route is certainly lucrative. There are exceptions (Christina A. is one) but, unfortuanately, the shelf life of these kids is about 2-5 years. I’d bet in 10 years The Jonas Bros, Myley Cyrus and the High School Musical kids will all be answers to trivia questions.
I think Jordin and her team are smart to stay clear of that route.
Not necessarily in the semi-final rounds. Most of the time, the audience for those performance shows is mainly comprised of friends and family, I believe.
Exactly.
Not to mention that “Tattoo” is platinum, and “No Air” is just getting started and is already showing strong downloads. Isn’t she approaching a total of about 2 million for both already?
ETA:
Brooke has not accompanied herself on the guitar for two weeks in a row. Jason has. I can see why the “command” was not made of her. We haven’t seen Jason without a guitar yet. I know that I’m curious to see how he does. I think he’ll be great, but I’d like to see him without it some too.
Ding ding ding!! I think star gets a prize. :)
Jordin is doing well by most standards, but she hasn’t taken off the way Daughtry and Carrie have. I would think that it’d be TPTB’s goal every season for their winner to be that popular. So why TPTB would choose to focus their efforts on a contestant who doesn’t fit into a genre that comes along with a built-in fanbase (e.g. ballady country or pop-rock), and instead throw their weight behind a riskier pick, I’m not sure. From a pure business standpoint I’d want to do this. And yeah, David is Disney-ish but so was Jordin, and I’m loathe to compare her relatively mild monetary success with Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers. I’m not sure that David is a solid lock with the Disney crowd.
Oh Lord… I hope it’s not going to take 10 years! lol Although, I really like Myley Cyrus from what I’ve seen. We watch her tv show all the time and she’s pretty darn good at comedy - kind of just an okay singer for me - but the girl has stage presence. If Jordin and David A steer clear of Disney, I’m sure they have their reasons. It sure seems like a juggernaut right now.
My daughter use to be a huge Hillary Duff fan. About 3-4 years ago I took her and three of her friends to a an outdoor concert where Hillary performed for Good Morning America..I think at the time about 8,000 people packed into the the park where the concert was held. Now neither my daughter or any of the other girls that came that day can barely remember being a fan and they’re mostly now obsessed with High School or the Jonas Brothers Musical. So many of these Disney Channel kids really are disposable.
Jordin’s downloads are very impressive, but given the kind of airplay she’s getting with two songs, add in she had Black Friday sales to give her a head start I would have thought she would have sold a million by now. I hear her more on the radio than I heard Daughtry the first few months INO was out.
I found a very interesting post at TWoP on this point; I hope it’s okay to bring it over here. I figured I’d quote it because 1) it addresses my own questions about marketability and 2) it offers an interesting alternative theory to why TPTB have disinherited Taylor, although I’m not 100% sure it’s one I agree with.
I do think it makes a difference who gets pre-24 pimping on the show. It’s the exceptional non-pimped that makes it to the top 10 (Bo, Elliott).This season, Nigel made a point of talking about Jason Castro and they showed him even though they couldn’t show him singing in Hollywood, so I think they wanted him. We saw a little of David Hernandez, Chikesie, Robbie and Danny, but not enough to pimp them. We saw nothing of Garrett, Colton, Luke or Jason Y.
Interesting. David C. seems to be a question mark. My personal opinion is the PTB will want one (older) male “rocker” - either Michael OR David C. (or Robbie) and cast a couple of spare “rockers” in case their original preference didn’t work. Robbie is gone now. Personally, David C. impressed me as the true rocker of the group, but the judges seem to prefer Michael. Michael seems to have more “buzz” and is conventionally better looking (relative, of course). I think David C. has been more consistent to his genre - in my opinion. I think Michael is good looking, but I can’t imagine where he fits in terms of mainstream “relevance”. It will be interesting to see if they try to bump off David C this week.
I think the PTB want one male neo-soul singer - either Chikesie OR David H.
The want one adult male “eye candy” Michael OR Luke.
They want as many teens as they can get.
Well, the average viewer is unaware of Nigel’s comment. But yeah, I think they want him to make top 12 for sure. The camera loves him, they play him up as a harmless music loving goof, and then they eff with him during result night. He could be a stealth finalist, but not TCO.
It’ll be interesting if they throw David C under a bus this week.
Or more importantly, with a winner whose primary appeal is to an older demographic. That 18-49 demo is the all important one to advertisers.
I have to think TPTB are pretty happy with Jordin as an ambassador of their brand. She’s young, squeaky clean, is awesome on television and has a couple of hit records.
I agree with that TWOP poster. I think the folks who run the TV show make more money from the show, than from the records the winners make afterward.
That’s why, I don’t buy into the-long-arm-of-Simon Fuller-theory, where he makes it a point to destroy the careers of Idols he doesn’t like. Once an Idol is off the show, how do they threaten the popularity of the show itself? They don’t. What happens between the label and the kids aftward has nothing to do with American Idol imo.
I think we have two rounds of cannon fodder.
Round One cannon fodder are the ones with little exposure in the pre Hollywood or Hollywood rounds. Then there is the disparate attention given on the night of the top 24 reveal; that’s the list I posted earlier in this thread.
Round Two cannon fodder are the ones who go out at 12,11,10, & 9. And in some seasons, at 8th and 7th (last year).
They will not have gotten a lot of camera time in the top 24, top 20, or top 16 shows. They probably haven’t had the pimp spot or the extra special video package. If they sing in tune and stay on pitch then their comments from the judges will be about song choice, their look or on stage presence or lack thereof, their apparel, their hair, etc.. Paula will likely be the positive one and Randy “won’t be feeling it, dawg”. They will be told they are karaoke, cruise ship, wedding, or dive bar singers by Simon.
Question for me is: is David C round two cannon fodder or is he top 6 or top 4? I think he has the talent to take him that far; how will the show treat him? He got a little redemption in the top 20 recap this week, where he said he felt a little bad about what he said to Simon.
Also, to those who are saying David A has already won…remember, AI needs a strong second contender that many are rooting for …to keep people watching and to keep us in suspense. So, of the other top 5 or so contestants on the show, who will it be? I am thinking Michael J. And if David C can make it to the top 4, when he gets booted his fan base will likely switch to Michael Johns. And that’s how Michael Johns can beat David A. We’ll know in about ten or eleven weeks. ;)
It has to be more about demographics than about the age of the winner. Chris Daughtry is no spring chicken (relatively speaking in Idol terms, of course) and yet they plug him every chance they can get — because he has cross-demographic appeal.
This is not to excuse the trickery that probably goes on at 19Evil, but I’m not sympatheic at all to these crybabies talking about how they didn’t get top 24 exposure and how it’s so unfair. They all know that someone goes home every week and that this is a major opportunity for national exposure that they’ve gotten, even if they are “cannon fodder”. They go on, sing as well as they can, get booted and then go cry about it because their story wasn’t interesting enough to get face time prior to the top 24 like some of the ones that survived the boot. How do they explain those that do and don’t even make it to Hollywood?
Skunkboy was a boring dud and his “Long Train Running” was a long-train-wreck.
I saw Daugtry’s audition prominently featured in an AI network promo before the top 24 was selected. But even so, you make the point. Some without the advance pimpalicious exposure go on to do very well. Others get primo exposure and fail spectacularly (Sundance Head comes to mind).
Although David A is my favorite I don’t think he has it in the bag. Producers may want him to win but didn’t they want Daughtry over Talor? He may be a top 3 elimination shocker actually with Michael J and maybe Carly top 2. All those screamin girls mean nothing..Justin Guarini has screaming girls back from the Hollywood rounds and yes he came in 2nd but sold zip in sales.. I think not even 150,000..
Anyway to me Idol is a TV show and it makes its money on advertisers and tours. I agree they don’t carry too much weight if the idol sells a million or not or at all. At this point all 10 will probably get record deals so it’s all good. I would love a top four of David A, Micheal J,Carly and Brooke or Ramielle.
So what, they should just shut up? If the producers screwed with them behind the scenes, they should instead smile and talk about what an amazing experience Idol was and how they’re so grateful that they got to go on television twice a week for two weeks only to be told that they didn’t stand out or that they are pale and creepy? It’s one thing to whine about regional power voters or how people didn’t pay enough attention to you after someone else was voted off; it’s another thing to speak frankly about the effects of pre-show exposure (as Jason did) and to acknowledge that “song choice” really isn’t a “choice” for all the contestants (as Garrett did). I don’t have a problem with that. None of these “whiners” have gotten up and said anything like “I performed better than everyone else that week but it was the fault of the judges/the producers/nerves/allergies/the weather/karma that I was voted off.” When that happens I’ll start rolling my eyes, but I do think that people who go on a show hoping for at least a fair shake have the right to speak publicly about it when they don’t get it. Yes, anyone who’s been closely watching American Idol for the last few years really SHOULD know better, but IMO that doesn’t mean that they lose all authority to critique the very real unfairness of the show.
And none of this is to say that if Garrett, Colton, or Jason HAD gotten equal time in the auditions/Hollywood, they’d be coming back next week. Garrett and Colton were a bit forgettable IMO (though others may disagree), and Jason really has to improve his performing skills. Jason Castro has been doing well, but he’s also been playing an instrument. Let’s see what happens next week when he has to step out from behind the crutch.
An opinion you are certainly entitled to, but you don’t speak for everyone. I think he has a fantastic voice (marred by poor performance abilities) and thought he certainly stood out amongst the Disney cast members and wannabe rockers.
I’m very circumspect about MikeJ. As eyecandy goes, he’s more than alright, but seems to be lacking in something. Enthusiasm, perhaps?
On close inspection, his voice is not the best (those barritone voices are like busy print fabrics — lots of places to hide dirty spots) and his performances have been only slightly better than ordinary. This could be written off to the “ick” that went through the cast, but only to a limited degree. I give him one more round to impress me beyond his bicepts and accent, before I write him off as superfluous to the cast. It already has a more reliable “rocker” in David C.(if he can control the back-sassing), an experienced adult “ringer” in Carly, and a “hunk” in Luke.
TPTB would have a better investment (in terms of the resident pretty boy) in Luke the carpet cleaner, who is undeniably lookesome, seems genuinely interested and has a better (ie., humble) backstory. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if there is a major sea-change in terms of judge’s bench persuasion tactics.
Weighing in on Jordin and marketability, I’m also convinced that she will sell plaatinum in less than 6 months. Her single downloads are very impressive, and I’m inclined to think that her target market will more readily download singles than buy CDs. I also look to a similar phenomenon with Rihanna who had 4 hit singles, included what was unquestionable record of the year, and only recently went platinum after her CD being out for 8 or 9 months. If being professionally allied with Chris Brown and Alicia Keys and certainly making an appearance on AI (which I expect to happen within a few weeks) don’t get her to platinum, nothing will.
If Jordan doen’t sell Platinum it isn’t that TPTB haven’t invested a lot of money and effort. I think they really feel like they need a big seller no matter how much it cost or how long it takes. I’d really like to see David H. in the top six guys as he really impressed me last week, and I seem to prefer his style more than David A., David C. or Jason C. for that matter.
I guess I sorta feel sorry for Jason, and the funny thing is that he really has a good voice. I think it was a combination of poor execution of song choice, because I am one of the few who believe that if you sing a damn song really well, make it memorable, that you can take a bad song choice and make it better, lol. He didn’t have that in him. He came off as cheesy and not in on the cheese. That killed him. Even in his exit interview he didn’t quite get it. I love Alex’s exit interview, I guess having gone through this before she knows the ropes. She did nothing wrong she was just lost among cutsie girls because imho I think she outsings all of the other girls on that stage except maybe Carly who I finally get. I keep hearing he singing Crazy on You, dammit. I think we will see Alex in the future because she actually does have something marketable. The rest should have gone, not feeling sorry at all.
As for the pimping of David A, I think he doesn’t need it because for the most part only three guys have really distinquished themselves as really good singers, that is beside him, and that is David H, David C, and, to a lesser extent Jason Castro. Jason was supposed to be cannon fodder yet he remains and is a fan fave, Michael Johns was supposed to be the one to beat, now looks like he peaked at auditions. Luke ‘I am cannon fodder’, escaped two elimination shows due to to bloomesque appeal. I don’t know. David is being remembered because whether is is a pageant boy or not, he can sing. He doesn’t need to go Disney cause unlike most of the disney crew, he can actually sing.
Earlier someone said:
Even if the audience is packed with schoolgirls, there is no guarantee that they will scream only for David. It is a little surprising that they did not scream for Danny who is exceptionally pretty, or Luke aka Orlando Bloom. They simply screamed for David.
I say amen to that. Unless they were from his hometown school and then that doesn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t screem for pretty Luke, or even sassy Danny. My 17 year old would have screamed for David A and Danny N. She loves them, and she votes. They are the ones to watch.
I think Luke is the Brandon Rogers of this year, the major difference of course being that Brandon was pimped to eternity and then crashed spectacularly, whereas we didn’t see much of Luke before the Top 24. I predict more screwery with song choices should he make the Top 12.
Nigel: I’m sorry, Luke, we were unable to clear “Hard Day’s Night” for you.
Luke: But it’s…it’s Beatles Night. And that’s a Beatles song.
Nigel: ::shrugs::
Luke: Well, what about the other songs I submitted?
Nigel: Well, we had problems with those too.
Luke: “Do You Want to Know a Secret?” “Here Comes the Sun?” “Hey Jude?”
Nigel: Well, actually, we gave those to Carly, Archuleta, and Michael.
Luke: What about the other eight songs I submitted?
Nigel: They went to the other eight contestants.
Luke: …oh. Well…what am I supposed to sing?
Nigel: (Handing Luke a piece of sheet music) Don’t worry about it. We did some digging, and we came up with the perfect song for you. You’re gonna love it.
Luke: ::blinks:: Um… “I’m F!cking Matt Damon”??
MJ said:
That’s why, I don’t buy into the-long-arm-of-Simon Fuller-theory, where he makes it a point to destroy the careers of Idols he doesn’t like. Once an Idol is off the show, how do they threaten the popularity of the show itself?
Amen to that also, I don’t buy alot of the conspiracy theories cause they don’t stack up.
If Rihanna much more famous than Jordin and with 4 huge hits can’t move albums, how the heck will Jordin. Selling downloads and albums is not the same thing and it’s shocking how few albums some Top 40 artists sell. Anyway, I’m sure she’ll get the full Idol push and we’ll see what happens. (I’m not rooting against her btw)
To be perfectly honest, as much as I dislike some of 19E’s antics, I don’ think they are as complicated as everyone makes them out to be. These people care about one thing: ratings. I really think Paula, Randy and Simon picks the Top 24 they really want (for the most part), and the producers dole out screen time to whomever they think makes good teevee. Period. If you don’t seem to “pop” to them once they get your audition/interview footage back, they ignore you. Then once the voting starts, if your totals start looking like something big is brewing they go with it.
Really, Season 5, as much as Simon hated Taylor, remember the show starting to slowly come around to him. By the end they were treating him like the inevitable winner. Clay’s treatement got better as the show progressed. Ditto Kelly Clarkson. Clearly their vote totals showed they had a big fanbase and the show reacted accrodingly. These people care about money, in the form of ratings and demographics.
Before we started the top 24 everyone was complaining that Carly was clearly TCO, but once the voting started focus clearly changed to David A. Why? Because he’s getting the most votes. Simple as that. That’s my opinion anyway.
I agree with most everything you say, tinawina, but for the past two years we have been hearing stories of the producers screwing with song choices at the last minute. Do I think that Nigel and his merry men are in the green room twirling their moustaches at the thought of screwing over a less-favored contestant? No, not really. But I do believe that they are willing to throw the “fodder” under the bus if it will serve the interests of a contestant who is getting more votes. It is a business model, and I understand it, but I disagree with it. It’s not “fair” even though it may make more engaging television.
That I totaly agree with. If you have momentum and buzz, they will make sure you stick around because you will bring them ratings. If nothing seems to be happening for you, then they could not care less. It’s not like they are actively plotting against you, but if the Top Vote Getter and Mr. Nobody both want the same song, guess who’s gong to get it? The meal ticket will always win. Sucks, but to them, that’s just business.
I think this year, more than ever, they want a real star–Carrie or Daugherty level recording artist–as the winner. That’s why they keep chanting “best talent ever.” After Taylor and Jordin, the show need successful stories to keep its credibility and relevance to music industry. If the winner always flops, why would good talent audition in the years to come?
I think that’s what happened to Ace on Queen night. He got a bad editing job and he was gone the following week, with BFF next to him in the bottom 2. Manhugs galore. Yeah, like Daughtry was in the bottom 2.
I can’t see little David doing that. Or Carly. So hmm…
Is Rhianna considered a failure because she can’t move albums? She’s a huge star. It’s not all about moving albums. Well, maybe to the bean counters at the label, but not to the big picture.
Nomi, that’s how I feel about Michael J. too. Just because he’s from Australia doesn’t make him one of the best. (you know those Brits & commonwealth people stick together)
As to the others: I didn’t start watching until Hollywood Week and none of them stood out more than another….they gave the MOST time to Josiah…the MOST time….and Syesha’s dramatic voice loss….
I don’t think the public cares what the judges say unless they say something the public agrees with….for example, I tend to always side with Simon….almost always, because he’s watching from a producer and manager’s eye. I tend to listen to Randy before Paula because I don’t know what she’s saying, not one word do I understand.
The public is contrary also, so the judges & simon can b***ch all they want, if the public decides you go (or stay) then that’s the way it is….it’s like David C., he doesn’t have to impress Simon he has to impress the public.
Plus, she has her own line of Umbrellas at Macy’s!
I hate to say it, but Rihanna is primarily famous because she has been able to capitalize on her looks and figure. She not only has hit singles, but she models and is a fixture on the fashion circuit. The way our culture judges beauty right now, Jordin (a lovely girl in her own right) will never get that kind of exposure and will probably never reach Rihanna-like heights. Which is a shame, because I think that Jordin is infinitely more vocally talented than Rihanna.
When I offer my opinion, it is just that: my own opinion, on which I am an expert.
No one is required to agree with me. IMO, of course…
And I do think that the crybabies…er…elimiated contestants are served better by avoiding the “no fair” comments. But they are certainly entitled to say whatever they want.
I totally agree with you. I don’t need to have sunshine blown about the show all the time. I can just stick to the Nigel and Paula interviews if I want to hear positive glowing reports. I welcome hearing about the honest feelings people have about the show. Sure, if Jason was a better song picker and had better performance skills, he may still be in it, but that doesn’t mean that the Idol producers didn’t make him start the 100 m dash 25 m behind everybody else.
And the producers aren’t always right about backstories. They decided Elliott was too boring to show, but once he survived the semis and they had to tell us something about him, many people felt he had the most compelling story of that year.
The rules are different for AI artists. They have to move CDs and the media has already labeled Jordin a flop. She’s going to have to hope for a HUGE turnaround to reverse momentum on that label. Outselling Taylor (somebody ejected from his contract after one CD) by a few 100K isn’t going won’t be enough (”I sold 20% more than the biggest failure ever…woo!” 20% better than a “mega-flop” isn’t much of an improvement). Those labels do tend to stick.
Sure it’s nice that she was certified platinum on one of her singles (”No Air” is currently at 380K), but Rihanna is going multi-platinum. With the massive increase of downloads, the hit singles are starting to go to the 3 million range. Umbrella sits at 2.6 million. Crank That at 3.4 million. Apologize sits at 3.1 million. No One at 2.4 million. Low at 3.0 million. These are what are being called hits these days. 21 songs in the Top 50 downloads this week have been certified at least platinum. I expect that the RIAA will soon be changing the definition of platinum. I should be achievable, but not a default for almost every song with Top 10 airplay.
At her current rate of sales, it’s going to take her another 7 months to go platinum in album sales. It’s certainly possible for this to occur, but not guaranteed. Her managers are definitely doing their best to get her to achieve that goal.
Eww. I hate, hate that sorry excuse for a song. “Low” is a guilty pleasure, though.
I don’t get why AI artists are judged by different standards. Yes, I know they have exposure, but it almost seems to work against them. Besides, no one is going to reach the first week sales of Ruben and Clay ever again.
So right….I’ve been saying it all along — they need a real bona fide star to break out. A teen star that can grab the Jonas Brother’s thunder would be the ticket. They’re putting a lot behind Jordin and it’s not because she has a winning personality or she’s the “best” singer out there — far from it — but because the show has to deliver.
I think Jordin is managed by 19E too, right? Like Blake and Reuben, right? So 19E has its cred on the line too. They successfully managed the Spice Girl return (at least Simon did).
I don’t think anyone — except the producers, of course — is better served by pretending to be happy shiny robots when some real unfairness and favoritism goes behind the scenes. But YMMV, of course. If the fodder keeps their mouths shut, that’s just more room for the media to pay attention to the chosen ones.
Thanks Kirstin for the post. Those download numbers are incredible.
True, the PTB just ignore them. /snark
I know it’s all about ratings because ratings = ad revenue. But, record sales don’t necessarily equal excitement by the viewing audience, and audience excitement doesn’t necessarily equal massive record sales and I’m not sure they appreciate that. Taylor WAS extremely popular on the show and in part was responsible for increasing ratings and huge buzz, but according to the PTB “America got it wrong” because Taylor’s sales were disappointing by previous Idol winner standards.
Well, I certainly don’t think record sales are the only measure of success, but then most of my favorites don’t sell huge numbers of units, apparently. The problem is, I remember reading all those articles slamming Taylor as a “failure” for only selling 600K. It fed into the PTB’s script last season that “America got it wrong” or that Taylor was somehow unworthy of being the winner, while the 4th place finisher (the bigger commercial seller) was literally force-fed every week during the elimination round the next season (no disrespect to Chris Daughtry - it’s not his fault and he deserves his success too).
Unfortunately, a lot of the media buy the hype about American Idol having the power to produce automatic commercial mega-stars. The truth is, even Clive Davis says an Idol winner’s sales just from exposure on the show is $300-500K. The rest is due to label promotion and radio play. American Idol takes credit for all successes, but won’t take the blame for any “failures”. Jennifer Hudson is case in point. She was cast aside as an also-ran on American Idol and forgotten until she got herself a great movie role and earned an Oscar, for which the PTB took credit.
I would be shocked if Jordin was dropped at the end of this year by her label. I’d bet my house that doesn’t happen.
She’s not going to be a mega-superstar, but that doesn’t mean she’s going away anytime soon.
Her story is far from over. We’ll see how things shake out after her tour with Alicia Keys. “No Air” hasn’t even begun to peak yet.
“Or Jordin would be a massive industry star. AI doesn’t seem to care she sort of flopped.”
For the purposes of the TV show, she hasn’t flopped. I doubt if most people have any idea about what her record sales are (or what record sales are like in general). They just hear her on the radio all the time, so she is going to be perceived as doing well. Which as far as Idol the TV show is concerned, is probably fine. The record companies may have other thoughts of course.
Like mj, I would be pretty surprised if Jordin gets dropped. But I don’t think I would be betting my house on it just because the major record labels haven’t really been winning any awards for rational behavior the last few years.
I think that Taylor’s problem was not that he sold “only” 700k, but that he sold them to the perceived wrong demographic. His problem was that his genre and ‘age’ skew old, and idol was already losing that lucrative demographic so they of course don’t want that to happen again. That is why I fear for Michael Johns, imho he isn’t relevant to this time, and he has for the last two weeks shot himself in the foot with good song choices but bad performances, they will not give him choice songs again if he blows it this week. He will indeed be singing the phone book. The x page at that. He was pimped but turned into a streetwalker instead of a upper west side call girl. To bad for him. I actually liked him before the top 24 now he’s midpack for me. I like my little ArchooD2 and David Cook for pure talent. Danny and David H, because I love a good show, and they can sing.
Jordin will not be dropped, or she would not have gotten that plum tour with The esteemed Ms. Keys. That will move those cds. The thing is she can sing, and if stardom doesn’t come with this cd, I think it will come.
Rihanna is not a singer so much as a celebrity. That is a totally different animal. That seems to be the tag Kat was going for. So far it didn’t work out.
Numbers only tell part of the story. I never bought into Taylor being a failure, too bad so many others did. I don’t care if my neighbor doesn’t like my guy, my opinion matter only to me.
Given that the label has provided her with an unprecendented level of initial support for an AI, I would tend to agree with this. We all know that there are a lot more factors that go into deciding whether or not a person is dropped from their label (not just units moved). The label, for whatever reason, seems to be willing to invest heavily in Jordin. That would seem to indicate they see some kind of future for her.
I’m not sure I would bet the house (because the record industry is in a state of flux…and what Allen said), but I would not be surprised to see her get a second album regardless of where the total sales end up.
It’s frequently mentioned in articles (part of the “Last Season really sucked” mantra the press, AI producers and Simon like to preach). You are right in that the airplay probably does help with perception with the general public.
Notice the boyz seem to the be ones who complain about the genre….I don’t know, maybe they don’t watch AI, because every year they theme and decades night.
Okay, this is the last one for me: Carly is growing on me. One thing about her is she “stands out”….the tattoos, the black hair, the pretty Irish eyes…she has a certain look that makes her stand out from the Brookes on the stage.
Not during the Top 24, and to my knowledge they’ve never before been constrained to a list of 50 songs. Things ARE different this year.
The thing about Michael Johns is that he’s got something when performing that stands out for me (and my friends). I think it’s the charisma that Simon says David C is missing. I like David’s singing a lot but kind of agree with Simon. I prefer both of them to most of the other guys. Jason C is the only other one I really like but he needs to pick a good song this week.
Carly is a stand out among the girls along with Ramiele. I’ve resisted liking Carly but she’s growing on me because of her great voice. I also like Syesha and Asia’h but they both need better song choices.
ITA. I hope Michael J has been holding back a bit the past two weeks so that we can see him “grow” as a contestant over the next few weeks. Ryan said someone would “emerge” as a “superstar”. Since David R2D2 has already been positioned at the top of the heap by Simon, shouldn’t someone else be the one to emerge?
I was really surprised and a bit bummed to see Robbie Carrico leave so early.
Cmon, gang….somebody tell me why Luke Menard is still in this competition? I’ve had bowel movements that sounded better.
For me it’s Jason Castro and David Cook. I really like those guys and hope they go far enough in the competition to get a record deal.