After months of exciting competition, IDOL LIVE's poll of the week champion series for 2010 is finally coming to a close. Per usual, the second-to-last round consisted of the champions from all nine seasons matched up against each other, and the results were among the closest of all rounds this year.
Considering she is probably the most popular winner to date, it's not unheard of that Carrie Underwood would take the title here, as she nabbed 29 of all 94 votes, good for 30% of all votes cast. With this win, Carrie will represent all winners in the finale. Coming up behind her was Jordin Sparks, who took in 17 votes (18%), followed by Kelly Clarkson with 15 votes (15%).
Even David Cook reeled in 13 votes for 13%, and Kris Allen took in 10 votes for 10%. Not surprisingly, the less popular winners didn't do so well in this poll, as Lee DeWyze (4%), Fantasia (4%), Ruben Studdard (1%) and Taylor Hicks (1%) each amounted vote totals in the single digits.
Now that we have had finalists from all nine seasons of all finishing positions square off against each other, it is only fair that the victors from each round take on each other in the finale of the champion series. In this final round of voting, readers will be asked which top-ranked finalist from each placing is their overall favorite of all nine seasons. Voting will be open for not one, but two weeks. Happy voting!
Kelly Clarkson 15 (15%)
Ruben Studdard 1 (1%)
Fantasia 4 (4%)
Carrie Underwood 29 (30%)
Taylor Hicks 1 (1%)
Jordin Sparks 17 (18%)
David Cook 13 (13%)
Kris Allen 10 (10%)
Lee DeWyze 4 (4%)
Total votes: 94
Showing posts with label taylor hicks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taylor hicks. Show all posts
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Poll of the week: Carrie Underwood is champ of choice
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Lee DeWyze sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at NBA Finals game 2
Lee DeWyze continued the tradition of having the most recent Idol winner do National Anthem duty at an NBA Finals game, as he did so at game 2 of the Boston Celtics / LA Lakers championship series this evening at the Staples Center in LA. Watch him sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as televised on ABC below:
How'd Lee do? Was he in tune? I have my opinions but I'll let you be the judge. Speaking of past National Anthem performances at NBA Finals games, be sure to check out those done by Kris Allen (2009), David Cook (2008), Jordin Sparks (2007), Taylor Hicks (2006), Carrie Underwood (2005) and Kelly Clarkson (2004).
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 9 Perform (4/6/10)
Tonight Teflon Tim and the rest of the Top 9 take the stage to trip over themselves singing songs from the overdone Lennon/McCartney songbook. Will it be a repeat of Season 7's Top 12? Or maybe that season's Top 11? Or maybe it will be worse than both? I'm going with the latter just to be safe. Fortunately for us, "Imagine" isn't eligible since it's solo work by John Lennon.
Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.
Tonight's blogcast features the music of David Archuleta, Jennifer Hudson, Katharine McPhee, Kelly Clarkson, Kristy Lee Cook, Lil Rounds, Phil Stacey, Sanjaya Malakar and Taylor Hicks.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 10 Guys Perform (3/2/10)
Following a surprise switcharoo due to Crystal's complications from diabetes, the Top 10 guys will try to best their collective poor showing one week ago tonight instead of tomorrow night. It will indeed be a challenge, but there are a few signs of talent that could shine through if given the right song choices to demonstrate goo vocals.
Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.
Tonight's blogcast features the music of Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Danny Gokey, Daughtry, David Cook, Elliott Yamin, Jason Castro, Kris Allen and Taylor Hicks.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Poll of the week: FYI, Adam Lambert's FYE is FAVE single
IDOL LIVE readers handed Adam Lambert a convincing win in the latest edition of the poll of the week series in which readers were asked which single from an Idol alum was their favorite on the year.
Adam's "For Your Entertainment" led all other voting options in a crowded field of 19 other songs, taking in 102 votes (37%). Adam's latest single, "Whataya Want From Me," was back in fourth place with 23 votes (8%). Coming in second was Elliott Yamin's "Fight For Love" with 26 votes, while Kris Allen's "Live Like We're Dying" was right behind with 25 votes. Both nabbed 9% of the total votes.
In fact, only one song failed to receive a single vote, that being Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up." Seeing that she was represented by two more popular singles, "Already Gone" (18 votes, 6%) and "My Life Would Suck Without You" (6 votes, 2%), this didn't come as much of a surprise.
In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked what is their most memorable Idol moment of 2009. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
"Cowboy Casanova" (Carrie Underwood) 17 (6%)
"Battlefield" (Jordin Sparks) 9 (3%)
"My Life Would Suck Without You" (Kelly Clarkson) 6 (2%)
"Had It All" (Katharine McPhee) 10 (3%)
"For Your Entertainment" (Adam Lambert) 102 (37%)
"Live Like We're Dying" (Kris Allen) 25 (9%)
"Friday I'll Be Over U" (Allison Iraheta) 3 (1%)
"Come Back to Me" (David Cook) 12 (4%)
"No Surprise" (Daughtry) 6 (2%)
"Best Days of Your Life" (Kellie Pickler) 3 (1%)
"If This Isn't Love" (Jennifer Hudson) 2 (0%)
"I Do Not Hook Up" (Kelly Clarkson) 0 (0%)
"Already Gone" (Kelly Clarkson) 18 (6%)
"I Told You So" (Carrie Underwood) 1 (0%)
"Hold Up My Heart" (Brooke White) 4 (1%)
"Heart On My Sleeve" (Michael Johns) 1 (0%)
"Whataya Want From Me" (Adam Lambert) 23 (8%)
"Fight For Love" (Elliott Yamin) 26 (9%)
"Together" (Ruben Studdard) 2 (0%)
"What's Right Is Right" (Taylor Hicks) 2 (0%)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Kris's sales in comparison
Now that the final first week sales are in for Kris Allen's debut album, let's take a look at how his numbers stack up against the sales and chart positions on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart of the seven previous winners.
First Week Sales - Winners
1) Ruben Studdard - Soulful (416,569 - #1)
2) Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts (314,549 - #2)
3) Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks (298,199 - #2)
4) Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (297,000 - #1)
5) David Cook - David Cook (279,578 - #3)
6) Fantasia - Free Yourself (239,389 - #8)
7) Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks (119,119 - #10)
8) Kris Allen - Kris Allen (80,072 - #11)
Judging by the sales figures, Kris's debut is pretty lackluster, although when looking at the chart rankings, it shows that Kris's album fell pretty much in line with some of the previous winners and the overall decline in sales plaguing artists nowadays.
Total Sales - Winners
1) Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts (6.87 million)
2) Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (2.73 million)
3) David Cook - David Cook (1.25 million)
4) Ruben Studdard - Soulful (1.79 million)
5) Fantasia - Free Yourself (1.77 million)
6) Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks (1.03 million)
7) Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks (704k)
8) Kris Allen - Kris Allen (80k)
From the looks of things, Kris will have his work cut out for him in trying to pass even Taylor Hicks's debut album total sales. But at the same time, don't be surprised if things turn out well for Kris Allen, as the album seems like it could be a steady seller over the next few months.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Poll of the week: 'David Cook' still favorite debut album from a winner
When it comes to IDOL LIVE readers' favorite post-Idol debut album from a winner, one disc stood high above the rest according to the most recent edition of the poll of the week.
David Cook's self-titled album walked away with the contest, bringing in 96 votes, or 54% of the total votes cast. This figure was much higher than the 37 votes Kris Allen's Kris Allen took in, which came out to 20% of the votes cast.
Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts was next with 25 votes (14%), followed by the 16 votes (9%) that Kelly Clarkson's Thankful netted. Three albums failed to receive a single vote.
In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked which post-Idol debut album from a runner-up is their favorite. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
'Thankful' (Kelly Clarkson) 16 (9%)
'Soulful' (Ruben Studdard) 0 (0%)
'Free Yourself' (Fantasia) 0 (0%)
'Some Hearts' (Carrie Underwood) 25 (14%)
'Taylor Hicks' (Taylor Hicks) 0 (0%)
'Jordin Sparks' (Jordin Sparks) 3 (1%)
'David Cook' (David Cook) 96 (54%)
'Kris Allen' (Kris Allen) 37 (20%)
Total votes: 177
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Poll of the week: Kris Allen's cover art seen as best among winners
Of the eight Idol winners' debut album cover artwork, two were chosen as far and away the most popular in the latest edition of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week series.
Leading the charge with 160 votes was Kris Allen's cover art for his forthcoming debut album Kris Allen. With 48% of the total votes cast for the week, the artwork, which is pictured to the right, is definitely thought highly of by IDOL LIVE readers. Not far behind was David Cook's album David Cook, which saw its cover art receive 110 votes (33%).
Also seeing a strong showing was Carrie Underwood's debut album Some Hearts, which features Carrie standing in a golden wheat field wearing a black dress. The artwork reeled in 47 votes (14%).
None of the remaining entries by winners earned enough votes to be mentioned alongside the above albums.
In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked which song by an Idol alum to appear on a movie soundtrack is their favorite. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
Thankful (Kelly Clarkson) 11 (3%)
Soulful (Ruben Studdard) 0 (0%)
Free Yourself (Fantasia) 1 (0%)
Some Hearts (Carrie Underwood) 47 (14%)
Taylor Hicks (Taylor Hicks) 1 (0%)
Jordin Sparks (Jordin Sparks) 3 (0%)
David Cook (David Cook) 110 (33%)
Kris Allen (Kris Allen) 160 (48%)
Total votes: 333
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Poll of the week: "Light On" blinds fellow winners' singles
Among the debut singles from Idol winners, one outshone the others in IDOL LIVE's most recent edition of the poll of the week series.
David Cook's underrated single "Light On" easily trounced the seven other singles from fellow winners, including Kris Allen's brand new single "Live Like We're Dying." Cook's single took in 150 votes, or 67% of the 223 total votes cast. Kris' single garnered 26 votes (11%), good for second.
Kelly Clarkson's "Miss Independent" (19 votes, 8%) narrowly defeated Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (17 votes, 7%), and two singles failed to receive a single vote. Ruben Studdard's "Sorry 2004" and Fantasia's "Truth Is" were scoreless in this round.
In this week's edition of the poll of the week, readers are asked which debut single from an Idol fourth-place finalist is their favorite. Voting will be open for exactly one week.
Miss Independent (Kelly Clarkson) 19 (8%)
Sorry 2004 (Ruben Studdard) 0 (0%)
Truth Is (Fantasia) 0 (0%)
Jesus, Take the Wheel (Carrie Underwood) 17 (7%)
Just to Feel That Way (Taylor Hicks) 1 (0%)
Tattoo (Jordin Sparks) 10 (4%)
Light On (David Cook) 150 (67%)
Live Like We're Dying (Kris Allen) 26 (11%)
Total votes: 223
Friday, September 11, 2009
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Paula Abdul previews VH1's "Divas"
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>Paula Abdul is not one to be broken by news of her successor. As long as she's still making headlines in other ways, who is she to care? Paula has most recently appeared in the following promotional video that is airing on VH1 for the upcoming Divas special that she will be hosting. Watch her make fun of herself (and her former Idol cohorts) in the clip below, with a special cameo by Ryan "SeCrest":
The Divas special will be broadcast live on VH1 on Thurs., Sept. 17.
>Meanwhile, more commentary has come in over the past two days about the announcement that Ellen DeGeneres would be replacing Paula as the fourth judge of Idol. A few quick hits from around the industry:
Whoopi Goldberg: I'm just curious...where's the music experience? I'm not sure that this was the right choice for that particular show."
Taylor Hicks: "I definitely believe Ellen's jokes are funnier than Simon Cowell's jokes...she has a great personality and she might have a little bit more of a musical chop than we think she does."
Bucky Covington: "I gotta be honest with ya...I am probably the bad person to ask here cause I'm a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan...and I think it'd be great to have someone call Simon out on his corny jokes."
As for Ellen, she is already prepping for the inevitable spats she will be having with Simon. She said:
"When Simon is rude and mean, I will tell him he's rude and mean, just like I tell him when he's on my show that he's rude and mean."By the looks of things, it's gonna be an exciting Season 9.
>It was announced that Jordin Sparks will be singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at her Arizona Cardinals' home season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Sun., Sept. 13. Per AZCentral.com:This is the Sparks fourth time signing the anthem at University of Phoenix Stadium. She also last sang at last season's NFC Championship Game, when the Cardinals hosted the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football last season and at Super Bowl XLII.Jordin is also currently being featured in ads for the Got Milk? campaign, as seen pictured to the right.
>The record label of Season 5's Top 16 finalist Ayla Brown unveiled a backstage video of the singer and Boston College basketball star at a concert she performed at this past summer. Watch the eight-minute video below:
At the end of the video, it is announced that Ayla will release a live album on Tues., Nov. 10, featuring tracks she performed with The James Montgomery Blues Band and The Uptown Horns, and a studio album title Circles will see an April 6, 2010 release.
>Leslie Hunt, who placed in the Top 20 in Idol's sixth season, has given birth to her first child, daughter Eliza(beth) Joni Faulds on Sun., Aug. 30. Per Leslie's official Twitter account:
Our daughter, Eliza Joni, was born on Sunday, August 30th @ 9:42pm, and all is right in the world. :-) 8:38 PM Sep 2nd from webLeslie's sophomore album, Your Hair Is On Fire, is now available to purchase on CDBaby.com.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Danny Gokey finally gets a record deal
Although it took until September, Danny Gokey has finally revealed to the public that he will in fact be recording an album - a country one at that - thanks to his signing with 19/RCA Nashville.
In a story by Brian Mansfield that appeared earlier today on USAToday.com, the exciting news was reported in a manner that raised some points that are worth reiterating. Firstly, Mansfield said this the first time labels under the Sony-BMG umbrella have signed all Top 4 finalists. This is technically not true, considering the Top 4 from Idol's first season all had deals with labels within the Sony-BMG family, with Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini and Nikki McKibbin being signed with RCA and Tamyra Gray signed with Simon Fuller's 19 Records. Putting this aside, it is amazing to think that Idol's fifth season, which is often used as the gold standard, had only three of the Top 4 finalists signed to an Idol-related label (Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee), so this is a big feat for Danny, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert.
Secondly, the fact that Danny performed songs of the country genre only three times over the course of his run on Idol is enough to raise a few eyebrows. He always seemed more like an Elliott Yamin-like R&B crooner, but he has been getting good feedback for his Rascal Flatts tunes on the tour, so maybe things won't be too weird. Plus it does not hurt that fans of country music are loyal album purchasers, just ask Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington.
As for the release date, that should not be of too much concern. It would be ridiculous if Danny were to record an album - a country album mind you - in about a week in order to have it out in time for the holiday shopping season, but it has been done before (just ask Kristy Lee Cook).
Regardless of how each of the eighth season's Top 4 members' albums fare, it is a healthy signal that the four of them have been snagged by labels under jurisdiction of Sony-BMG. Hopefully they're high on quality and short on gimmicks.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Poll of the week: Cook steams the competition
In the final round before the grand finale of IDOL LIVE's 2009 poll of the week champion series, it was an unequivocal wipe-out with one winner trumping his seven peers.
Although the margin of votes separating David Cook from his competitors was not as wide as the gulf that existed between David Archuleta and his fellow runners-up in last week's poll, Cook's 255 votes were good enough to make up 62% of the 408 total votes cast.
Coming in (way) behind Cook in second place was Carrie Underwood, who is widely considered to be one of the Top 2 most successful winners. Carrie managed to receive 51 votes (12%), which most likely came from casual fans. Following Carrie were Kelly Clarkson and Kris Allen tied at 34 votes a piece, good for 8% of the total sample.
Jordin Sparks was not too far behind, as her 26 votes were enough to hand her 6% of all votes cast. But Ruben Studdard, Fantasia and Taylor Hicks all severely disappointed, as none of the aforementioned winners were able to make an impact on the standings and each failed to receive a single percentage of the vote.
Out of the 12 rounds leading to the finale of the champion series, a finalist from Season 7 earned the right to advance to the next round 10 times, with Season 5 finalists making up the other two spots. This is without a doubt evidence that Seasons 5 and 7 are considered to be the most successful and best-liked of all.
Now that the finale of the poll of the week champion series is here, it will be interesting to see if we have a re-match of last year's dogfight between the Archies and the Cookies. Just like last year, the final round of the champion series poll will be open for voting for the next two weeks, as it will close at 11 p.m. ET on Wed., Aug. 26.
Kelly Clarkson 34 (8%)
Ruben Studdard 1 (0%)
Fantasia 3 (0%)
Carrie Underwood 51 (12%)
Taylor Hicks 4 (0%)
Jordin Sparks 26 (6%)
David Cook 255 (62%)
Kris Allen 34 (8%)
Total votes: 408
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Paula Abdul's Top 5 'Idol' moments
Now that it is official that Paula Abdul will not be returning to Idol for its ninth installment, it is a good time to look back at some of the judge's most memorable moments on the show. Therefore, IDOL LIVE is counting down Paula's Top 5 most memorable moments from the show (not including her off-show antics. There are too many of those to include here and could fill up their own alternative countdown).
5) Arm in a sling and a broken nose
Paula is no stranger to injury, but when she showed up to critique the Top 7 finalists (including Jennifer Hudson) in Season 3 wearing a sling, everyone had questions about what was the cause. It turned out that Paula's thumb suffered a freak manicure accident, and so she had to keep her thumb from coming into contact with anything or she would be sent into "excruciating pain."
This was not the only time Paula hurt herself during the Idol season. Just two days before the sixth season's finale, Paula tripped on her dog and broke her nose. Oh Paula...
4) A moth, a melon and a fortune cookie
Idol's fifth season was full of bad jokes (i.e. Taylor Hicks' victory), but the worst one possibly came on Top 24 results night when Paula was asked by Ryan Seacrest to give advice to Kevin Covais and Jose "Sway" Penala, one of whom was about to be eliminated from the show. As usual, Paula did not disappoint:
Even though it came early on in this season, this one-liner has stuck with Paula to this day and symbolizes that poorly-placed humor sticks out like a sore thumb on this show.
3) Performing like it's the first time
When Paula took to the Idol stage for the first time in the series' existence to perform her new single "(I'm Just) Here For the Music," the excitement was through the roof. When it came time for the actual performance, however, many considered it to be a let-down:
Sure, Paula's choreography is unsurpassed and still seems to be top-notch after all these years, but her lip-synching was not the right kind of example to set for the finalists considering they were receiving feedback from her on their singing among other things. Still, this performance is one for the Idol history books.
2) The affair of the century
Although accusations of an affair between Paula and Season 2 disqualified contestant Corey Clark were still two years away, the decision to include a sketch of Paula having a dinner date with Simon Cowell, complete with sexual tension and suggestive undertones.
The big, fat kiss that topped off the scene was the icing on the cake. It's pretty certain, however, that something like this would never have happened in any season after this.
1) Seeing the future!
This will forever and always be known as the most memorable moment of Paula's Idol career. As you all remember, things got hectic on Top 5 night in Season 7 as the judges were asked to write down comments for each of the Top 5 finalists' performances and deliver them all at once. Paula was noticeably caught up in the impromptu change in procedure and gave us all this gem:
Now, say what you will about Paula and her crazy antics, but you can't deny this was hilarious. It might not be her most proud moment, but to Idol fans it is without a doubt her most memorable one. Once again Paula, thanks for all the fun you've given us over the past seven years and good luck in your future endeavors.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Kris signs with Jive; Adam with RCA
The announcements came more quietly than in years past, but it was finally officially revealed that Kris Allen and Adam Lambert have signed with their Sony-BMG record labels. According to EOnline.com, Kris has signed with 19/Jive, while Adam has inked a deal with 19/RCA.
As for what kind of music Kris will be recording for his forthcoming album, he told EOnline:"I felt like I did exactly what I wanted to do on the show that I would want to do on a record," Kris said. "When I went on the show and did 'Ain't No Sunshine,' I felt that was the kind of stuff that I wanted to do—stuff that kind of moves people and has that feeling."
Adam mentioned his deal a little more nonchalantly, as the discussion du jour still seems to be revolving around his sexuality. Per Eonline:So coming in second place, do you have a record contract? Collaborating with anyone yet? You said you'd love to work with Lady Gaga, Madonna...
Yes, I do, with RCA. I can't say yet. I wanna keep [collaborators] a surprise, but we have some really great stuff in store.
The breakdown for Idol winners and runners-up and their post-show labels are as follows:
RCA: 8 (Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken, Diana DeGarmo, Bo Bice, Katharine McPhee, David Cook, Adam Lambert)
Jive: 3 (Jordin Sparks, David Archuleta, Kris Allen)
J Records: 2 (Ruben Studdard, Fantasia)
Arista: 2 (Taylor Hicks, Blake Lewis)
Arista Nashville: 1 (Carrie Underwood)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Kris Allen sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at NBA Finals
Following in the footsteps of Idols' past, Kris Allen sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the start of tonight's Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. Watch the performance below:
Kris did alright, especially considering the Anthem really isn't his style and it sounds better on some people than others. He did, however, do a much better job than David Cook did at last year's Game 3 of the NBA Finals. As good a singer as Cook is, that was not one of his shining moments.
Kris and Cook were not the only Idol winners to sing in person at an NBA Finals game, as Taylor Hicks did the honors in 2007 for Game 4 and Jordin Sparks sang the S-SB at Game 1 the same year. Kelly Clarkson sang live from overseas on a USO Tour back in 2006.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Kris' and Adams' first week sales in comparison
Now that the debut week sales numbers for Kris Allen's and Adam Lambert's post-Idol singes are finalized, it's interesting to see where their data fit in the bigger Idol winner and runner-up picture.
Although it is a little difficult to accurately rank the numbers considering the differences in the sales releases, I did my best to come up with how things should look with Hot 100 peaks (and debuts).
Winners
1) Ruben Studdard, "Flying Without Wings / Superstar" - 286,000* - #2 (#2)
2) David Cook, "The Time of My Life" - 236,024 - #3 (#3)
3) Kelly Clarkson, "A Moment Like This / Before Your Love" - 236,000* - #1 (#52)
4) Taylor Hicks, "Do I Make You Proud / Takin' It to the Streets" - 190,147* - #1 (#1)
5) Fantasia, "I Believe / Chain of Fools / Summertime" - 142,141* - #1 (#1)
6) Kris Allen, "No Boundaries" - 134,458 - #11 (#11)
7) Carrie Underwood, "Inside Your Heaven / Independence Day" - 131,504* - #1 (#1)
8) Jordin Sparks, "This Is My Now" - 74,303 - #15 (#15)
*denotes only commercial singles counted
So as you can see, Kris' "No Boundaries" comes in at #6 among winners' debut single sales, with only Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven / Independence Day" and Jordin Sparks' "This Is My Now" coming in behind it. Now, as indicated above, some singles are only including commercial single sales (aka physical copies), which makes things a little tricky. If digital sales are combined, we'd see Carrie's "Inside Your Heaven" at 170,528 total single sales, and Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud" would be at 228,418. But the reason I did not include those is because they do not take the digital sales for "Independence Day" and "Takin' It to the Streets" into consideration.
Runners-Up
1) Clay Aiken, "This Is The Night / Bridge over Troubled Water" - 393,000* - #1 (#1)
2) Adam Lambert, "Mad World" - 114,763 - #19 (#19)
3) Bo Bice, "Inside Your Heaven / Vehicle" - 108,158* - #2 (#2)
4) David Archuleta, "Imagine" - 71,178 - #36 (#36)
5) Blake Lewis, "You Give Love a Bad Name" - 70,133 - #18 (#18)
6) Diana DeGarmo, "Dreams / Don't Cry Out Loud / I Believe" - 65,000* - #14 (#14)
7) Katharine McPhee, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow / My Destiny" - 47,394* - #12 (#12)
As for the runners-up, Adam's highest-selling track, "Mad World," actually stands at #2 when compared to the other six singles' debut week sales in the same manner. But if digital sales are included, Bo Bice's "Inside Your Heaven / Vehicle" has a total of 121,423 downloads, which puts him ahead of Adam.
On the Hot 100 side of things, Kris has the second-lowest debut on the chart for any winner (only ahead of Jordin's "This Is My Now") and Adam's highest-charting single is also the second-lowest debut for any runner up on the chart (ahead of David Archuleta's "Imagine").
But there are plenty of other factors to consider when comparing the single sales from over the years. For example, the recent singles (seasons 6-8) have all been made available to download almost instantly after a winner was crowned, whereas the previous five seasons all had their commercial singles for winners and runners-up wait a few weeks before being released. Also, the formula that is used to determine how singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100 has changed since digital sales have become more important to the chart, which has put more of an emphasis on sales and in effect provided for a much bigger sample of competition for the more recent singles.
Another major factor that should be considered is pricing differences. When the third season's singles went for more than five dollars for three songs and even the other seasons that had physical singles saw price tags of over three dollars for two songs, it is hard to compare those with seasons 6-8 that had $0.99 (and a $1.29) downloads.
Back in the day when the commercial singles were must-have collectors items for any self-respecting Idol fan, the sales looked much more impressive, especially when compared to rival entries on the Billboard Commercial Single Sales chart. If they kept with the tradition nowadays, things might be in a similar situation, but it's also entirely possible that the advent of digital singles and necessity of having things instantly could have destroyed the novelty of having the CD singles.
Either way, it is interesting to see how the sales of these silly coronation songs have changed depending on the year and the Idol winner/runner-up.
Monday, May 11, 2009
'Idol' BB 200: 'All I Ever Wanted' #25 (5/16/09)
After a few days delay, we finally have sales figures for Idol-related entries on the Billboard Top 200 chart for the chart week of May 16.
Once again leading the pack was Kelly Clarkson with her All I Ever Wanted, which slid four spots to #25 despite holding steady at 18.3k copies for the second week in a row. It has now sold 526.9k in all. Following Kelly was Carrie Underwood with Carnival Ride, which dipped 5% in sales and moved another 15.6k copies for the week, bringing its total to 2.820 million. It was down three spots to #29 on the chart side.
David Cook's David Cook came in third for Idol-related entries at #62, down from #55 the previous week thanks to a scant 4% sales drop. It sold 7.7k and has a current total of 1.114 million copies.
Chris Botti's live album Chris Botti In Boston was next with 6.7k copies, down 14% from the previous week, and fell #60-71. Its total is now 75.9k. Jennifer Hudson's self-titled debut came in at #85, down 15 spots from the previous week, with 5.6k copies sold, which was a sales decrease of 20%. It has now sold 719.6k.
Further down the rungs of the Billboard 200's ladder, Kellie Pickler saw her sophomore album gain 19% sales-wise and advance 22 spots to #111 thanks to another 4.6k copies sold, placing its total at 206.1k. And then David Archuleta's self-titled album fell #110-121 with 4.1k copies moved for the week, which was down 10% in sales from the previous week. The album's total now stands at 693.9k.
Mandisa's sophomore album Freedom followed at #130, up drastically from #178 the week prior with a 28% improvement in sales, to 3.8k copies for the week, placing its Billboard total at 12.5k. Daughtry's Daughtry was off 7% and 13 spots to #177 with 2.8k units sold for a grand total of 4.425 million.
And Taylor Hicks' latest effort brought up the rear at #180 as it saw a 148% resurgence in sales thanks to a performance on the Top 5 results show, with 2.8 copies sold for a total of 27.2k.
Full sales figures and chart positions courtesy of areyoureadytojump on Pulse as follows:
025 021 Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted 18,268 0% 18,290 526,946
029 026 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 15,627 -5% 16,525 2,820,244
062 055 David Cook - David Cook 7,699 -4% 8,031 1,113,865
071 060 Chris Botti - Chris Botti Live In Boston 6,719 -14% 7,768 75,949
085 070 Jennifer Hudson - Jennifer Hudson 5,569 -20% 6,938 719,625
111 133 Kellie Pickler - Kellie Pickler 4,564 19% 3,850 206,076
121 110 David Archuleta - David Archuleta 4,144 -10% 4,587 693,942
130 178 Mandisa - Freedom 3,755 28% 2,930 12,472
177 164 Daughtry - Daughtry 2,870 -7% 3,072 4,425,458
180 --- Taylor Hicks - The Distance 2,800 148% 1,129 27,217
Total sales are in bold.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Analysis: Producers are trigger happy for drama
The end result of tonight's Top 5 results show was anything but unexpected. The means we took to get to the result, however, are another matter. But if anyone is surprised that Adam landed in the "Bottom 2," let's just take a look at the factors in play here.
First, Adam has never been in the Bottom 3, nevermind the B2. Therefore, the chances that he could skate into the finale without ever being in the latter were very slim. So what do the producers do? They psych out all of Adam's fans, who have become complacent over the past few weeks. I mean, it's hard to argue with such high numbers on DialIdol, isn't it? But there will come a day when a power hungry Kris Allen or Allison Iraheta fanbase votes and texts its way to a victory in that scenario.
Even though there were only five finalists remaining when votes were cast last night, which supported the notion that anyone could end up in any order when the results came in, there was zero chance that Adam was actually in the B2 following a highly praised performance in the pimp spot. The assertion that his polarization could be a reason to alienate a lot of the audience remains true, but again, that would not be enough to warrant a trip to the B2 on its own. There are still just as many supporters as there are those who do not vote for him.
But stepping back from the results for a moment, Adam made one of the most boneheaded moves when he picked Allison's and Danny's group based on who "did the best last night," which meant he assumed he was among the best performers of the night. Now, he really cannot be faulted for this because, well, everyone else thought he was among the best and that he would be in the top vote-getting group when Ryan began splitting the five of them up. Still, he should have taken a page from the rest of the finalists from seasons past that refused to pick a group and/or just sat/stood in the middle of the stage in protest.
Once people can come down from being hit by the blow to the face of Adam being in the B2, it's really no surprise that Matt left in fifth. As even he mentioned to Ryan following the revelation of the results, he was like a cat with nine lives on the show and is appreciative of how far he made it. Matt is right: he got a ton of chances to extend his time on the show and it was just his time to leave this week. Matt even sounded better on his encore than he did last night, and could have a career as an R&B singer if he chooses to pursue that route.
As for the rest of the results, it was no shock that Danny and Allison landed in the top spots based on last night, with Simon's ridiculous underwhelming critique of Allison's stellar vocal showing sending fans into a frenzy, undoubtedly accounting for a large chunk of the 47 million votes cast last night. And Kris was not up to anything new, as he ended up in the middle of the pack once again. Dark horse? Perhaps.
Moving on from the results, the producers had to reach for three guest performers tonight to act as filler, and could not have picked an odder combination. First up was Natalie Cole, who looked classy and sounded as crisp as ever on her song. Then came Taylor Hicks and his "Seven Mile Breakdown," which injected some life into the show but felt kind of out of place amid the backdrop of Rat Pack era week. He seemed to really appreciate being asked to return and perform, though, and reiterated that he loved being back on the Idol stage. All in all, it was not an amazing vocal performance but it was more on the exciting side than what we could have had in his place.
And then there was this week's mentor, Jamie Foxx. As if Foxx was not out of place after last night's critiques, he was even more out of place tonight when he autotuned the life out of his "#1 single" (according to Ryan. Is that song really #1 in the country?!) "Blame It." He did more twirling than even pretending to lip-synch, as he forgot to hold the mic up to his mouth more than a few times. And then for him to say the Top 5 finalists were the most talented singers he had heard in the past few years? After that performance, Jamie, that is more of a diss than it is a compliment. And didn't he recently say something on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to the effect of "just remember one thing: everything I say, I don't mean any of it." Right, we'll take you up on that.
Moving on, the Ford music video was dumber than usual this week, as the scenery was painted in color after beginning with a boring and lifeless grey scale landscape. The behind the scenes footage of seeing the finalists "baking a cake," however, was definitely worth every penny. We got to see Danny and Allison throw cake in each others' faces! We saw Kris, Adam and Matt breaking plates and strangling each other in cake batter and flour. How is that not entertaining?
There was really nothing else exciting about this results show, though. The group performance was good even though there was no lip-synching, and then Simon actually acted humble knowing that his critiques were less spot-on than Kara's and Randy's (keyword: acting).
My original predictions did not do all that well this week, as Allison was my first pick to leave in fifth place when I put in my predictions all those weeks ago. My pre-show predictions, however, were much more on the right track, as I had Matt going home with Kris in the B2 and Allison as the third member of the B3. Obviously the latter two guesses were wrong, but I had Matt going home and that's all that matters. Right?
One thing's for sure, though: next week's showcase of rock songs will be a sight to see.
IDOL LIVE Blog: Top 5 Results (4/29/09)
Join us tonight as we blog during the Top 5 results show, when the final four finalists will be revealed in dramatic fashion. We're willing to be the results will be more exciting than Taylor Hicks' "welcome back" performance of "Seven Mile Breakdown" in addition to performances by Jamie Foxx and Natalie Cole. but there have been bigger surprises in this show's history. The blogcast will begin at 9 p.m. ET and will last one hour.
Tonight's blogcast will feature music from David Cook, Anoop Desai, Blake Lewis, Lil Rounds and Carrie Underwood.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
'Idol' BB 200: 'All I Ever Wanted' #5 (4/11/09)
Although an Idol alum no longer holds the pole position on the Billboard Top 200 chart, there is still a great representation for the chart week of April 11.
Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted dropped #1-5 thanks to a 43% decline in sales, but it still managed to sell 51.6k for the week. It has sold 397.2k copies in three weeks. Next was Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride, which fell 16 spots to #31 due to her Idol sales bump wrapping up. It still managed to move 16.8k copies and only drop 12% sales-wise, and now holds a total of 2.720 million.
A third winner held the third Idol-related spot, as David Cook's self-titled album slipped #54-78 on the chart and saw a 15% decrease in sales to 7.3k copies. The album has sold 1.043 million to date and will add a good amount more on next week's chart thanks to his performance being aired on this past Wednesday's results show.
Jennifer Hudson's self-titled album followed with 7.1k copies at #82, down 26 spots from the previous week. It has a total of 683k after sliding 14% this week. Mandisa's new album, Freedom, debuted right behind at #83 with 7k copies for a total of 3.7k. Yes, you read that right, the album's total take shows up as being lower than its weekly take on the Billboard 200 because albums sold in Christian stores are not always counted the way traditional stores report their sales.
Down 32 spots this week to #128 was David Foster's CD/DVD combo Hit Man, which moved an additional 4.4k copies despite being down 23% for a total of 176.5k. David Archuleta's debut album followed at #148, down from #125 the previous week, with 3.9k. It was down 9% from week-to-week and now has a total of 672.8k copies.
Daughtry was up next at #155, down 11 spots chart-wise and 3% sales-wise, with 3.6k copies for the week. It has sold 4.408 million in all. And wrapping up Idol representation on the chart was Taylor Hicks, whose latest album The Distance slipped 44% to 3.3k for the week. It was down #87-166 and has now moved 18.3k after three weeks.
Full sales figures and chart positions courtesy of 2m on Pulse as follows:
005 001 Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted 51,608 -43% 90,393 397,232
031 015 Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 16,775 -12% 19,165 2,719,759
078 054 David Cook - David Cook 7,300 -15% 8,553 1,042,904
082 056 Jennifer Hudson - Jennifer Hudson 7,085 -14% 8,211 683,126
083 --- Mandisa - Freedom 7,031 956 666% 3,658
128 096 David Foster - Hit Man... 4,366 -23% 5,644 176,492
148 125 David Archuleta - David Archuleta 3,939 -9% 4,311 672,840
155 144 Daughtry - Daughtry 3,598 -3% 3,712 4,408,105
166 087 Taylor Hicks - The Distance 3,339 -44% 5,972 18,302
Total sales are in bold.
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