As 2007 comes to an end, Chris Daughtry can look back and be confident in his clout as a successful artist. Daughtry finished a paltry fourth place in American Idol’s fifth season but has gone on to be one of the most successful Idol contestants alongside Carrie Underwood. Daughtry’s 2007 self-titled album spent 14 weeks in the #1 position on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. With 2007 sales ending up at 2.287 million copies, Daughtry has been declared the top selling artist of 2007. This American Idol flunky sure has come a long ways. 2008 will likely see similar success as Daughtry and his band hit the road with legend Bon Jovi. Tour dates are listed, and tickets can be purchased, from Ticketmaster.

Season four winner Carrie Underwood has also had a great year. Her sophomore release, Carnival Ride, has reached over 2 million copies sold making it double platinum in less than two months. Underwood’s debut release, Some Hearts, has certified sales of over six million copies. Underwood’s success has not gone unnoticed; she’s been tapped to perform at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve 2008 on ABC. Underwood also has a tour planned for 2008; touring alongside Keith Urban the tour will kick off on January 31 in Uncasville, Connecticut. Tour information can be found on The Official Carrie Underwood Site.

American Idol fans are gearing up for the debut of season seven in a few short weeks. The two-night season premiere will be on January 15 & 16, 2008 on Fox. Sneak-peek photos from the americanidol.com website have been streaming in; this season promises to be one of the most exciting yet. Auditions were held in the following cities: Philadelphia, Charleston, Atlanta, Omaha, Dallas, San Diego, and Miami. My early prediction is that this character from the Miami auditions will NOT get a golden ticket.

In non-season seven news, season six winner Jordin Sparks’ self-titled debut album has set a new record. However, this is a record that Sparks probably didn’t want to lay claim to. After selling only 119,000 copies in its initial week, Sparks’ album has officially become the worst-performing debut album of any former Idol winner. Some sources are stating that Sparks felt her debut single, Tattoo, was too generic sounding and didn’t garner a solid listening audience. In addition her album doesn’t encompass a single style but flits about from pop, to R&B, to even a bit of country. Perhaps with a more focused attempt with future album releases Sparks will find more commercial success.

Season four contestant Jessica Sierra will also be reappearing on the small screen in January 2008. This time, however, it’s not going to be all glitz and glam. Sierra, a self-proclaimed cocaine addict, will be one of nine “celebrities” appearing with Dr. Drew Pinsky on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab.” Previews show Sierra trying to cope with the recent loss of her mother as well as her acceptance that her mother was both a drug addict and a prostitute. This is only one of the demons Sierra will face during the eight episode series. Celebrity Rehab will premiere on January 10, 2008 on VH1.

Chris Sligh did his obligatory “voted-off interview” this morning and actually said “I never came into this wanting to win it.” Umm, hello – why waste everyone’s time then. Why do something half-assed? Why did he say this? “I come from an indie, alternative-rock kind of background. For me, I think winning American Idol would hurt what I was really going for” said Sligh. So what you’re saying is participating in the competition wouldn’t hurt your indie-rock style but winning it will? That just makes no sense. If the competition is good enough for you to participate in without hurting your reputation then it should be good enough for you to win it. Trust me – indie rockers across the United States have already discounted you for participating, it doesn’t matter whether you were the ultimate winner or not.

What this sounds like to me is a 10 year-old who isn’t picked for the little league team he wanted and says “Well I didn’t want it anyway.” I’d have loved to see Sligh’s facial expression while he gave the interview – was he pouting? At one point in his interview he says, in reference to his band Half-Past Forever, “I think a door should open up for us… that would be great.” That’s not a surprise; America knows why you did it especially given the success of Daughtry. I don’t see much in the way of record-sales coming from Sligh and his band; it will be interesting to look back in a year’s time to see how this has all panned out.

After Thursday night’s performance on American Idol the ‘net is abuzz with questions regarding Carrie Underwood’s weight. She has definitely lost weight but is it too much? If the TV “adds ten pounds” like the old adage goes then she’s absolutely underweight. Her arms were like sticks with skin on them, absolutely no fat. Now I’m no doctor but she just didn’t look healthy and the majority of sites out there reporting on the topic agree. You can compare the photos for yourself, big difference there!

In other Idol news people across the United States are now trying to guess who the “cocky SOB” is in the male camp. The most commonly mentioned names are Chris Sligh, Chris Richardson, and Blake Lewis. You already know that my guess is Chris Richardson but I could see why Chris Sligh or Blake Lewis would think so as well. Blake Lewis is getting the best overall review from the judges, has a unique look, and is multi-talented on the microphone. If I found out he’s the “cocky” one I’m going to be disappointed as he seems like he’s relatively laid back. Chris Sligh; yeah I could see him being cocky. Hopefully someone spills the beans!!

There are a couple of interesting tidbits in the news right now and I thought I’d share.

Jennifer Hudson, the most successful former American Idol contestant in my opinion, has turned down a $3 million movie role. Yes, that’s right, $3 million. Warner Bros offered her $3 million for a role in an upcoming movie but it would involve Hudson’s character being involved in a nude scene. Hudson turned it down because she considers herself a role model for aspiring young black women. You go girl!

Nigel Lythgoe sounds off on the Rosie O’Donnell claim that American Idol is a racist show calling her “utterly crazy.” O’Donnell made this claim after Antonella Barba was treated differently than Frenchie Davis for similar indiscretions. O’Donnell felt that the show was racist and also discriminated against Davis because of her weight. In a call to Ryan Seacrest’s radio show earlier today Lythgoe said “Without wishing to add to the obvious self-promotion of Ms O’Donnell, I feel as though I must refute her absurd and ridiculous claims that American Idol is racist and/or weightist.” Lythgoe then went on to say “Look at our past contestants, Ruben (Studdard) for instance, Randy Jackson himself… these are not small people!” Thanks for pointing out the obvious Nigel.

Jennifer Hudson’s successes just keep adding up; she has now signed on with Avon to be the exclusive spokesperson for their Imari fragrance line. The Imari line’s newest scent is Seduction and Hudson will be a part of the large print campaign rollout as well. The Imari line is Avon’s most popular fragrance line and has been a great seller for the past twenty years.

“We are thrilled to partner with Jennifer Hudson at this very exciting time in her career,” said Liz Smith, Executive Vice President, President North America and Global Marketing. “Avon is a company dedicated to empowering women, and we believe that our Avon Representatives and their customers will be truly inspired by Jennifer’s dream-come-true success story.”

“This is an honor for me and very flattering,” said Hudson. “With the success of ‘Dreamgirls’ and now an Oscar, it’s been an incredible few months. And now, to partner with Avon is really a dream come true for me. It’s exciting to be representing the Imari brand, which really embodies confidence and femininity.”

Simon Cowell has his panties in a bunch over Jennifer Hudson calling American Idol a “stepping stone” for her career which has brought her international fame for her role as Effie in the smash hit Dreamgirls. When Cowell was asked about Hudson’s comment he had this to say; “Jennifer Hudson said ‘American Idol’ was a ’stepping stone’ for her. Stepping stone? It was her big opportunity to become noticed and she got noticed and she got ‘Dreamgirls.’ Singers like her deliberately turn against the show that made them successful. The reason (people) come on the show is because all the doors had been slammed in their face.”

In typical Cowell fashion the comment was harsh – doors slammed in the contestants faces? Well that’s not necessarily the case as it’s obvious that some people’s first step is American Idol (think Antonella Barba). However Jennifer Hudson had such immense talent that she probably didn’t need the backing of American Idol to secure the role of Effie. That’s not to say that knowledge of her because of American Idol helped her get the foot in the door for the audition; I firmly believe that it did. Don’t be mistaken though, Jennifer Hudson and only Jennifer Hudson secured that role. I agree that American Idol is a stepping stone. For some it’s a stepping stone to a larger music career than they had prior to American Idol (Chris Daughtry) and for others like Hudson it is a stepping stone to other aspects of the entertainment industry.

A lot of interesting news bits have been hitting the feeds lately on past American Idol contestants; here are a couple of stories that I felt like sharing.

VH1.com has decided to place odds as to who will win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. American Idol season four winner Carrie Underwood is at 3:1. The reasons her odds aren’t that great are because “she’s a country artist, and this ain’t the CMAs. In the past 20 years, only two country singers have won the Best New Artist Grammy…” Read the entire story at VH1.com.

Erin Carlson with the Chicago Sun-Times interviewed Chris Daughtry (American Idol season five finalist) and posted the story online yesterday. I recommend that all Daughtry fans read the entire story; it might save them face should they ever meet the performer in person. When discussing the fact that he either hears that he was robbed of the win or he should have won he says “I’m just gonna be real: I hate hearing it” then continues to go on to say “Get over it, you know, because I’m doing all right.” All right is right; Daughtry’s “Its Not Over” has climbed to number four on the Billboard Hot 100, up from six last week. Read the entire Sun-Times article here.

The 49th Annual Grammy Awards will be held live on Sunday, February 11, 2007 on CBS (check your local listings for station and time); once again an American Idol alum has been nominated. American Idol season four winner Carrie Underwood has been nominated in two categories; the prestigious Best New Artist as well as Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song “Jesus, Take the Wheel”.

In addition to her nominations, Underwood will also be performing live during the telecast. In a Grammy press release they called Underwood a “country superstar”; she is in great company with Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris, and Justin Timberlake also slated to perform.

If Underwood wins she’ll be able to add the Grammy awards to her shelf alongside her Country Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Fans might remember the fiasco with Faith Hill saying “WHAT?” as the cameras went to her for reaction after announcing that Underwood won.

Idol fans look back to the 48th Annual Grammy awards when season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson received Grammy awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Not all of the American Idol winners have gone on to reach such amazing success as Clarkson and Underwood; it will be exciting to see what heights the season six winner will be able to achieve.

I don’t often go to concerts – I’m only 5’2” and I don’t really like crowds (everybody is always breathing on me) – but not much was going to keep me away from the Idols Live! tour after Season Four. Aside from the terrific group of performers and performances, it was an awesome opportunity for people watching. The girl sitting in front of me was about fourteen and quite obviously an Anthony Federov fan. No one around us was standing up throughout Anthony’s turn on the stage except for her. She was waving shyly and I think she had a sign, unfortunately, he didn’t notice her or wave back. This poor, heartbroken child spent the rest of the night pouting, much to her parents’ and little brother’s amusement.

Why the story? Well, I hope that girl gets to read this interview. We have many, many wonderful contributors to the Idol blogosphere, but JD Matthews is one of my heroes. Not only does he survive living in Memphis (I’m a six-year veteran) but he does great things for the marketing-challenged Idols. His interview with Anthony - with help from the AFed community - is a knock-out. If you haven’t heard Anthony’s ‘Culpa Me’ it is also a knock-out – be sure to visit IdolWaves.com to hear it. Oh, and thanks for the AFed fansite info – sounds like some good lurking!