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.
Elliott Yamin’s self-titled debut album is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2007. Yamin’s album will be released through Hickory Records; a label that is affiliated with Sony ATV Music Publishing. Yamin is signed on as a write with Sony ATV Music Publishing and for this album write he did. He co-wrote the majority of songs on the album and worked with big name producers and writers including Stargate, DJ Lethal, Josh Abraham, Derek Bramble, and Michael Mangini. American Idol fans definitely remember Yamin’s version of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You” that brought Paula Abdul to tears in season five. Lucky for us he also has this song on his self-titled debut album.
When discussing the recording process Yamin had to say this; “Collaborating on the songs with these talented people who’ve been involved in music way longer than me and who share my passion for it has been an incredible experience. I’ve learned so much from them as an artist and as a person. The key to writing is to come from the heart. People relate to real feelings.”
Yamin’s second single “Wait For You” is already getting rave reviews after radio play. You can sample his video courtesy of YouTube or listen to the entire song also at YouTube. I am digging this song, I loved Yamin’s voice during season five and I think this is going to be the first album from an American Idol contestant that I actually buy.
There is a lot of conversation going on about the success of Chris Daughtry versus the success of season five winner Taylor Hicks. Daughtry’s self-titled debut album has been a hit on Billboard’s Top 200 currently back up to number two from number nine last week. The album was number one at one point even. Hicks’, on the other hand, is nowhere in the top 100 (sorry but I’m not paying to see 101 to 200 to find out exactly where he is). Heck, even Katharine McPhee’s album is in the top 50 although it’s falling fast; down to 39 this week from 29 last week. So did America get it wrong and pick the wrong American Idol?
My answer is no. Not because I enjoyed Taylor from the first time that I saw him but the America that votes for the American Idol contestants and the America that ultimately goes out and buys the albums can be two completely different crowds. Daughtry’s album turned out to appeal to more of an audience than Hicks’ did so it sold more, it’s really that simple. Rock music is very popular these days and everyone knew that although Taylor Hicks’ has a great voice it would be hard to get him a mainstream hit.
The same goes for contestants this season. Sundance Head is going to appeal to a completely different crowd than Jordin Sparks. They both may go on to release albums but the sales will vary depending on the type of album they make and will not be a direct result of how they did on American Idol. American Idol is a launching point at this stage in the game, a great one at that.
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.
Katharine McPhee’s self-titled debut album was leaked onto the web late Tuesday night. Within a few hours most of the sites removed the ripped songs but the early reviews from fans are that it is a fantastic album and Katharine McPhee should have won last season of American Idol. The tracks vary from upbeat modern hits to slow and soulful, Katharine’s specialty in my opinion. My personal favorite is “Dangerous”, its got a nice beat and talks to us ladies.
With regards to the hot album cover McPhee had to say this, “I actually didn’t pick the album cover. What I wanted was a bit more conservative. You pick your battles. Many people think it’s suggestive, but really when you look at it, there’s almost no skin, no crotch shot. I am completely covered, which makes it that much sexier.””
Her album drops on January 30, 2007, the first single is “Over It” and her track list looks like this:
1. Love Story
2. Over It
3. Open Toes
4. Home
5. Not Ur Girl
6. Each Other
7. Dangerous
8. Ordinary World
9. Do What You Do
10. Better Off Alone
11. Neglected
12. Everywhere I Go
VH1 is streaming her entire album. Preview it and then preorder your copy now!
My apologies for posting two moderately depressing stories in one day. (I say “moderately” because the arts often create beautiful things from pain and suffering.) We go from Justin’s “Motherless Child” to Chris Daughtry’s “Childless Mother” – a.k.a. “All These Lives.” Mitch Allan – singer/songwriter with band SR-71 – posted this on his blog:
November 14, 2006: “The Tune is called “All These Lives” and Chris and we wrote it in a hotel room in Pittsburg after a long flight and alot of chemical enhancement. The song speaks for itself and this CD rocks!!!”
December 16, 2006: “Chris just sent me this link. A fan made this video for one of the songs we wrote together for his new CD called “All These Lives”…the video says it all. This is exactly the type of exposure we were hoping for on this issue when we wrote the song. Please pass this link on to everyone so that we can find some of these children and draw as much attention to this issue as possible.”
Obviously, one of the best things about music is it means different things to different people. “All These Lives” could apply to soldiers lost in the war, families of divorce, etc. The video is a work of love from a fan, and wouldn’t it be incredible if even just one of these lost children were found because of it? Never underestimate the power of passion!
How adorable is Kellie Pickler? She was hilarious! I did not get to see The Tonight Show the night she was on – actually, my bedtime is 8:00 so I don’t ever get to see The Tonight Show – but fortunately for me, Go Fish has the video available. I’ll say it again, how did we ever survive in this world without YouTube and Go Fish?
Anyhoo, the skit starts out with Kellie bouncing out on stage wearing… well…let’s say an interesting choice of a dress…to chat with Jay. Kellie has decided she is going to go shopping in New York City to buy Jay a Christmas present. Our little Country Mouse has great adventures in New York City – she does a “man on the street” segment asking for gift ideas, learns to speak some Chinese (my favorite part of the whole skit), meets up with Lionel Richie and reigning Idol, Taylor Hicks. Taylor was hilarious, too – Kellie and Taylor are too cute together and the Taylor/Leno jokes aren’t going away anytime soon. Fine by me – it’s perfectly harmless and silly to boot. I won’t spoil it for you, but Kellie does end up finding the perfect New York gift for Jay.
It’s a great video – someone should get this girl a sitcom.
Press release summary:
“GoFish, a leading online video network, announced the upcoming launch of an exclusive show called Artist Voices. The program, designed to profile the lives and lifestyles of top musical talents, will provide a forum for major artists to directly connect with their fan base through a unique and interactive experience, leveraging user-generated video and the GoFish Web community.
GoFish will be partnering with The Firm, a Hollywood management company. The Firm, with a client list of music acts including Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Snoop Dogg, and “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks, will be working with GoFish to creatively connect their immensely talented pool of artists with millions of their adoring fans, utilizing the phenomenal popularity of user-generated video online.
“Artist Voices will be the first show of its kind online to harness the power of user-generated video in order to connect famous musical artists and the fans who love them,” said Michael Downing, founder and CEO of GoFish. “We think this show will serve as a model for empowering the creative community to more effectively build and maintain meaningful relationships with their fan base.”
Artist Voices is a nine-week Web-based show that provides consumers with an inside view and exclusive access to some of the biggest musical artists on the planet. Fans are encouraged to upload their own videos to communicate with and pose questions to the artists who, in turn, respond and maintain a dialogue with the audience throughout the program. Whether they are on the road touring or in the studio recording their next big album, Artist Voices enables artists to reach out to their fan base and provide a sneak peek inside their lives.”
Get up close and personal with Taylor Hicks
What a difference a management company makes. You could use a lesson in effective management, 19 Entertainment - The Firm has done more for Taylor Hicks in six months than you have done for any Idol in 5 years. No one will argue that the American Idol franchise is unsurpassed as far as launching careers, but as far as managing careers, Idol has proven to be more of a hindrance than a help.
Let’s compare, shall we?
The Firm: rehearsals.com, Go Fish, Orange Bowl half-time show
19 Entertainment: ”From Justin to Kelly”, World Idol, “Idol Christmas”
Okay, I actually don’t know for sure if all Idol missteps and misfortunes can be blamed on 19 Entertainment - I’m sure some responsibility must rest on the label (but isn’t 19E supposed to fight those battles) - but my point is this: No Idol winner has had better, more modern, and widespread exposure for their debut release than Taylor Hicks. The difference in management companies can’t be a coincidence.
It’s 2006, 19E - get with the program…
Katharine fans rejoice! Santa hasn’t forgotten the Kat Pack this year - Katharine has two new songs out and available at Wal-Mart just in time for Christmas. Since Kat’s debut CD has been pushed to January 30th, the release is sweet indeed for the McPheever-stricken. Even sweeter, neither of these songs sound like “Open Toes”. Sorry, I just didn’t care for that one at all. I’m fairly ambivalent about the new tracks, “I Lost You” and “Dangerous” although I think they are far, far better than the three tracks that were leaked earlier. I tend to agree with the conspiracy theorists that the release of “Never Saw It Coming” was postponed due to their lukewarm reception.
“I Lost You” is a slower ballad, but honestly, am I the only one who didn’t think it sounded like Kat - at all? It wasn’t offensive cough*Open Toes*cough, but it seemed strange. Of course, my track record for picking a winner is pathetic - I didn’t like Kelly’s “Since U Been Gone” the first 20 times I heard it either…maybe I should hedge my bets and predict “I Lost You” will be my favorite song. At least it’s spelled correctly…
“Dangerous” sounds even less like Katharine than “I Lost You” to me - I don’t know…where did I put those Q-Tips? It is catchy - the club/dance mix is going to explode!
Follow the links to the songs while you can or risk getting crushed in the Taylor CD stampede at Wal-Mart.
Hmmm…sure are lots of injuries going on in Nashville these days. Sure are lots of Idols getting another shot at superstardom. Coninkeedink? Far be it from me to start a rumor…
After vocalist Buddy Jewell broke his wrist and had to drop out of the GAC Country Christmas Tour, Bucky Covington got a break of his own and was asked to be Jewell’s last-minute replacement. In an interview with The Canton Rep, Bucky talked about his early Christmas gift and new album:
This Christmas tour really dropped out of the sky for you, didn’t it?
It sure did. I was at home in Rockingham and my manager called and said, “Do you know any Christmas songs?” He said to learn two and get on the plane.
So you’ve been working on an album. Tell me about that.
It’s going to be a country record, definitely, anything from slow ballads to upbeat, humorous songs, and I’ve got some songs that are almost rock. By the end of the week, I’m hoping to be signed to a label. I’m very happy with the way things are going. I don’t want overnight success, I want longevity.
After “Idol,” you must get recognized everywhere you go.
A lot of times, yeah. The first day of the (Christmas) tour, we stopped at this Starbucks in Kansas in the middle of a snowstorm and this lady saw me and said, “Hey, Bucky!” It just blew her mind that I was standing there … It’s nice to not be forgotten, you know?
Oh, Bucky hasn’t been forgotten. Visit his brand new official website, BuckyCovingtonMusic.com to check out all the latest information.