Thursday, July 30, 2009

Big chart Jumps for Jordin!

The Season Six Miss American Idol winner made a big splash on the Billboard charts this week. Her smash hit single, Battlefield, made a huge jump from last week's #25 position all the way up to #10 this week. With the huge sales and airplay gains she made this week, this could become the biggest hit of her career so far.

Her album of the same name made its debut on the chart this week at #7 with first week sales of 48,000 copies. That means there are two Miss American Idol finalists in the top 10 on the Billboard album chart this week as she joins the Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd runner-up, Chris Daughtry. His album Leave This Town which was #1 last week drops down to #2 with second week sales of another 101,000 copies.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Idol ACTION this week

Season Six Miss American Idol winner Jordin Sparks is still at #25 on the Billboard HOT 100 with her latest single Battlefield. It's continuing to make sales and airplay gains so it should get some more upward action in the coming weeks.

Season One Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson has dropped out of the top 40 with her second single, I Do Not Hook Up, and is starting to work the third single from her album, All I Ever Wanted. It's getting more recognition for sounding like Beyonce's Halo, than sales and airplay at this point, but let's keep watching for Already Gone to have some chart impact in the coming weeks.

Apart from her recent chart performance Kelly Clarkson is doing much better these days with the announcement that she will be a featured performer on the VH1 Divas concert coming up on September 17th. She'll be joining a fresh young group of Divas for the concert including Leona Lewis, Adele, and Miley Cyrus. It's not really the group of legendary Divas the concert has had in the past, but if you can't get Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and Diana Ross, it's a pretty good line-up. It looks like the current chart-topping female vocalists Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift weren't available. Personally, I think the Divas concert would be amazing with a set list of all Miss American Idol finalists: Kimberly Locke, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, The Supreme Miss American Idol - Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, and Jordin Sparks. It would be great to throw in two of the best Divas of all, Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert!

On the Billboard Album chart it came as no surprise that Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd runner up, Chris Daughtry, made a very impressive debut at #1 with his second album called Leave This Town. His first album was the best selling album for all of 2007 and this new one started out with one week sales of 269,000. The new album by Jordin Sparks will be making it's debut on the charts very soon, so we'll see how she compares....

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Idol struggling chart action

Here we are almost two months after Kris Allen was crowned the Season 8 Miss American Idol winner. He had his initial explosion on the charts, but he is now no where to be found. The Season 8 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Adam Lambert is also absent from the charts. Adam may show up on the charts in the near future with the unauthorized release of a single called Want that he recorded back in 2005. He has gone on the record stating that he is not supporting the promotion of this release, so it is quite possible that his fans will also not support it. While Adam is not on the charts, he is getting plenty of press as the cover boy on magazines such as Rolling Stone.

For months now the Billboard HOT 100 has been ruled by the huge smash by the Black Eyed Peas, Boom Boom Pow, that spent 12 weeks at #1. They are so hot this summer that they successfully achieved the very rare feat of replacing themselves at #1 with the follow up single, I Gotta Feeling. With all of this Black Eyed Peas domination, the American Idols have been struggling to make a dent on the Billboard HOT 100.

This week the Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks is making the best showing of the group with her first single from her second album. It's called Battlefield and it's at #30. I expect that it will climb higher in the next few weeks as it is quite catchy and showcases her great voice. The video is in heavy rotation on VH1.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson is sitting at #32 with her latest single, I Do Not Hook Up. Unfortunately, it is on the way down on the chart after peaking at #20 a few weeks ago. In an unexpected surprise, Season 5 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up, Chris Daughtry is floundering with the first single from his second album. The song No Surprise is all the way down at #47 this week after recently peaking at #15.

My favorite song by a Miss American Idol finalist on the Billboard HOT 100 this week comes from Season 5 finalist, Kellie Pickler. Her song The Best Days Of Your Life is at #50 this week. While it only peaked at #46 last week I encourage everyone to check this song out as it is lots of fun to sing along with and two step around the dance floor with.

Without the American Idols represented on the charts lately they should take a lesson from the following stellar pop gems that are my personal favorites and also dominating sales and radio airplay:

Sean Kingston is at #6 this week with Fire Burning
Pitbull is at #8 this week (after peaking at #2) with I Know You Want Me

These songs are just an example of the kind of material the American Idols should try to release if they want to remain competitive on the Billboard HOT 100. I have a lot of faith that Adam Lambert is going to be able to be a contender.

Finally, the legendary Mariah Carey has just released a new single called Obsessed that should be making a significant impression on the charts in the coming weeks. She is continuing to set the standard for musical success by releasing catchy material that is relevant even after 19 years in the business.