Jordin Sparks may have been crowned the Season Six Miss American Idol, but she hasn't been given much of a chance to relish in her success so far. It seems like her biggest honor so far has been the cover of Entertainment Weekly.
All of the momentum from the win is gone and it seems very unlikely that she will get a #1 song with her debut. Maybe she will get another shot at topping the charts when she releases her full CD in December.
For now the only marketting and promotion the American Idol producers could come up with was a brief appearance on the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular, and she had to share the stage with the first runner-up Blake Lewis. To make her victory as the Season Six Miss American Idol even more insignificant, she and Blake even had to allow the second runner-up, Melinda Doolittle, to sing along with them.
I am an eternal optimist so things can only get better from here....
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
One Year Ago This Week
It was exactly one year ago this week that Taylor Hicks, the Season Five Miss American Idol, made a hot shot debut at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 Singles chart with Do I Make You Proud. It was the fifth #1 single on the HOT 100 for an American Idol Finalist.
Kelly Clarkson topped the chart with A Moment Like This. The Season Two Miss American Idol, Ruben Studdard had to settle for #2 because the First Runner-Up, Clay Aiken, had massive sales and stole the #1 position with This Is The Night. Fantasia topped the charts the next year with I Believe and the Season Four Supreme Miss American Idol, Carrie Underwood, had her own #1 smash with Inside Your Heaven.
And here we are, Season Six has barely wrapped and it seems like there's no chance at all for Blake Lewis or our new Miss American Idol, Jordin Sparks, to have their place in chart history. I wanted to be optimistic, but looking at it realisticly, the momentum is completely gone. There's going to need to be an entirely new marketting campaign to generate enough sales and airplay for the Season Six Finalists to make a significant impact.
Who knew that when Jordin sang This Is My Now it was going to be a literal interpretation. Back on that winning stage, that was her now. I'm glad she at least won that moment of cheers and glitter.
Kelly Clarkson topped the chart with A Moment Like This. The Season Two Miss American Idol, Ruben Studdard had to settle for #2 because the First Runner-Up, Clay Aiken, had massive sales and stole the #1 position with This Is The Night. Fantasia topped the charts the next year with I Believe and the Season Four Supreme Miss American Idol, Carrie Underwood, had her own #1 smash with Inside Your Heaven.
And here we are, Season Six has barely wrapped and it seems like there's no chance at all for Blake Lewis or our new Miss American Idol, Jordin Sparks, to have their place in chart history. I wanted to be optimistic, but looking at it realisticly, the momentum is completely gone. There's going to need to be an entirely new marketting campaign to generate enough sales and airplay for the Season Six Finalists to make a significant impact.
Who knew that when Jordin sang This Is My Now it was going to be a literal interpretation. Back on that winning stage, that was her now. I'm glad she at least won that moment of cheers and glitter.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Life goes on...
Life goes on at the top of the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart without the Season Six Miss American Idol finalists. Rihanna is have a great year - again - and Fergie is still cranking out the hits. Meanwhile....
Daughtry drops from 7 to 11 with Home.
Carrie Underwood drops from 10 to 13 with Before He Cheats.
Kelly Clarkson drops from 11 to 17 with Never Again.
And worst of all, both Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks drop out of the Top 40 completely! Sweet, wonderful, talented teen queen Jordin Sparks was just crowned the Season Six Miss American Idol a few weeks ago and she is already a has-been. Her debut single, This Is My Now, has gotten lost in the shuffle. There is still no opportunity to pre-order the physical single at amazon.com and she's getting no airplay.
It seems like this year the producers of American Idol made an exclusive deal with i-tunes. Music from all 12 of this years top finalists are available for download. It just doesn't make any sense to me. What did Jordin really win this year? Her music is available with all the other 12 contestants. That doesn't seem right. I can understand having some of Blake's songs available since he earned a place in the top 2, but not everyone else. It has become very boring having everyone's music available. In my opinion, Jordin and Blake are being cheated out of the prize this year.
Oh well. Life goes on. We'll see what happens next week. I guess I'm still optimistic this can turn around....
Daughtry drops from 7 to 11 with Home.
Carrie Underwood drops from 10 to 13 with Before He Cheats.
Kelly Clarkson drops from 11 to 17 with Never Again.
And worst of all, both Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks drop out of the Top 40 completely! Sweet, wonderful, talented teen queen Jordin Sparks was just crowned the Season Six Miss American Idol a few weeks ago and she is already a has-been. Her debut single, This Is My Now, has gotten lost in the shuffle. There is still no opportunity to pre-order the physical single at amazon.com and she's getting no airplay.
It seems like this year the producers of American Idol made an exclusive deal with i-tunes. Music from all 12 of this years top finalists are available for download. It just doesn't make any sense to me. What did Jordin really win this year? Her music is available with all the other 12 contestants. That doesn't seem right. I can understand having some of Blake's songs available since he earned a place in the top 2, but not everyone else. It has become very boring having everyone's music available. In my opinion, Jordin and Blake are being cheated out of the prize this year.
Oh well. Life goes on. We'll see what happens next week. I guess I'm still optimistic this can turn around....
Friday, June 8, 2007
Trying to be optimistic...
Well, here we are a week later - a new chart has come out and both Blake and Jordin have dropped from their debut positions of last week. (sigh)
I just looked to see if their physical singles were available for pre-order at amazon.com, but there's still no indication that they are forthcoming. The momentum is dying down. Without the help of airplay, sales is all that there is to give these Idol winners hope of debut chart success. Blake's song has dropped from #18 to #21 while Jordin's slid all the way from #15 to #25. Whoever was in charge of marketting and promotion this year really messed up big time. :(
So I'm trying to remain optimistic. At least some previous Idols are still managing to do well. Season Five Miss American Idol Third Runner-Up, Daughtry, was handed a hit on a silver platter when his, Home, was used each week on the Idol results shows. While it's not nearly as huge as the #1 smash Daniel Powter had last year with Bad Day, it's hanging in there at #7 this week.
Season One Miss American Idol, Kelly Clarkson has been struggling to stay in the top ten with the first single from her upcoming release. This week she slips back again to #11 with Never Again, but I still think it can bounce back again. I have a feeling that sales will remain consistant and it's just taking awhile for airplay to catch up.
Season Four Miss American Idol, Carrie Underwood, is a great example of what can happen when you patiently wait for airplay to finally pick up. Before He Cheats was released as a single at the end of last year and it has taking all this time to get pop airplay. It sits at #10 in the HOT 100 singles chart.
I may be the only person left who's still holding out hope for Jordin and Blake's success on the charts, so I'll just have to wait and see what happens next week....
I just looked to see if their physical singles were available for pre-order at amazon.com, but there's still no indication that they are forthcoming. The momentum is dying down. Without the help of airplay, sales is all that there is to give these Idol winners hope of debut chart success. Blake's song has dropped from #18 to #21 while Jordin's slid all the way from #15 to #25. Whoever was in charge of marketting and promotion this year really messed up big time. :(
So I'm trying to remain optimistic. At least some previous Idols are still managing to do well. Season Five Miss American Idol Third Runner-Up, Daughtry, was handed a hit on a silver platter when his, Home, was used each week on the Idol results shows. While it's not nearly as huge as the #1 smash Daniel Powter had last year with Bad Day, it's hanging in there at #7 this week.
Season One Miss American Idol, Kelly Clarkson has been struggling to stay in the top ten with the first single from her upcoming release. This week she slips back again to #11 with Never Again, but I still think it can bounce back again. I have a feeling that sales will remain consistant and it's just taking awhile for airplay to catch up.
Season Four Miss American Idol, Carrie Underwood, is a great example of what can happen when you patiently wait for airplay to finally pick up. Before He Cheats was released as a single at the end of last year and it has taking all this time to get pop airplay. It sits at #10 in the HOT 100 singles chart.
I may be the only person left who's still holding out hope for Jordin and Blake's success on the charts, so I'll just have to wait and see what happens next week....
Monday, June 4, 2007
The Answer
I was very pleased that Fred Bronson decided to post my question along with a response. Here's what he had to say:
I don't think we've seen the end of the story yet. While the digital downloads were available immediately after the show, neither Jordin Sparks nor Blake Lewis have their label deals finalized yet, though both will be signed and both will be in the Sony BMG family. I expect announcements any moment, as I know which labels are their intended homes, and the news could be posted even before Chart Beat Chat goes online.While I don't know for certain, I would expect their respective labels to release physical singles, especially given the track record of previous "Idol" winners and runners-up. So Jordin's "This Is My Now" and Blake's "You Give Love a Bad Name" could still sell in the hundreds of thousands, and could still compete for No. 1 on the Hot 100.
I don't think we've seen the end of the story yet. While the digital downloads were available immediately after the show, neither Jordin Sparks nor Blake Lewis have their label deals finalized yet, though both will be signed and both will be in the Sony BMG family. I expect announcements any moment, as I know which labels are their intended homes, and the news could be posted even before Chart Beat Chat goes online.While I don't know for certain, I would expect their respective labels to release physical singles, especially given the track record of previous "Idol" winners and runners-up. So Jordin's "This Is My Now" and Blake's "You Give Love a Bad Name" could still sell in the hundreds of thousands, and could still compete for No. 1 on the Hot 100.
The Question
When I looked at this weeks Billboard HOT 100 singles chart, I was very disappointed to see the less than expected #15 debut for Jordin Sparks, This Is My Now and #18 debut for Blake Lewis, You Give Love A Bad Name. It prompted me to write the following letter to Fred Bronson of ChartBeat Chat at www.billboard.com
Hi Fred, I feel cheated and I would guess that both Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis feel cheated, too. After five seasons of carrying over the "American Idol" finale feeling of energy into the record store to buy the physical singles of the top finalists, we were deprived of it this year. I have no single to add to my collection and wonderful sweet Jordin has to have the distinction of being the "Idol" winner who broke the streak of No. 1 singles. I completely understand that the times they are a changin' and no one buys physical singles any more, but the huge demographic of "American Idol" fans still does. We are music fans, collectors and chart watchers and this choice is very disappointing. I am certain that I am not your only reader who is writing to you about this and I am very interested in hearing your thoughts. Do you think there is any chance that the record company, or whoever makes the decision, will decide to release some physical singles after all?
Hi Fred, I feel cheated and I would guess that both Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis feel cheated, too. After five seasons of carrying over the "American Idol" finale feeling of energy into the record store to buy the physical singles of the top finalists, we were deprived of it this year. I have no single to add to my collection and wonderful sweet Jordin has to have the distinction of being the "Idol" winner who broke the streak of No. 1 singles. I completely understand that the times they are a changin' and no one buys physical singles any more, but the huge demographic of "American Idol" fans still does. We are music fans, collectors and chart watchers and this choice is very disappointing. I am certain that I am not your only reader who is writing to you about this and I am very interested in hearing your thoughts. Do you think there is any chance that the record company, or whoever makes the decision, will decide to release some physical singles after all?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
And the newest Idol is....
The first Beatles song to hit the charts in 1964 was I Saw Her Standing There and Blake and Jordin joined forces to open the 2 hour Results Show with a playful performance of it. What a great reminder that the two best finalists were left standing. They are fun and talented and this is just a small taste of what we can look forward to no matter which one earns the crown. Then, in the first of the mega stars in line to entertain the waiting audience, Gwen Stefani appeared live via satellite to debut her latest single.
After Season One Miss American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, won the very first crown, she achieved huge selling and Grammy winning success, but she never came back to the American Idol stage until this year. We just saw her a few weeks ago during the Idol Gives Back celebration, and tonight she pop punk rocked the house with her hot new hit, Never Again. Is the song title an indicator of how long it will be till she comes back to American Idol next time?
Kelly provided a top-notch superstar crowd pleaser, but unfortunately she was followed by a completely dreadful song by this years top six boys: Brandon Rogers, Chris Sligh, Sanjaya Malakar, Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson. From the beginning it was clear that Blake was the only talented one in the bunch and it is still true tonight. Thankfully, Motown legend Smokey Robinson joined them for a medley of his hits including Being With You and the #1 smash from 1970, Tears Of A Clown. Blake was then able to step into the spotlight, where he belongs, to raise the roof with old skool rapper Doug E. Fresh. They ad-libbed and improvised the block rockin beats getting the thousands of fans up on their feets.
The very gifted top six girls then graced the stage with a diva-licious version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Before Marvin Gaye took it to #1 in 1968, Gladys Knight peaked at #2 with her rendition in 1967. What an honor for Stephanie Edwards, Gina Glocksen, Haley Scarnato, LaKisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks to have the Legendary Diva herself join them for a medley of her other hits including I Feel A Song In My Heart and the #1 smash from 1973, Midnight Train To Georgia. You can only segue from one legend to another. Tony Bennett called in sick when he worked with the finalists, but tonight he showed up and sang For Once In My Life.
Season Six Miss American Idol Second Runner-Up, Melinda Doolittle used to sing back-up for Bebe and Cece Winans and tonight she was given the chance to share the stage with them equally. They brought church to the Kodak Theater demonstrating that this finalist could very easily score a #1 album on the Gospel charts. Blake and Jordin then scored the keys to their very own Ford Mustangs!
In 1994 the Pretenders were only able to take I'll Stand By You to #16. In the hands of the Supreme Miss American Idol from Season Four, Carrie Underwood, it skyrocketted all the way to #6 after she performed it on Idol Gives Back. It is truly worth a second listen, so we were fortunate that she is here again tonight. In addition to her amazing singing, the one and only legendary music producer Clive Davis awarded Carrie with the certification that her debut album, Some Hearts, has achieved sales of over 6 million. In what must have been an effort to illustrate the difference between the truly amazing and the hideously awful, Carrie was followed by the Season Six Miss American Idol train wreck Sanjaya butchering the Kinks' You Really Got Me. Hopefully it is perfectly clear now: She is talented and he is not.
Green Day took advantage of the huge American Idol audience to sing their new song and then another artist who can benefit from a huge audience made a grand entrance. The feel-good, catchy bass-line of Heaven Knows filled the theater as Season Five Miss American Idol, Taylor Hicks, reminded the crowd of what made millions of people vote for him last year. The energetic, bluesy dance moves and gray hair is all still there just like you remember - SOUL PATROL!!! I've been listening to his album in heavy rotation and it's quite good. Give it a chance. Take note of track 6 - Give Me Tonight - it's hot! (Heaven Knows is track 3)
Season Two Miss American Idol, Ruben Studdard, then made a surprise appearance to sing a duet along with Jordin Sparks. In 1968 Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell took You're All I Need To Get By to the top 10. This was a perfect choice to blend these two soulful voices. From one surprise to another, Legendary Diva, Bette Midler appeared to sing her #1 hit from 1989, the Grammy winning Record of the Year, Wind Beneath My Wings.
Surprises abound! Kelly Clarkson twice in one night! She walked her chubby self out on stage to start a tribute to the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band with the title track. Taylor Hicks performed a rousing version of A Day In The Life, a glamorous Carrie Underwood interpretted She's Leaving Home, Ruben Studdard sang Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and then the Season Six top 12 finalists gathered for With A Little Help From My Friends. The whole family was here except for Fantasia! She must be performing in the Color Purple tonight in New York.
It's already been over two hours and we are finally getting the results of over 74 million votes. Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis are nervously standing center stage........The newest Miss American Idol is ...... JORDIN SPARKS!!!!!! Dressed in her elegant evening gown, overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation, she took the microphone and sang This Is My Now. She belted out the big notes and the glitter started to fall around her.
An amazing line-up of musical talent capped by the crowning of the newest teen queen. What a great evening of entertainment! In just a few weeks we'll see if Jordin Sparks can continue the streak of American Idols releasing a #1 hit single.....
After Season One Miss American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, won the very first crown, she achieved huge selling and Grammy winning success, but she never came back to the American Idol stage until this year. We just saw her a few weeks ago during the Idol Gives Back celebration, and tonight she pop punk rocked the house with her hot new hit, Never Again. Is the song title an indicator of how long it will be till she comes back to American Idol next time?
Kelly provided a top-notch superstar crowd pleaser, but unfortunately she was followed by a completely dreadful song by this years top six boys: Brandon Rogers, Chris Sligh, Sanjaya Malakar, Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson. From the beginning it was clear that Blake was the only talented one in the bunch and it is still true tonight. Thankfully, Motown legend Smokey Robinson joined them for a medley of his hits including Being With You and the #1 smash from 1970, Tears Of A Clown. Blake was then able to step into the spotlight, where he belongs, to raise the roof with old skool rapper Doug E. Fresh. They ad-libbed and improvised the block rockin beats getting the thousands of fans up on their feets.
The very gifted top six girls then graced the stage with a diva-licious version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Before Marvin Gaye took it to #1 in 1968, Gladys Knight peaked at #2 with her rendition in 1967. What an honor for Stephanie Edwards, Gina Glocksen, Haley Scarnato, LaKisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks to have the Legendary Diva herself join them for a medley of her other hits including I Feel A Song In My Heart and the #1 smash from 1973, Midnight Train To Georgia. You can only segue from one legend to another. Tony Bennett called in sick when he worked with the finalists, but tonight he showed up and sang For Once In My Life.
Season Six Miss American Idol Second Runner-Up, Melinda Doolittle used to sing back-up for Bebe and Cece Winans and tonight she was given the chance to share the stage with them equally. They brought church to the Kodak Theater demonstrating that this finalist could very easily score a #1 album on the Gospel charts. Blake and Jordin then scored the keys to their very own Ford Mustangs!
In 1994 the Pretenders were only able to take I'll Stand By You to #16. In the hands of the Supreme Miss American Idol from Season Four, Carrie Underwood, it skyrocketted all the way to #6 after she performed it on Idol Gives Back. It is truly worth a second listen, so we were fortunate that she is here again tonight. In addition to her amazing singing, the one and only legendary music producer Clive Davis awarded Carrie with the certification that her debut album, Some Hearts, has achieved sales of over 6 million. In what must have been an effort to illustrate the difference between the truly amazing and the hideously awful, Carrie was followed by the Season Six Miss American Idol train wreck Sanjaya butchering the Kinks' You Really Got Me. Hopefully it is perfectly clear now: She is talented and he is not.
Green Day took advantage of the huge American Idol audience to sing their new song and then another artist who can benefit from a huge audience made a grand entrance. The feel-good, catchy bass-line of Heaven Knows filled the theater as Season Five Miss American Idol, Taylor Hicks, reminded the crowd of what made millions of people vote for him last year. The energetic, bluesy dance moves and gray hair is all still there just like you remember - SOUL PATROL!!! I've been listening to his album in heavy rotation and it's quite good. Give it a chance. Take note of track 6 - Give Me Tonight - it's hot! (Heaven Knows is track 3)
Season Two Miss American Idol, Ruben Studdard, then made a surprise appearance to sing a duet along with Jordin Sparks. In 1968 Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell took You're All I Need To Get By to the top 10. This was a perfect choice to blend these two soulful voices. From one surprise to another, Legendary Diva, Bette Midler appeared to sing her #1 hit from 1989, the Grammy winning Record of the Year, Wind Beneath My Wings.
Surprises abound! Kelly Clarkson twice in one night! She walked her chubby self out on stage to start a tribute to the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band with the title track. Taylor Hicks performed a rousing version of A Day In The Life, a glamorous Carrie Underwood interpretted She's Leaving Home, Ruben Studdard sang Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and then the Season Six top 12 finalists gathered for With A Little Help From My Friends. The whole family was here except for Fantasia! She must be performing in the Color Purple tonight in New York.
It's already been over two hours and we are finally getting the results of over 74 million votes. Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis are nervously standing center stage........The newest Miss American Idol is ...... JORDIN SPARKS!!!!!! Dressed in her elegant evening gown, overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation, she took the microphone and sang This Is My Now. She belted out the big notes and the glitter started to fall around her.
An amazing line-up of musical talent capped by the crowning of the newest teen queen. What a great evening of entertainment! In just a few weeks we'll see if Jordin Sparks can continue the streak of American Idols releasing a #1 hit single.....
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