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JOURNAL
January 2007
“American Idol” -- Round Six!
Season 5 may have yielded the largest bumper crop of careers yet--but not as you might expect. While winner Taylor Hicks’ self-titled debut CD rushed out of the gate at #2 on Billboard, it has been falling quickly with no hit single to help it. On the other hand, Kellie Pickler (sixth place finisher) has a hit CD (“Smalltown Girl”) which has demonstrated staying power with a strong single and good critical reception. Chris Daughtry’s (fourth place) debut CD is already platinum and still in the Top Ten, bolstered by a single that’s running up the charts. Yet to be seen: Katherine McPhee’s (second place) CD, due out at the end of January (cover photo is hot, but early tracks sound like Mariah Carey with badly written songs), and Paris Bennett (fifth place), whose CD is due in February. Only one question remains: where is Elliot Yamin (third place)?
Previous winners and platinum-sellers also attempted to hang onto their star status by releasing follow-ups in 2006. Ruben Studdard’s (first place, Season 2) “The Return” quickly plummeted down the charts. Fantasia (first place, Season 3),
despite having a highly-rated Lifetime TV movie in 2006, has not met expectations with her poorly-selling self-titled second CD. And Clay Aiken (second place, Season 2), previously thought to be second only to Kelly Clarkson in Idol stardom, will be a wash-up if he keeps releasing dreck like “A Thousand Different Ways”--it went gold based on first-week sales, but quickly went down, down, down.
But the biggest surprises have been the tenacity of past seasons’ also-rans, who are quietly and steadily building careers. Kimberly Caldwell (eighth, Season 2) is a spokesperson for TV Guide Channel, covering all the red-carpet events, and will be releasing a CD in 2007. Kimberley Locke (third, Season 2) has had two years in a row of #1 Adult Contemporary hits with Christmas songs and will be on a VH1 reality show and releasing another CD in 2007. Josh Gracin (fourth, Season 2--yes, it was a good year!) has carved out a successful career in country music and Tamyra Gray (fourth, Season 1) has appeared on television in acting roles and has been a successful songwriter. Diana DeGarmo (third, Season 3) has been carving out a career on Broadway, as has scandal cast-off Frenchie Davis. And Mario Vazquez, who quit himself in Season 4, had a hit in 2006 with “Gallery” and was signed by Clive Davis. Several more past-season wannabes are working on projects for 2007 (including Ryan Starr from Season 1, for God’s sake!). We anxiously await the returns of Justin Guarini and Bo Bice!
The greatest comeback of all has to be that of the incredible Jennifer Hudson (sixth, Season 3), famously booted off, to the dismay of many, in the controversial third season when three African-American divas owned the top six spots (her dismissal resulted in charges of racist voting). Well, Hudson put that controversy behind her once and for all with the most audacious film debut in memory, as Effie White in “Dreamgirls.” There is no justice if she does not win the Oscar (and really, she should be up for Best Actress, not Supporting, because her part is bigger than Beyonce’s and she owns the movie--but politically they won’t do it). She will surely end up the biggest Idol star of them all. Take that, Simon Cowell!
Let the new season begin . . .
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