Thursday, November 29, 2007

Not Surprised by Debut


My wife alerted me last night to the headline on Yahoo - "Idol Album Bombs". And I'm not surprised. The album debuted at #10 on the charts this week with only 119,000 copies. That's less than half the debut releases of season three winner Fantasia (240,000) and barely a bit more that the previous season's runner up Katherine McPhee (116,000). Not a very good start.

Jordin Sparks, in my humble opinion, was not the best of the pack in last year's American Idol crop. Sure, she was cute and young and has a lot of potential, but she still has a bit of a way to go to be a true super-star. I heard her first single a number of times on the radio last week "Tattoo" and I was not impressed. It sounded exactly like every other young teen song on the airwaves to date - and it was hardly catchy. It failed to stand out. It was okay but not extraordinary.

My money last season was on the number 2 and 3 placers - Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle respectively. Both had unique stylings or at the very least stylings that would help them stand out among the pack of today's radio artists. Some didn't like Blake's beatbox skills, but the man knows how to work a tune and make it fun. His CD drops next week - and I am planning to pick it up. I have a past history of supporting the #2 placers (Bo Bice, Diana DeGarmo and Clay Aiken). As for "Mindy-Doo", there is no question that she has the chops to have a long musical career. Her work as a back-up singer for many top performers of the years has shown her how to step out and be a star. Every week she delivered a flawless performance in musical abilities that seperated her from the crowd. I know she'll be recording for many many years to come.

As for Jordin, well, she is the type that would best benefit from a relationship with the folks from the Disney Channel. She's got a nice look, a nice personality and a good voice. Give her a show like Miley Cyrus and watch out! Jordin would probably be ecstatic to sell concert tickets for hundreds or thousands of dollars a pop like Miley does.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Martin, I forget things so fast I'd completely forgotten she was the winner of Idol! That's a real shame about her album, like you said--a sweet kid but her winning was more a popularity contest than talent. I remember thinking it wouldn't carry thru in anonymous sales.

I'm with you--I enjoyed Blake's stuff a lot, and of course Melinda Doolittle is phenomenal.