joyfulgirl
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Lila64 said:
I didn't see that. It was one of the late night talk shows, Conan or something. I'm not rushing out to buy the CD but I thought he was good.
American Idol - Season 7
- Thread starter ultravioletluvv
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I didn't see that. It was one of the late night talk shows, Conan or something. I'm not rushing out to buy the CD but I thought he was good.
misfit toys
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Blake was on Leno on Friday night. 
joyfulgirl
Blue Crack Addict
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misfit toys said:Blake was on Leno on Friday night.
ding ding ding ding!
BonoFox1
Blue Crack Supplier
Im such a damn slave to this show
namkcuR said:
I disliked Daughtry so much on the show. People think that surely Daughtry's success has proven me wrong, and surely even I must like him now too. Uh...no, I don't.
I can honestly say I don't enjoy any of his songs that I've heard, not even in the tiniest way as a guilty pleasure. He just annoys me. People can throw it into my face all they want that Daughtry has been way more successful and sold more albums than Taylor Hicks. I don't care. It's not gonna change how I feel. 
OP
OP
ultravioletluvv
Refugee
I liked Daughtry on the show. Even though his style of music and singing bugs me, because I HATE HATE HATE bands like Nickelback and whoever else he sounds like. I guess I liked him because he seemed like a good guy and he made good song choices on the show.
I have downloaded a couple of his songs and I admit if they were sung by someone else, I probaby wouldn't have. I'm just happy for him and his success. I saw him at some awards show recently and it was good to see he was still with his wife. All of his band members had their wives with them and it was nice to see. I was worried that fame might get to him. But so far, he seems just as normal as he started out. I hope he stays that way.
I have downloaded a couple of his songs and I admit if they were sung by someone else, I probaby wouldn't have. I'm just happy for him and his success. I saw him at some awards show recently and it was good to see he was still with his wife. All of his band members had their wives with them and it was nice to see. I was worried that fame might get to him. But so far, he seems just as normal as he started out. I hope he stays that way.
Bono's Doll
New Yorker
I'm tuning in to see if Bono shows up again. 
Daddysgonnapay
New Yorker
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ultravioletluvv said:
Yes
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
By Bill Keveney
USA TODAY
Each January, it's the sound of soaring television ratings: the sometimes off-key (or worse) singing by contestants on American Idol, the pop-culture phenomenon on Fox that is the USA's most-watched show.
When Season 7 of Idol premieres Tuesday (8 p.m. ET/PT), the show that has shaped pop stars, Grammy winners and even an Oscar recipient — and boosted sales in a sagging music industry — will return to a friendly playing field. A 9-week-old strike by Hollywood writers is decimating TV networks' lineups of scripted shows, so Idol will have less competition for viewers' attention than usual.
For Idol, the strike comes at an opportune time. Its ratings remain huge, averaging 30.2 million viewers an episode, but it is coming off its first ratings decline (1% in 2007) and a season that even those involved with the show say was thin on talent and personality. Attendance plunged for Idol's summer tour of live performances by the top 10 singers, going from 96% capacity in 2006 to 68% in 2007.
The rare bits of bad news have begun to raise questions about whether Idol has peaked and whether it has begun the type of ratings slide experienced by nearly all hit shows.
Idol judges and producers, and Fox executives, insist the show will remain dominant.
Last season followed "a year that was 10% up. In Year 5, for a show to go up is amazing. In Year 6, to stay steady was amazing," says Mike Darnell, Fox's reality programming chief. "My expectations are that it will be a monster hit again."
Idol insiders say the dip in ratings stemmed from the show focusing too much on star mentors for the contestants, and a group of finalists that lacked pizzazz. This season will have fewer mentors.
Some viewers tuned out the final rounds last year after the first several weeks of auditions — which feature talented singers and comically bad ones — drew record numbers of viewers.
This year's group, which judges have narrowed to about 50 from thousands of singers at auditions in seven cities, is more charismatic and diverse — in personality, background and singing style, judges and producers say.
"There's more personality, better stories (and) it's a better year" for talent, says judge Simon Cowell, an outspoken Brit who can level singers with withering putdowns. "I don't think the people last year were as good as they should have been. It was a miracle that we stayed as successful as we did. I will predict ratings will be up a minimum of 10% on last year for the whole season."
To try to make that happen, Idol producers are tweaking a show that last year averaged nearly 10 million more viewers than its closest competitor, ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Changes include:
•Letting singers play musical instruments during their performances in the first combined gathering of audition survivors, known as the Hollywood Round.
•Visiting finalists' hometowns and interviewing family and friends earlier in the process to help viewers get to know them faster.
•Building a new set and creating a new opening credits sequence. Idol's theme song will remain the same.
•Adding an hour to the Hollywood Round and a possible "where are they now?" segment to highlight earlier Idol performers on top-12 results shows.
Each season, Idol's first several episodes are among its most-watched. They feature auditions with equal parts caterwauling and self-delusion, along with a sprinkling of top singing talent. Auditions from Philadelphia and Dallas will be featured Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
"Our one secret weapon is the audition shows," Cowell says. "It's like the musical Super Bowl. They are the heart to American Idol, all the craziness, all the emotion, all the fun. In a way, it's become the best comedy in America."
Cowell dismisses complaints that the judges were too mean to some singers last year.
"Sometimes we say things that maybe we shouldn't," he says. "But we're not drowning kittens."
The dearth of scripted programming could send more viewers Idol's way, although growth isn't likely to be dramatic because so many watch the show already, says Brad Adgate of ad buyer Horizon Media. A less likely possibility, he says, is that Idol could suffer a bit if viewers abandon TV lineups bloated with reality shows because of the writers' strike.
The biggest benefit from the strike, he says, may be that it will prevent bolder scheduling moves against Idol by competing networks. They have kept their strongest shows away from the Idol wave but might have reassessed that strategy after the show's ratings hit a plateau in 2007.
"The other networks might have been a little more likely to counter-program the show," says Adgate, who predicts Fox once again will finish first for the season among viewers ages 18 to 49.
Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says Idol doesn't plan to add extra hours to take advantage of the strike, in keeping with a strategy aimed at not overexposing Fox's prime-time jewel.
Judge Paula Abdul likes the show's plan to focus more on introducing talented young singers to viewers. "We want to look for ways to delve into the fabric of their lives and spend a little more time finding out what makes up the magic of who these kids are," she says.
The singers are worth knowing, host Ryan Seacrest says. "There's a real intensity to these contestants, even the younger ones."
Fans say the lack of diverse talent in last season's contestant field weakened Idol's appeal.
"They could've kept ratings steady (in the finals round) if there had been more variety in the top 12," says Kimberly Lawson, 22, of Bakersfield, Calif. "That's one of the biggest reasons why Season 5 drew in so many people; there was something for everyone. (Last) year, there wasn't a country singer and there wasn't a rocker."
Ryan Welton, 37, of Norman, Okla., says it's only natural that a show as successful as Idol would level off in ratings. He says it may have peaked in Season 5, which many consider to be Idol's best, but that talented singers can keep audience declines to a minimum.
In making slight changes to the show, Idol producers have declined to try to impose a one-fan, one-vote telephone and text-message voting system that some fans say would be fairer to talented singers.
"One of the reasons some viewers have grown weary of Idol is because, at times, certain contestants with what we believe to be superior talent fall victim to contestants who have capitalized on their own cult of personality" to win fans' votes, says Welton, citing the success last season of Sanjaya Malakar, a singer of limited talent who finished seventh.
Idol has lived up to its "Search for a Superstar" slogan with the success of Carrie Underwood (Season 4's winner) and Kelly Clarkson (the Season 1 champ), both Grammy winners with multiplatinum albums. Chris Daughtry, fourth in Season 5, has done well on radio, on tour and in CD sales.
"Idol is the quickest rocket ship to the top for a kid wanting to make it in the music business," judge Randy Jackson says.
Last year's winner, Jordin Sparks, initially had slow sales for her self-titled album. Cowell refers to her as "good (but) nothing to let off fireworks about." However, her single Tattoo was a hit and another single, No Air, is "shaping up to be an even bigger record," says Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming at Edison Media Research.
Others have had less success. Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks and Season 2 champ Ruben Studdard have been dropped by Arista and J Records, two of the labels that take on Idol winners. Season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee has departed RCA after her debut album sold fewer than 400,000 copies.
At some point, record companies have to cut their losses, Variety music editor Phil Gallo says. Idol's novelty has faded, he says, and "we're reaching the point where they're going to treat people who do well on the show like any other recording artist."
He says the competition should steer clear of quirky singers such as Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, who hasn't been able to match the sales of his multiplatinum first album. "Because of Clay Aiken they've always said don't judge a book by its cover. But they've wound up with singers really locked into a single style who don't have the varied skills they're looking for" in the record business.
But Idol is still a powerful force in the music industry, Ross says.
"Even 80% of the American Idol effect is plenty to get a record going, enough to get it on radio's docket," he says. "If (Season 5 third-place finisher Elliot Yamin's) Wait For You had walked in without American Idol, on an indie label, it certainly wouldn't have been the hit it was."
Seacrest says slow record sales aren't an indication that Idol winners and finalists are getting weaker, but that they're not making the best musical choices.
"You have to have not only the talent and momentum, you have to have great songs," he says. "Daughtry has hit it big. He's got great songs. There was an appetite for the next Nickelback-type band, that pop-rock band. And that's exactly what he did."
Some Idol alumni are achieving success outside pop music, including Jennifer Hudson (seventh in Season 3), who won the Oscar for best supporting actress last year for her performance in Dreamgirls. Season 3 winner Fantasia has appeared in The Color Purple on Broadway. Last spring's No. 4 finisher, LaKisha Jones, made her debut in Purple recently.
Having the show highlight previous finalists could spark some careers and appeal to the show's dedicated fan base, Lythgoe says. "We'd like to know where other people are. Where is (Season 2's third-place finisher) Kimberley Locke? What is Ruben doing?"
Cowell says the guys will be the favorites to produce a winner this season; Abdul calls it a toss-up. Both say the younger singers — auditioners range from 16 to 28 — stand out.
"There are a couple of genius-type kids who are musically brilliant," Abdul says.
Fans disagree on whether the judges need to be better this year, too. "I do think the judges mailed it in during Season 6, relative to previous years," Welton says. "Simon needs to be nastier. Paula needs to be nuttier. And Randy needs to invoke more Journey and Mariah Carey name drops."
Fan Eric Phillips, 44, of Gillett, Ark., praises the trio: "You mess with the judges, you mess with what makes American Idol great."
Lythgoe says Idol is well-served by the three bickering judges, who have been with the show from the start. "You speak to anyone about TV judges and it's those three. They've set the benchmark. They're still as childish as ever."
When it is suggested that Cowell occasionally looks bored, Lythgoe responds, "What do you mean, looking bored? He is bored, until a piece of magic comes before him."
Cowell agrees. "Anyone who doesn't get bored in an audition is a liar. Ninety percent (of the singers), I absolutely hate. We're on the hunt to find a new star. At the point I think we've found someone, I'm in a good mood. That's probably three minutes a day," he says, before aiming a dig at "good friend" Abdul. "Paula would sit there 20 hours a day, 365 days a year loving it, because she loves being on TV."
Cowell says he's leaning toward leaving when his contract ends after Season 9, but that he's still excited about doing the show.
"I've yet to see another show which is as good in America," he says. "As long as we retain our energy and enthusiasm for the show, which we have, and we get decent talent to turn up, this could go on for another 20 years."
USA TODAY
Each January, it's the sound of soaring television ratings: the sometimes off-key (or worse) singing by contestants on American Idol, the pop-culture phenomenon on Fox that is the USA's most-watched show.
When Season 7 of Idol premieres Tuesday (8 p.m. ET/PT), the show that has shaped pop stars, Grammy winners and even an Oscar recipient — and boosted sales in a sagging music industry — will return to a friendly playing field. A 9-week-old strike by Hollywood writers is decimating TV networks' lineups of scripted shows, so Idol will have less competition for viewers' attention than usual.
For Idol, the strike comes at an opportune time. Its ratings remain huge, averaging 30.2 million viewers an episode, but it is coming off its first ratings decline (1% in 2007) and a season that even those involved with the show say was thin on talent and personality. Attendance plunged for Idol's summer tour of live performances by the top 10 singers, going from 96% capacity in 2006 to 68% in 2007.
The rare bits of bad news have begun to raise questions about whether Idol has peaked and whether it has begun the type of ratings slide experienced by nearly all hit shows.
Idol judges and producers, and Fox executives, insist the show will remain dominant.
Last season followed "a year that was 10% up. In Year 5, for a show to go up is amazing. In Year 6, to stay steady was amazing," says Mike Darnell, Fox's reality programming chief. "My expectations are that it will be a monster hit again."
Idol insiders say the dip in ratings stemmed from the show focusing too much on star mentors for the contestants, and a group of finalists that lacked pizzazz. This season will have fewer mentors.
Some viewers tuned out the final rounds last year after the first several weeks of auditions — which feature talented singers and comically bad ones — drew record numbers of viewers.
This year's group, which judges have narrowed to about 50 from thousands of singers at auditions in seven cities, is more charismatic and diverse — in personality, background and singing style, judges and producers say.
"There's more personality, better stories (and) it's a better year" for talent, says judge Simon Cowell, an outspoken Brit who can level singers with withering putdowns. "I don't think the people last year were as good as they should have been. It was a miracle that we stayed as successful as we did. I will predict ratings will be up a minimum of 10% on last year for the whole season."
To try to make that happen, Idol producers are tweaking a show that last year averaged nearly 10 million more viewers than its closest competitor, ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Changes include:
•Letting singers play musical instruments during their performances in the first combined gathering of audition survivors, known as the Hollywood Round.
•Visiting finalists' hometowns and interviewing family and friends earlier in the process to help viewers get to know them faster.
•Building a new set and creating a new opening credits sequence. Idol's theme song will remain the same.
•Adding an hour to the Hollywood Round and a possible "where are they now?" segment to highlight earlier Idol performers on top-12 results shows.
Each season, Idol's first several episodes are among its most-watched. They feature auditions with equal parts caterwauling and self-delusion, along with a sprinkling of top singing talent. Auditions from Philadelphia and Dallas will be featured Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
"Our one secret weapon is the audition shows," Cowell says. "It's like the musical Super Bowl. They are the heart to American Idol, all the craziness, all the emotion, all the fun. In a way, it's become the best comedy in America."
Cowell dismisses complaints that the judges were too mean to some singers last year.
"Sometimes we say things that maybe we shouldn't," he says. "But we're not drowning kittens."
The dearth of scripted programming could send more viewers Idol's way, although growth isn't likely to be dramatic because so many watch the show already, says Brad Adgate of ad buyer Horizon Media. A less likely possibility, he says, is that Idol could suffer a bit if viewers abandon TV lineups bloated with reality shows because of the writers' strike.
The biggest benefit from the strike, he says, may be that it will prevent bolder scheduling moves against Idol by competing networks. They have kept their strongest shows away from the Idol wave but might have reassessed that strategy after the show's ratings hit a plateau in 2007.
"The other networks might have been a little more likely to counter-program the show," says Adgate, who predicts Fox once again will finish first for the season among viewers ages 18 to 49.
Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says Idol doesn't plan to add extra hours to take advantage of the strike, in keeping with a strategy aimed at not overexposing Fox's prime-time jewel.
Judge Paula Abdul likes the show's plan to focus more on introducing talented young singers to viewers. "We want to look for ways to delve into the fabric of their lives and spend a little more time finding out what makes up the magic of who these kids are," she says.
The singers are worth knowing, host Ryan Seacrest says. "There's a real intensity to these contestants, even the younger ones."
Fans say the lack of diverse talent in last season's contestant field weakened Idol's appeal.
"They could've kept ratings steady (in the finals round) if there had been more variety in the top 12," says Kimberly Lawson, 22, of Bakersfield, Calif. "That's one of the biggest reasons why Season 5 drew in so many people; there was something for everyone. (Last) year, there wasn't a country singer and there wasn't a rocker."
Ryan Welton, 37, of Norman, Okla., says it's only natural that a show as successful as Idol would level off in ratings. He says it may have peaked in Season 5, which many consider to be Idol's best, but that talented singers can keep audience declines to a minimum.
In making slight changes to the show, Idol producers have declined to try to impose a one-fan, one-vote telephone and text-message voting system that some fans say would be fairer to talented singers.
"One of the reasons some viewers have grown weary of Idol is because, at times, certain contestants with what we believe to be superior talent fall victim to contestants who have capitalized on their own cult of personality" to win fans' votes, says Welton, citing the success last season of Sanjaya Malakar, a singer of limited talent who finished seventh.
Idol has lived up to its "Search for a Superstar" slogan with the success of Carrie Underwood (Season 4's winner) and Kelly Clarkson (the Season 1 champ), both Grammy winners with multiplatinum albums. Chris Daughtry, fourth in Season 5, has done well on radio, on tour and in CD sales.
"Idol is the quickest rocket ship to the top for a kid wanting to make it in the music business," judge Randy Jackson says.
Last year's winner, Jordin Sparks, initially had slow sales for her self-titled album. Cowell refers to her as "good (but) nothing to let off fireworks about." However, her single Tattoo was a hit and another single, No Air, is "shaping up to be an even bigger record," says Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming at Edison Media Research.
Others have had less success. Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks and Season 2 champ Ruben Studdard have been dropped by Arista and J Records, two of the labels that take on Idol winners. Season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee has departed RCA after her debut album sold fewer than 400,000 copies.
At some point, record companies have to cut their losses, Variety music editor Phil Gallo says. Idol's novelty has faded, he says, and "we're reaching the point where they're going to treat people who do well on the show like any other recording artist."
He says the competition should steer clear of quirky singers such as Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, who hasn't been able to match the sales of his multiplatinum first album. "Because of Clay Aiken they've always said don't judge a book by its cover. But they've wound up with singers really locked into a single style who don't have the varied skills they're looking for" in the record business.
But Idol is still a powerful force in the music industry, Ross says.
"Even 80% of the American Idol effect is plenty to get a record going, enough to get it on radio's docket," he says. "If (Season 5 third-place finisher Elliot Yamin's) Wait For You had walked in without American Idol, on an indie label, it certainly wouldn't have been the hit it was."
Seacrest says slow record sales aren't an indication that Idol winners and finalists are getting weaker, but that they're not making the best musical choices.
"You have to have not only the talent and momentum, you have to have great songs," he says. "Daughtry has hit it big. He's got great songs. There was an appetite for the next Nickelback-type band, that pop-rock band. And that's exactly what he did."
Some Idol alumni are achieving success outside pop music, including Jennifer Hudson (seventh in Season 3), who won the Oscar for best supporting actress last year for her performance in Dreamgirls. Season 3 winner Fantasia has appeared in The Color Purple on Broadway. Last spring's No. 4 finisher, LaKisha Jones, made her debut in Purple recently.
Having the show highlight previous finalists could spark some careers and appeal to the show's dedicated fan base, Lythgoe says. "We'd like to know where other people are. Where is (Season 2's third-place finisher) Kimberley Locke? What is Ruben doing?"
Cowell says the guys will be the favorites to produce a winner this season; Abdul calls it a toss-up. Both say the younger singers — auditioners range from 16 to 28 — stand out.
"There are a couple of genius-type kids who are musically brilliant," Abdul says.
Fans disagree on whether the judges need to be better this year, too. "I do think the judges mailed it in during Season 6, relative to previous years," Welton says. "Simon needs to be nastier. Paula needs to be nuttier. And Randy needs to invoke more Journey and Mariah Carey name drops."
Fan Eric Phillips, 44, of Gillett, Ark., praises the trio: "You mess with the judges, you mess with what makes American Idol great."
Lythgoe says Idol is well-served by the three bickering judges, who have been with the show from the start. "You speak to anyone about TV judges and it's those three. They've set the benchmark. They're still as childish as ever."
When it is suggested that Cowell occasionally looks bored, Lythgoe responds, "What do you mean, looking bored? He is bored, until a piece of magic comes before him."
Cowell agrees. "Anyone who doesn't get bored in an audition is a liar. Ninety percent (of the singers), I absolutely hate. We're on the hunt to find a new star. At the point I think we've found someone, I'm in a good mood. That's probably three minutes a day," he says, before aiming a dig at "good friend" Abdul. "Paula would sit there 20 hours a day, 365 days a year loving it, because she loves being on TV."
Cowell says he's leaning toward leaving when his contract ends after Season 9, but that he's still excited about doing the show.
"I've yet to see another show which is as good in America," he says. "As long as we retain our energy and enthusiasm for the show, which we have, and we get decent talent to turn up, this could go on for another 20 years."
CTU2fan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
- Joined
- May 21, 2004
- Messages
- 5,366
I liked Daughtry on the show. I do agree with the Nickelback comparisons...the thing is I didn't think so when he was on AI. On the show it seemed like he was going for more of a Live kind of vibe...I'm guessing his album turning out to be what it is is due to the AI machine.
Jordin's album is OK, nothing special. Tattoo is kind of meh, the song with Chris Brown is better IMO.
Apparently Katharine McPhee got dropped too...
Looking forward to this season, if only because the rest of the TV landscape looks to be pretty barren this spring. I hope there are some more diverse talents this season; as much as I disliked Blake at least he was different/original.
Jordin's album is OK, nothing special. Tattoo is kind of meh, the song with Chris Brown is better IMO.
Apparently Katharine McPhee got dropped too...
Looking forward to this season, if only because the rest of the TV landscape looks to be pretty barren this spring. I hope there are some more diverse talents this season; as much as I disliked Blake at least he was different/original.
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Does Daughtry's album have Idol connections? He wasn't one of the top finishers, so I wouldn't have thought he necessarily was under Idol's wing still.
misfit toys
War Child
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Messages
- 964
Hoo yeah. He's signed to 19 Entertainment, managed by Simon Fuller, and on the Sony BMG label.
OP
OP
ultravioletluvv
Refugee
Even though he finished 4th, Simon's label knew he was gold and signed him. I don't think he's as controlled as the actual winner though.
Daddysgonnapay
New Yorker
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2006
- Messages
- 2,702
CTU2fan said:
UGH! McBarf
Slipstream
Refugee
To me, bands like Dauftry and Nickelback have no originality, they all seem to flow into the same sort of sound. This is similar to the bands that do pop-punk. Reasoning behind why I like U2 so much, they are original! Of course like any music, it all comes down to personal taste.
Looking forward to AI, hopefully we have some good singers.
Looking forward to AI, hopefully we have some good singers.
cruzila
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
looking forward to tomorrow! yippie! 
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
Rolling Stone
On the eve of the premiere of the seventh season of American Idol, one of the show’s most famous losers, Chris Daughtry, says that the Idol franchise is starting to lose its luster. “I feel like it’s definitely lacking some credibility at this point,” says Daughtry, who came in fourth place on the 2006 season but went on to sell 3.6 million copies of his debut record and be named one of Nielsen’s top ten selling artists of 2007. “It’s in a state of decline and if they don’t do something about it, it’s probably not gonna last too much longer. I’m sure that’ll be used against me, but that’s the truth, you know?”
Daughtry has some numbers on his side: last year’s “American Idols Live” tour played to 68 percent capacity crowds, while the 2006 version was 96 percent sold out. Three top Idols — Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee — have recently lost their record contracts due to poor sales. Ratings also went down one percent last year, marking the first decline in the show’s history. Daughtry blames the show’s woes partially on its emphasis on untalented singers. “People get tired of seeing people that suck,” he says. “It’s funny at first, but come on. They spend three weeks on people that can’t sing, and that’s what they’re banking it on. [They should] find some people that you can really invest in.”
Idol plans on making some minor adjustments this season: contestants will be able to play an instrument in the early rounds and celebrity mentors will be de-emphasized to create more time to tell the contestants back stories. Still, Daughtry, who is currently recording his band’s second album, worries the show faces a more fundamental problem: “After going for so long, who else is out there that still wants to get on the show?”
On the eve of the premiere of the seventh season of American Idol, one of the show’s most famous losers, Chris Daughtry, says that the Idol franchise is starting to lose its luster. “I feel like it’s definitely lacking some credibility at this point,” says Daughtry, who came in fourth place on the 2006 season but went on to sell 3.6 million copies of his debut record and be named one of Nielsen’s top ten selling artists of 2007. “It’s in a state of decline and if they don’t do something about it, it’s probably not gonna last too much longer. I’m sure that’ll be used against me, but that’s the truth, you know?”
Daughtry has some numbers on his side: last year’s “American Idols Live” tour played to 68 percent capacity crowds, while the 2006 version was 96 percent sold out. Three top Idols — Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee — have recently lost their record contracts due to poor sales. Ratings also went down one percent last year, marking the first decline in the show’s history. Daughtry blames the show’s woes partially on its emphasis on untalented singers. “People get tired of seeing people that suck,” he says. “It’s funny at first, but come on. They spend three weeks on people that can’t sing, and that’s what they’re banking it on. [They should] find some people that you can really invest in.”
Idol plans on making some minor adjustments this season: contestants will be able to play an instrument in the early rounds and celebrity mentors will be de-emphasized to create more time to tell the contestants back stories. Still, Daughtry, who is currently recording his band’s second album, worries the show faces a more fundamental problem: “After going for so long, who else is out there that still wants to get on the show?”
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
MrsSpringsteen said:
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
U2isthebest
ONE love, blood, life
Nickelback Lite needs to shut up. He wouldn't even have his unfortunate career if it wasn't for "American Idol". That sense of entitlement that Simon always refers to is kicking in, and it isn't pretty.
elevated_u2_fan
Blue Crack Supplier
Nickleback Lite 
pot and kettle folks… pot and kettle….
pot and kettle folks… pot and kettle….
So its on tomorrow not tonite?
misfit toys
War Child
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Messages
- 964
Yep, two hour premiere tomorrow night.
kafrun
Blue Crack Addict
Ooh, yay! I love watching the auditions :guiltypleasure:
Slipstream
Refugee
I'm praying there isn't another Chris Richardson...bless him. It was painful to watch when he sang, or tried to sing.
OP
OP
ultravioletluvv
Refugee
I'm praying there isn't another Sanjaya..
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Slipstream said:
Ooh, I thought I was the only one who didn't like him!
Golightly Grrl
Refugee
Slipstream said:
But according to him, nasally is a form of singing! Don't you remember?
Tiger Edge
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
It's a party at my dad's tonight!
It's so funny that I really used to hate hate HATE this show until my dad of all people got me into it. He's such a nut!
It's so funny that I really used to hate hate HATE this show until my dad of all people got me into it. He's such a nut!
U2isthebest
ONE love, blood, life
Golightly Grrl said:
PLEASE tell me you'll be doing one of your awe-inspiring recaps tonight.
Daddysgonnapay
New Yorker
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2006
- Messages
- 2,702
I am praying there is not another Kellie PicklerSlipstream said:
- Status
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