Jun 11 2009
1-2-3 Punch for “Idol” Record Deals
Allison Iraheta- who missed out on American Idol’s top three this season- already has secured a record deal, joining winner Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert at 19 Recordings. (picture courtesy of PR Newswire/Jive Records)
Season eight’s crop of American Idol finalists are wasting little time putting their musical futures into motion.
This week, 19 Recordings announced deals for winner Kris Allen, runner-up Adam Lambert and fourth-place finisher Allison Iraheta. Allen’s and Iraheta’s debut albums will be released via Jive Records, while RCA Records will issue Lambert’s. All three records are expected to be released in the fall, after the 50-city Idol tour has run its course.
Currently, third-place finisher Danny Gokey does not have a deal. Is that surprising, given that Idoljudge Paula Abdul had predicted (on more than one occasion) that he would join Lambert in the finals? Not really- Gokey demonstrated little in the way of excitement, and mostly came off as a talented karaoke warbler rather than a promising artist. That does not mean he will not ink a deal with 19- after all, plenty of less-than-grand Idol finalists went on to release albums in their post-Idol lives.
Landing a deal and releasing an album, however, does not ensure a successful career. Only a few Idol finalists have gone on to true superstar-level sales (at least 3 million copies scanned, according to Nielsen SoundScan): Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry. Clarkson’s debut sold more than 2.7 million, but it was her sophomore album Breakaway that sold more than twice that amount (6.1 million) and spawned five hit singles (her third album- All I Ever Wanted- recently produced a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart). Underwood’s debut album has sold more than 6.7 million, with her sophomore effort selling 2.9 million. Daughtry’s debut- still residing on the Billboard 200 albums chart- has sold more than 4.4 million; his band’s second album is due for release next month.
In regards to 17-year-old red-haired rocker Iraheta and enjoying a successful post-Idol career, fellow fourth-place finisher Daughtry should be the model she (as well as Allen and Lambert) looks to, rather than some who finish in the top or runner-up slots. For instance, Clarkson might have gone on to multi-platinum success, but first season runner-up Justin Guarini barely sold 100,000 of his debut album.
Season five’s one-two punch of Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee fared worse than anyone, with their debut albums combined selling less than 1.1 million units. Season six runner-up Blake Lewis saw his debut sell just 300,000- but, heck, that’s a smash compared to season three runner-up Diana Degarmo, whose first and only album sold a meager 166,000.
Idol winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia each sold 1.8 million of their debuts, but follow-up efforts have not been nearly as successful. Season two runner-up Clay Aiken actually has the third-highest album sales among Idols, but that’s over six releases- his best seller remains his debut, which sold 2.8 million. Among his other releases, only his 2004 holiday album cracked 1 million copies.
American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert- who has ended speculation about this sexuality in a new Rolling Stoneinterview- has signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/RCA Records . (picture courtesy of AP/Dan Steinberg)
Album sales in general have been dimishing at a consistent pace over the last few years, but winners of Idol’slast couple of seasons have fared respectably enough. Season six’s Jordin Sparks started with the lowest sales debut for an Idol winner, but enjoyed legs, selling more than 1 million to date, while last season’s champ David Cook has sold nearly 1.2 million copies of his debut album.
Going platinum in this day and age probably would be music to season eight’s Idol’s ears. And since Allen, Lambert and Iraheta rank among the strongest finalists in Idol’s history, strong commercial fortunes should await. The one everyone will be watching more than others, though, will be Lambert, who via a Rolling Stone interview, officially has stepped out of the closet (you may have heard a little something about that during this week’s showbiz gossip).
Now, anyone without a pair of blinders on knew the dude was gay, but will his quickie acknowledgment have any negative impact on his potential success? We sure hope not. After all, aside from the most important aspect that should dictate his career- his obvious and exciting talent- he didn’t waste much time talking about his sexuality once Idol was over, unlike a certain other contestant who denied he was gay for years and only confirmed the fact last year.
You may not have voted him this year’s Idol, but, America, give him major props for not being ashamed of who he is, and forging a daring path to what hopefully will be a bold, dramatic career.
