American Idol Sells Records

The April 27th episode of American Idol featured the songs of Carole King.  Billboard reports that on the heels of that show, her records "Live at the Troubadour" and the iconic "Tapestry" have both re-entered the Top 200:  "Troubadour"  at No. 170, up 106% and her No. 1 1971 effort "Tapestry" No. 178, up 135%.  There are still people out there who do not own Tapestry?

 Great songs endure. 

Idol-The Simon Show

American Idol is on as I write this. The show brought me back to high school. It opened with a thinning white haired Barry Gibb and his brother Robin (when did he become the good looking one?) singing How Deep Is Your Love? The nostalgia continued with a portly Michael MacDonald singing Taking It To The Streets. Hall & Oates performed You Make My Dreams Come True. I was convinced it was minutes away from Eric Carmen's All By Myself or American performing Sister Golden Hair. I will admit that hearing either one of those would have been the highlight of the show.

As the show progressed it turned into a Simon Cowell tribute. A lovely looking Paula Abdul returned as well as a black and white clad cast of past contestants.

On the heels of all of this, Ellen DeGeneres announces she's starting a record label. Is she aware that it might never be the right time to start a record label. Couldn't find out if she's fronting it herself.

They haven't announced a winner yet, but either way, both Crystal or Lee have the talent to be successful.

American Idol Losing It's Inspiration

1. Simon chose the second song for Lee DeWyze to sing on Idol tonight. He picked the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah, most notably sung by Jeff Buckley. Although everyone thought Lee did a wonderful job with the song, I thought it was an uninspired, lazy choice by Simon. The song has been covered way too much, including k.d. lang's version at the Olympics. I used to like the song, but feel like it's been shoved down my throat way too many times.



2. Could Randy have chosen a sleepier song for Casey James? Daughters by John Mayer is not a rock song, which is exactly what Casey needed this week. I don't think Casey wants to win. He's got a better chance at a long career if he doesn't win (see Daughtry) and I think he's aware of that. Kara said he needed to play to his audience which she said is females. Not sure that I agree with her. I think if he wins Idol, that would be his audience. If he's gone tomorrow, he has a good shot at leading a credible rock band that would have male fans. It's not all about the hair (see Greg Allman). Peter Frampton had the hair, played a great guitar wrote good songs, had a massive hit album and then fashioned himself an idol and played to the ladies. His career never recovered.



3. I never would have guessed that Ellen would have the best song choice of the night. Handing Crystal Bowersox Maybe I'm Amazed was an inspired choice and Crystal nailed it.



4. Have the Idols run their course? The hometown visits used to be big events. The Idols rode in open convertibles to cheering fans along a parade route and then played to a crowd of thousands. This year two of them stood in front of an AT&T store with very sparse crowds attending and got a text message letting them know what song they would be singing. One of them got the text on a plane, making you think he didn't even make it home. The producers should cut the home visit segment. I can only liken it to watching a Mets game on TV and all one sees are empty seats behind home plate.

Band Vs Promoter

This animated piece sums up what most musicians have to deal with to get a gig. I'd say it's a typical scenario about 80% of the time. On a completely different note, why was Mary J Blige singing Stairway to Heaven on American Idol last night?

Move Over Outsiders, The Popular Kids Have Taken Over Music

Jim Boggia wrote an open letter to Taylor Swift on Outlandosmusic.com. He is vocal about his bitterness at her walking away with 4 Grammys after she hobbled through her duet with Stevie Nicks. The most interesting part of the letter is his declaration that the "popular kids" have taken over music. Here is an excerpt:

You know that song of yours? The one where she’s the cheerleader and you’re the unpopular outsider? Well, I’m having a hard time buying into that because – not to dwell on this but, um . . . . LOOK AT YOU. You can feel free to read this next sentence in the voice of Grandpa Simpson, but: In my day, girls who looked liked you WERE the cheerleaders and then, as now, girls who looked like you wound up getting the guy you talk about in that song. And music . . . Music . . . MUSIC . . . well, that was OUR territory – the folks who really were unpopular. You should check out a tune called ‘At Seventeen’ by Janis Ian. Then you should check out Janis Ian. I mean do a Google Images search. See? SHE was in the bleachers wearing a t-shirt, Taylor, not you. Can’t you just be happy being the cheerleader? Do the popular kids have to take over music, too?

But why am I blaming you? The popular kids took over our game a while ago. There was a bit of a back and forth tussle for a while, but there was a moment – it might have been when Kurt put the bullet through his head – that it was over, the cool kids won and popular music (not POP music, but music which is massively popular) became about being popular and not about making music.

This is the most telling thing I've read about the current music scene in a long time. How much does American Idol plays into this? In the 80's MTV certainly helped the careers of those good-looking bands ala Duran Duran or a-HA. MTV has removed music from its name and now it's American Idol. This season more than ever, they are placing more emphasis on the looks. It could be because the talent is so sparse. Contestant Michelle Delamor was wearing a dress from designer Vera Wang, who was in the audience. Randy called her outfit "hot". In a past episode, Kara inappropriately told contestant Casey James to remove his shirt. But then there is Crystal Bowersox who throws the whole theory out the window. On a talent level she is the powerhouse to beat. She is not concerned with fashion. She gets out there and belts it out. It would be more beneficial to her if she places in the top 4, but is not crowned the next American Idol. Daughtry's career might not be what it is had he won. Not winning allows them to do their own thing, not worry about wardrobe changes and be under the strict supervision of the Idol producers. It will be interesting to see where the votes go.

Howard Stern Rumors

The Wall St Journal has a well-thought out piece on Howard Stern and his next career move. There is much speculation on him taking over for Simon Cowell as a judge on American Idol. This would be a very welcome addition. With the subtraction of Simon, who is the star of the show, there are few people that could slip into the role, make it his own and keep the ratings alive. Howard has said on his Sirius/XM show if they want to offer him $100 million dollars to judge a karaoke contest, he's all for it.

Speaking of American Idol, the show has really lost a lot of it's charm this year. The loss of Paula Abdul as a judge is significant. She made the contestants feel at ease. Her comments were coming from the heart and her occasional wackiness made the show great. You don't see Simon and Kara getting into scuffles. Simon seems like he's checked out of the show already. His comments are short. There is a glaring hole where his critiques used to be. Did Kara really think that Andrew Garcia's cover of Paula's Straight Up was genius as she exclaimed on TV? It's a great song and it was a nice cover. Led Zeppelin ll, Pet Sounds, London Calling, Rubber Soul-ok, there is genius, but a cover of Straight Up, not sure it lives up to her hype.

Young Girls Crown A New American Idol

The NY Times takes an analytical look at American Idol, discussing the well run machine that it is. The author states that America voting Kris Allen as the winner, reflects the mood of the country in selecting the more down home choice. I think he won because the young girls love him and with the exception of Howard Stern, they are probably the ones who voted and voted more than once. With close to 100 million votes cast, American Idol is the one place in the media that can draw the same numbers that a show like The Ed Sullivan Show used to.

Amiercan Idol: The Only Game in Town

Major record labels did listeners a service: they narrowed the playing field. Before the Internet, the labels would be the place for an artist wanting a career in music. They had the time, money and people power for a finite number of acts to promote each year. Acts needed producers and studios to make the records. Radio was king for turning people on to your music. Hearing your favorite band live was (and still is) the ultimate experience. Now anyone can make a record and they do. Most bands write, record and produce their own records. Radio is so narrowly programmed that there isn't much room for a new artist to be heard. American Idol is the only game in town now for massive exposure. I think Ryan Seacrest said that 88 million people voted for the top two spots left in this season. I realize many people vote multiple times, but that is an insane number.

Danny was voted off the show. This is probably the best thing to happen to him. Besides going out on the Idol Tour, he doesn't have to play by their rules and for a rock singer, this is a plus. He got the exposure. People know his name. He'll have no problem getting a record deal. What he does with his career and how he handles it, will determine how successful he is. Daughtry hit the jackpot when America chose Katherine over him. It seemed crazy at the time, but the word Idol is in the shows title. Of the two that are left, either Adam or Kris would make a great Idol. Adam has the androgynous, pop voice and Chris has the adoration of the little girls. The stage is set for a night of massive exposure that used to come only to those who slogged it out on the road, put in their 10,000 hours and had a producer to helm their latest record. Can't see Adam or Kris trashing a hotel room.