I haven't been watching as I rarely watch such nonsense but this seasons clips have been full of people crying, being used by the show. People are being falsely lead to believe they will be music stars but when they get rejected the show uses their pain for ratings.

Let me be as blunt as I can be. Nobody has a right to be a star. It's all about a certain look, not about how good somebody sings and how that person can be marketed to the public. There are a million good singers in black churches, but singing doesnt matter. It's all pr. Who becomes a star makes no sense and is mysterious at best.

Why give people false hope? The show is garbage and must go.

i love idol. there are dozens of contestants who have gone on to do well---not all are super-mega stars, but people like mandisa, phil stacey, elliott yamin are making a decent living. once you get into the top 10, they really are good singers. it's a platform to get your foot in the door.

I agree. I hate AI.

Vendetta1 said:

it blows loads of ass smoke

Fury said:

PricelessHo said:

Yeah but Jennifer is a case study in how the American public is not really interested in what is good but what is popular. She is clearly a better singer than most people that have appeared on that show. I have not seen an episode since Jennifer was voted off.

Back in the day, 99% of artists were professionals who had honed their skill by playing in small pubs and clubs and then making it big... And it showed.

2day 99% of artist are amateurs who have either had everthing handed 2 them on a silver platter or won it in a competition and it REALLY shows...

So yeah, I agree with U 2freaky4church1. Death 2 American Idol and ALL the other shows like it.

2freaky4church1 said:

Ever since Jennifer got screwed in Season 3, I've stopped taking to show serious. The only thing that was still interest were the auditions.

And just so you know, there were never going to be a season as great as Season 2.

comegetwild said:

have to disagree: from this season--

TonyVanDam said:

you missed a lot of good singers since then

Vendetta1 said:

i agree it can be disappointing, devastating even, when it's voting off time. but i think the real problem is that most of these kids seem to take it as the end of the road instead of realizing what they've just accomplished had actually taken other singers years and years of trying to just be heard once. they need to use that platform but not rely that it's going to do it all for them. and Jen is the best example there

Fury said:

i loved what Andrew did with that

i also love Haeley!

Fury said:

Who, who, and who?

Vendetta1 said:

Ditto.

It's pretty solidly representative of everything that is wrong with the music industry.

meow85 said:

nothing like some facts to get in the way...

Idol Contestant
Total Sales First Album Second Album Third Album Fourth Album Fifth Album Sixth Album
1. Carrie Underwood
(Season 4, Winner)
11,321,000 Some Hearts
(November 15, 2005)
Arista Nashville
6,939,000[1]
7x Platinum[2]
Peak: #2 Carnival Ride
(October 23, 2007)
Arista Nashville
3,063,000[1]
3x Platinum[2]
Peak: #1 Play On
(November 3, 2009)
Arista Nashville
1,319,000[1]
Platinum[2]
Peak: #1

2. Kelly Clarkson
(Season 1, Winner)
10,469,000 Thankful
(April 15, 2003)
RCA
2,730,000[3]
2x Platinum[4]
Peak: #1 Breakaway
(November 30, 2004)
RCA
6,104,000[3]
6x Platinum[4]
Peak: #3 My December
(June 26, 2007)
RCA Records
800,000[3]
Platinum[4]
Peak: #2 All I Ever Wanted
(March 10, 2009)
RCA Records
835,000[1]
N/A
Peak: #1


3. Chris Daughtry
(Season 5, 4th Place)
5,577,000 Daughtry
(November 21, 2006)
19 Recordings/RCA Records
4,635,000[1]
4x Platinum[5]
Peak: #1 Leave This Town
(July 14, 2009)
19 Recordings/RCA Records
942,000[1]
N/A
Peak: #1


4. Clay Aiken
(Season 2, Runner-Up)
4,853,000 Measure of a Man
(October 14, 2003)
RCA Records
2,780,000[6]
2x Platinum[7]
Peak: #1 Merry Christmas with Love
(November 16, 2004)
RCA Records
1,370,000[6]
Platinum[7]
Peak: #4 A Thousand Different Ways
(September 19, 2006)
RCA Records
530,000[6]
Gold[7]
Peak: #2 On My Way Here
(May 6, 2008)
RCA Records
163,000[6]
N/A
Peak: #4 Playlist: The Very
Best of Clay Aiken
(March 31, 2009)
Sony Legacy
10,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #173 Tried & True
Spring 2010
Decca/Universal
N/A
N/A
Peak: N/A



5. Ruben Studdard
(Season 2, Winner)
2,553,000 Soulful
(December 9, 2003)
J Records
1,790,000[9]
Platinum[10]
Peak: #1 I Need an Angel
(November 23, 2004)
J Records
483,000[11]
Gold[10]
Peak: #20 The Return
(October 17, 2006)
J Records/19
238,000[9]
N/A
Peak: #8 Love Is
(May 19, 2009)
19 Entertainment/
Hickory Records
42,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #36 Playlist: The Very
Best of Ruben Studdard
(January 26, 2010)
Sony Legacy
Not Reported
N/A
Peak:Failed to chart


6. Fantasia Barrino
(Season 3, Winner)
2,289,000 Free Yourself
(November 23, 2004)
J Records
1,770,000[9]
Platinum[12]
Peak: #8 Fantasia
(December 12, 2006)
J Records
519,000[13]
Gold[12]
Peak: #19


7. David Cook
(Season 7, Winner)
1,279,000 David Cook
(November 18, 2008)
RCA Records
1,279,000[14]
Platinum[15]
Peak: #3


8. Kellie Pickler
(Season 5, 6th Place)
1,234,000 Small Town Girl
(October 31, 2006)
BNA Records
847,000[1]
Gold[16]
Peak: #9 Kellie Pickler
(September 30, 2008)
BNA Records
387,000[1]
N/A


Peak: #9
9. Jordin Sparks
(Season 6, Winner)
1,196,000 Jordin Sparks
(November 20, 2007)
Jive
1,034,000[17]
Platinum[18]
Peak: #10 Battlefield
(July 21, 2009)
Jive
162,000[17]
N/A
Peak: #7


10. David Archuleta
(Season 7, Runner-Up)
962,000 David Archuleta
(November 11, 2008)
Jive Records
751,000[14]
Gold[19]
Peak: #2 Christmas from the Heart
(October 13, 2009)
Jive Records
211,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #30
11. Jennifer Hudson
(Season 3, 7th Place)
786,000 Jennifer Hudson
(September 30, 2008)
Arista Records
786,000[13][20]
Gold[21]
Peak: #2
12. Josh Gracin
(Season 2, 4th Place)
779,000 Josh Gracin
(June 15, 2004)
Lyric Street
701,000[22]
Gold[23]
Peak: #11 We Weren't Crazy
(April 1, 2008)
Lyric Street
78,000[24]
N/A
Peak: #33
13. Taylor Hicks
(Season 5, Winner)
753,400 Taylor Hicks
(December 12, 2006)
Arista Records
704,000[25]
Platinum[26]
Peak: #2 Early Works
(August 12, 2008)
Modern Whomp Records
4,400[13]
N/A
Peak: did not chart The Distance
(March 10, 2009)
Modern Whomp Records
45,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #58
14. Bo Bice
(Season 4, Runner-Up)
734,000 The Real Thing
(December 13, 2005)
RCA Records
672,000[27]
Gold[28]
Peak: #4 See the Light
(October 23, 2007)
StratArt
62,000[13]
N/A
Peak: #150
15. Elliott Yamin
(Season 5, 3rd Place)
681,000 Elliott Yamin
(March 20, 2007)
Hickory Records,
RED Distribution
525,000[29]
Gold[30]
Peak: #3 Sounds of the Season
(October 14, 2007)
Hickory Records
81,000[31]
N/A
Peak: #32 My Kind of Holiday
(October 7, 2008)
TRP Records,
Fontana Distribution
27,000[32]
N/A
Peak: #162 Fight For Love
(May 5, 2009)
Hickory Records
48,000[8]
N/A
Peak: #26

16. Adam Lambert
(Season 8, Runner-Up)
519,000[1] For Your Entertainment (2009) #3

17. Katharine McPhee
(Season 5, Runner-Up)
407,000[1][25] Katharine McPhee (2007) #2
Unbroken (2010) #27

18. Bucky Covington
(Season 5, 8th Place)
403,000[22] Bucky Covington (2007) #4

19. Blake Lewis
(Season 6, Runner-Up)
315,000[8][13] A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) (2007) #10
Heartbreak on Vinyl (2009) #135

20. Kris Allen
(Season 8, Winner)
261,000[1] Kris Allen (2009) #11

21. Mandisa
(Season 5, 9th Place)
253,200[1][13][33] True Beauty (2007) #43
It's Christmas (2008) did not chart
Freedom (2009) #83

22. Kimberley Locke
(Season 2, 3rd Place)
237,000[34][35][36] One Love (2004) #16
Based on a True Story (2007) #160
Christmas (2008) did not chart

23. Diana DeGarmo
(Season 3, Runner-Up)
167,000[9] Blue Skies (2004) #52

24. Justin Guarini
(Season 1, Runner-Up)
143,000[9] Justin Guarini (2003) #20
Stranger Things Have Happened (2005) did not chart

25. Tamyra Gray
(Season 1, 4th Place)
123,000[37] The Dreamer (2004) #23

26. Allison Iraheta
(Season 8, 4th Place)
85,000[17] Just Like You (2009) #35

27. LaToya London
(Season 3, 4th Place)
58,000[37] Love & Life (2005) #82

28. Phil Stacey
(Season 6, 6th Place)
55,000[8][32] Phil Stacey (2008) #43
Into the Light (2009) did not chart

29. Chris Sligh
(Season 6, 10th Place)
54,000[38] Running Back to You (2008) #190

30. Melinda Doolittle
(Season 6, 3rd Place)
53,000[8] Coming Back to You (2009) #58

31. Mario Vazquez
(Season 4, Top 12)
34,000[39] Mario Vazquez (2006) #80

32. Kristy Lee Cook
(Season 7, 7th Place)
32,000[40] Why Wait (2008) #49

33. Brooke White
(Season 7, 5th Place)
29,000[8] High Hopes & Heartbreak (2009) #50

34. George Huff
(Season 3, 5th Place)
29,000[8] Miracles (2005) did not chart
George Huff (2009) did not chart

35. Constantine Maroulis
(Season 4, 6th Place)
25,000[41] Constantine (2007) #75

36. Paris Bennett
(Season 5, 5th Place)
22,300[13][41] Princess P (2007) #133
A Royal Christmas (2008) did not chart

37. R. J. Helton
(Season 1, 5th Place)
22,000[37] Real Life (2004) did not chart

38. John Stevens
(Season 3, 6th Place)
21,000[37] Red (2005) did not chart

39. Michael Johns
(Season 7, 8th Place)
20,000[8] Hold Back My Heart (2009) #97

40. Jasmine Trias
(Season 3, 3rd Place)
14,000[37] Jasmine Trias (2005) did not chart

41. Ace Young
(Season 5, 7th Place)
10,000[13] Ace Young (2008) #160

42. LaKisha Jones
(Season 6, 4th Place)
7,000[8] So Glad I'm Me (2009) did not chart

43. Jim Verraros
(Season 1, 9th Place)
4,300[37] Rollercoaster (2005) did not chart

44. Carmen Rasmusen
(Season 2, 6th Place)
3,100[37] Nothin' Like the Summer (2007) did not chart

45. Ayla Brown
(Season 5, Top 16)
3,000[42] Forward (2006) did not chart

46. Corey Clark
(Season 2, 9th Place)
2,600[37] Corey Clark (2005) did not chart

47. Jon Peter Lewis
(Season 3, 8th Place)
1,600[37][43] Stories from Hollywood (2006) did not chart
Break the Silence (2008) did not chart


[edit] Footnotes
[Edited 2/21/10 12:22pm]

^ What "facts"? What are those numbers supposed to mean to me?

meow85 said:

obviously nothing. i said the show was good for getting your foot in the door and you said who who and who and then i gave you a list.

seems pretty clear to me

Fury said:

I'm with meow. numbers don't mean anything. I've never heard music from most of those people.

Why hate on it? I don't get it. It's entertainment. No one is forced to go on the show. No one is forced to watch it. No one is forced to vote or buy the singles.

The only criticism I could lay at it's door (if it's like UK versions) is its exploitation of the (seemingly) mentally ill in the audition stages.

Otherwise, change the channel.

mcmeekle said:

I don't watch it.

I have no problem with people who like it either. I just feel bad for people who really never get a shot because popular seems to be a substitute for good these days.

Vendetta1 said:

i haven't either--the point is that the people went on the show and afterwards recorded an album. they interested enough people that they bought their album. people hate american idol like it ruined the industry. marvin gaye is not gonna walk in a club and discover maze; diana ross isn't going to present the jackson 5; toni braxton isn't going to be singing at the gas pump--

Fury said:

the industry was ruined way before Idol came along.

Vendetta1 said:

exactly.

Vendetta1 said:

It was.

AI just sums up some of the worst of the problem.

Fury said:

You quoted three names I have never heard before, and I try to pay attention to what's going on in the music world. Most of those performers work I have never heard, and that which I have is underwhelming.

meow85 said:

one does gospel, one does country and one is adult contemporary. just because you've never heard of them doesn't make them any less successful.

Fury said:

you're missing her point but okay.

Fury said:

I just said, I try to pay attention to what's going on in the music world. I'm not bragging, but it's rare for me not to be at least passingly familiar with most acts, no matter the genre.

With Simon leaving I can't see the show lasting that much longer anyway.
Ellen sounded great on paper but she's doing nothing for me so far.

Vendetta1 said:

i got her point--she said who, who, and who because she never heard of these singers. i merely stated that it doesn't make them any less successful because she never heard of them.
[Edited 2/21/10 13:11pm]