I meant to post this a week ago but I didn’t have access so here are my top 10 “Idol”-related stories of 2008, in no particular order. On Tuesday, I will post my top 10 personal favorite stories from dealing with the “Idols” directly.
1- The David vs. David derby. If anyone remembers season seven in particular a few years down the road, it will be known as the battle of the two Davids. David Archuleta was the cutesy, aw-shucks crooner, a favorite from day one. David Cook, while not an immediate standout, quickly proved his worth with emotive rocker creds and a sense of sincerity and authenticity. By the time we got to the top 12, those were already the top 2 and that never changed, no matter how much we liked Jason Castro’s hair or Carly Smithson’s tats. Overall, while not quite as compelling as season five, this crew was a major upgrade from season six. And both Davids are already having solid impacts on top 40 radio.
2- Jordin Sparks and who else? And just to confirm why season six was such a bust, the only one who has made a genuine impact so far is winner Jordin Sparks. We have to be proud of this 18 year old, who ended up with three top 5 hits, more than 5 million downloads and a near-million seller in a day and age when million sellers are rare. She has the charm, the grounding and the voice to carve out a decent career. Heck, even her so-called “controversy” defending the Jonas Brothers’ promise rings was kinda cute.
3- Poor Jennifer Hudson The year started out well with her: a decent role in the blockbuster film “Sex & the City,” another one in “The Secret Life of Bees” and her first full-fledged album, which was well received and garnered a decent-sized hit in “Spotlight.” But things went dark fast for her when her mom, brother and nephew were murdered in October. A fellow family member has been accused of murder. It’s just sad all the way around and overshadowed her upward career trajectory. We can only pray she can keep things going in the wake of such tragedy.
4- Clay Aiken out! In perhaps the least shocking news of all, Clay Aiken told People magazine earlier this year that he’s gay. We all knew that and the bloggers here were just glad he is able to free himself of the burden of the “secret.”
5- Paula Abdul and that stalker. Paula Abdul was her usual nutty self on the show this year. My favorite quote: “David, you are ridiculous. I wanted to squish you, squeeze your head off, and dangle you from my rear-view mirror.” But later in the year, things go weird when that stalker died near her home and Abdul complained that the show let the stalker on the show despite her complaints. (The producers said they knew nothing of the extent of the stalkers’ dealings with Abdul over many years.) She’s even talked about leaving the show when her contract is up. We’ll see. For 2009, we will still have Paula.
6-Carrie’s that all American gal The most consistently successful “Idol” alum has been Carrie Underwood. Her second album was a blockbuster in 2008 with four No. 1 hits and a streak of six in a row. She won a Grammy and a CMA. Her personal life, while occasionally chronicled in the tabs, remains relatively pristine. It’s good to be Carrie Underwood.
7-Broadway, here we come! In 2008, “Idol” alums continued to find work on Broadway or on national tours of Broadway hits. Three were on one play alone: “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” (Ruben Studdard, Frenchie Davis and Trenyce.) Clay was on “Spamalot.” Taylor Hicks was Teen Angel in “Grease” both on Broadway and on the national tour. Constantine Maroulis played a cheesy 80s rocker in “Rock of Ages.” Fantasia finished up her critically acclaimed role in “The Color Purple” in January.
8-Being a pro didn’t hurt The biggest controversy of the season seven contestants were the number of folks with prior record contracts. I personally didn’t think it mattered much but a lot of critics groused about the track records of Michael Johns (known in the past as Michael Lee), Carly Smithson (once known as Carly Hennessy) and Kristy Lee Cook all had deals with major labels at one point. Carly’s story was chronicled in a page one Wall Street Journal story many years ago. In the end, none of those three even made the top 4, though David Archuleta was a “Star Search” veteran.
9-The flops. Several “Idols” lost record deals in 2008. Ruben Studdard (off to Broadway). Taylor Hicks (Broadway, too). Katharine McPhee (at least she has her modeling and movie career to fall back on). Blake Lewis. (remember him?). Given stumbling record sales across the board, labels have little patience. So no surprises here and given that folks can release albums successful independently, this is not a big deal. (See Elliott Yamin.)
10-Changes in 2008 vs. 2009 We saw a few good changes in season seven (instruments!) and bad (mosh pit!). With producer Nigel Lythgoe out of the picture, “Idol” is making even bigger tweaks in 2009 including a fourth judge and a restructuring of the semifinal rounds (plus more emphasis on air of the Hollywood rounds.). With the show in its eighth year, it’s now a question of managing the show’s slipping ratings. I’d expect another 10 percent drop this year after 9 percent in 2008. But if the show keeps the drop to less than 5 percent, that’s a huge success.
Any other big stories in your minds that I missed?
