Re: American Idol - Season 7
The measure of the success of pop music is how it sells, not the quality. It's often said that the fact that McDonald's sells more than anybody else doesn't mean a McDonald's hamburger is better than Filet Mignon, but it's not an accurate comparison for a number of reasons. For one thing, McDonald's is much cheaper than Filet Mignon, which is a major factor in why it sells more (convenience being another). In this case, it costs pretty much the same to listen to David Archuletta as it doesn't to listen to anyone else, so the deciding factor is that people want to hear David Archuletta's song. This probably comes as no surprise to music business pros who followed the show. He has that demo of fans. It doesn't mean he has the 2nd best song out right now. It just means he has the 2nd most popular, because there are a lot of folks (youngsters? girls?) want them some Davvy.
The trades have to report this stuff, but a discerning listener need not pay it any attention. That said, I still like Archuletta's Imagine. They used it on So You Think You Can Dance, and it was great.