American Idol - Season 8 (1 Viewer)

[EricSchulz]

I think it will be interesting to see what happens next week on the Billboard charts. This is the first time I recall both the winner AND the runner-up versions of the song being available to purchase. Will Kris' fans help him outsell Adam?

 

[Carl Miller]

This assumes that Kris and Archuleta and Cook and Adam hold the same exact appeal to tweens, which is unlikely. Though I don't think the difference is solely the tweens, I'd suggest it was probably the biggest factor.

According to the tweens in my family and we've got a dozen of them between my, my two brothers and my sisters kids, Kris is much better looking than Archie, cooler than Archie and plays better music.....While Cook was more regular and more mainstream than Adam. It is not unreasonable to suggest that Kris and Cook drew a larger portion of the tween segment than Archie and Adam did respectively...and that this segment catapulted Kris to victory.

There isn't a high school, middle school or elementary aged kid in my family who liked Adam. They all thought Kris should have won....Though the three college kids in my family, including my son who lives and breathes rock and roll all thought Adam was awesome and that he should have won.

 

[Jeffery_H]

You are 100% correct on this. What some others have said about it NOT being "Tweens" is totally inaccurate. It may not have been for some past shows of AI, but as you point out, this year it was the largest determining factor in that demographic.

Like I said in my prior posts, just look at what was going on at most local Fox networks and their "Idol Parties". I don't know how many did them, but our local network had 1 a month and then 1 every week the last month of the finals. As I pointed out again which was overlooked by some, they also got votes in from other Fox networks during their "live" idol parties and ALL of the "Tweens" were going for Kris and have voted countless times for him.

Carl is correct in there is not a single "Tween" that was not voting for Kris. They all thought, as he points out using his own family as examples, Kris simply had it all for that age group. He was the cutest, coolest, most awesome guy they all had a crush on. Better than "Archie", Cook or anyone before.

Also, as you state and as did I, the demographics are totally different from Adam and Kris and most of the votes are from younger people. The adults simply don't vote, at least not to the extent the Tweens do by any means. However, I don't think this means much when it comes to record sells because adults will simply buy good music and whom they like even if they didn't vote.

Most of the Tweens also tend to move on fairly quickly to someone else if they are cuter or whatever so the span on Kris and his sucesses may be more limited in time. But if he is able to do anything close to what Miley Cyrus has done, but in a male version, then the Tween force could make him a HUGE hit. But Adam will plug away regardless with the adult crowd.

 

[Phil Taylor]

^^^I noticed basically the same thing during the hometown visits. There were absolutely THRONGS of tween girls screaming hysterically for Kris - I likened it to the arrival of the Beatles in the US - there were crying and screaming multitudes of tweens at each of the three venues visited in Kris' hometown. Adam not so much... at all. Adam's hometown welcome looked anemic compared to Kris. Granted the hometowns were quite a bit different in demographic areas but still Kris creamed (pun intended) his hometown crowd.

 

[Adam_S]

hometown crowds are always anemic for california contestants. I think there were only about 60 people at the 'finale party' in universal city walk for Katherine McPhee.

but saying this is nothing but tweens is like saying that Titanic made 595 million from teenage girl audiences and 5 million from all other audiences. it doesn't work like that. I haven't heard a single positive word about adam lambert from the midwest since he sang ring of fire. I've heard grudging respect from time to time, but mostly I heard comments about, "all he does is shriek and scream and wail and the judges say it's singing, doesn't sound like singing to me, it sounds terrible. and then they say Kris wasn't good, but he's the only one actually singing if you compare him to Adam, so the judges are just crazy and I just can't figure why they'd like the wierd things that he does. what he does isn't good, it's just weird, like Taylor Hicks, but unable to sing."

if anything, I think the over-the-top nonstop praise of Adam and the refusal to criticize anything about his performances ever is what resulted in Kris' win. it galvinized all voters, tweens (especially the archie fans burned last year) perhaps much more so than others, but blatent unfairness and favoritism definitely backfired on the judges/producers this year. If they'd wanted an underddog victory they'd have played it up Kris' status as an underddog more in top three and the finale (similar to how they worked hard to lay the groundwork in week three for the 'david v david' finale by giving syesha a really shitty and poor song choice). I don't think they ever expected Kris to make it through week to week, from his wildcard entry onward, it was clear they never had a 'story hook' to play for him that they were comfortable with, and he'd have never been 'cast' if they could have helped it.

 

[AnthonyC]

This is spot-on. I don't know if it's the main factor that led to a Kris win, but the judges and producers were so transparent in pushing Adam all season that it inevitably rubbed the many viewers who didn't see him as some sort of rock god the wrong way. If I had voted, it would've been for Kris for this reason.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Not that I hate Kris or anything, but Miley Cyrus has more charisma in either pinky toe than he has in his entire body.

And a hit TV show.

 

[Bryan X]

Then you must not have been reading my posts.

From the people I talk to about Idol, I'd say easily half or more of them preferred Adam over Kris.

 

[Carl Miller]

They sure do move on quickly. My nieces and their friends had moved on from Archie last year during the AI season. They were done with him before the season ended and had moved on to some guy whose name I don't remember fully. Zach somebody who I think had something to do with Miley Cyrus.

I think Adam is going to be difficult to market actually. I think if they go the same route Daughtry did, he might be ok. Give him a full time band to front, a consistent and defined musical genre etc, etc.

But he is describing his debut album to be something rock/pop/dance/electronic in interviews and very few of todays artists can be that ecclectic and still manage to have a career....If he goes that route, I hope he hooks up with whoever produces Pink, because she's the only one I can think of that can get away with being that loosely defined.

 

[EricSchulz]

I'm getting flashbacks of Bush/Gore and hanging chads!

'American Idol' vote may have been flawed | TV, movie and music news | Television | EW.com

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Except the Bush/Gore vote mattered, and the AI vote doesn't. It's an interesting article just because I'm always in favor of things like this coming to light, but I really hope no one is losing any sleep over Adam coming in 2nd to Kris on AI. I think Adam himself is at peace with it, knowing the reality of the situation.

Having had a little time to get AI off the brain, what I'm left with is that we live in a country where a guy is singing (not having gay sex on stage) and all a certain segment of the population can think about is, "Aha! We got you! You're gay!!" What is this weird fascination with outing gays? I mean, I can understand folks being a little uncomfortable when a gay lifestyle is forced into their faces, but the very fact that you have to "out" someone means they've been keeping their private business private. That's not enough either? No, we must dig deep to discover any sleeper gays before they strike. Little Johnny might buy Adam's CD, listen to his sleeper gay lyrics and "turn" gay. :rolleyes

 

[EricSchulz]

Mikah, I completely agree! (And the Bush/Gore reference was meant to illustrate the way people are picking apart the results to satisfy their choice of "candidate", not to imply in ANY way that the AI outcome really "matters".)

As far as Adam goes, "coming out" in your personal life can be a difficult decision to make, based on your circumstances. Coming out in public life? Not sure I would want to be in his shoes. It shouldn't matter, but to many people, both straight AND gay, it does.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

'Idol' finalists dish on singing, strategy and sexuality - CNN.com

Transcript of Ryan Seacrest interview with Kris and Adam on CNN's Larry King Live.

Adam Lambert keen on Queen, but he won't rock only - USATODAY.com

Adam saying he'd be interested in collaborating with Queen, but doesn't really want to be their front man and doesn't want to tie himself to just singing Rock. Adam as the front man for Queen does seem a bit strange to me. He'd constantly be surrounded by folks old enough to be his father -- or grandfather.

 

[EricSchulz]

Adam and Kris are both performing on the Today Show on Thursday morning, if anyone is interested...

 

[EricSchulz]

And the results are in...Idols Inundate Hot 100, But 'Glee' Gloats With Top Debut

 

[Malcolm R]

Is that the lowest charting winner's single ever? Seems like they're usually always a sure-shot for the Top 5.

 

[EricSchulz]

I am almost positive that it is...I seem to recall hearing that David Cook had that "honor" last season.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Scoop: Adam Lambert already making enemies - The Scoop- msnbc.com

Disappointing if true.

 

[TonyD]

that link won't open for me, what does it say aout lambert?

 

[Patrick Sun]

He's rude (to everyone), he's a diva, hard to work with.