The Idol Effect On Pop Music

Season six of American Idol is underway and audiences just can’t seem to get enough. Ratings continue to soar for the FOX Network, which, as of late, has expanded the talent competition to three nights a week, including two nights of competition, and the much over-hyped results show that also serves as a showcase for some of today’s top recording superstars. Last year’s musical guests who surely benefited from the AI exposure included Shakira and Wyclef, Natasha Bedingfield and Prince, who appeared on the Season 5 finale.

This year, Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez, Diana Ross and Gwen Stefani will be among the top musical talent who will appear on the show that was once thought of as strictly a talent competition, but has since become a part of Pop culture and serves as a launching pad for some of today’s biggest names in Pop music. AI’s effect on the music industry had been questioned from the outset, but the fact is the show not only cultivates talent, it’s developing a whole new generation of superstars including Kelly Clarkson, who became a household name almost overnight, as well as making platinum selling artists out of Rueben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino. Then there’s this year’s Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist, Carrie Underwood.

But you don’t have to win the competition to become a star. Clay Aiken proved that with his multi-platinum success, minus the support of radio where his debut single, “Invisible” had marginal success at best. But since Aiken, AI has given birth to a whole new set of stars including season 4 runner up Bo Bice and newcomer Katharine McPhee, the runner-up from last season’s AI, whose current single “Over It” is breaking at Top 40 radio. How about Mario Vasquez who was selected as one of the Top 12 AI finalists but then left the show for personal reasons? Even Kellie Pickler from season 5 was able to breakthrough at Country radio, but it’s Chris Daughtry who has been season 5’s biggest success story. His debut album, Daughtry, is nearly double platinum and is the #1 selling album in the country this week. Its first single, “It’s Not Over,” is also headed to #1 on the Pop charts. If that isn’t enough, another track from the album, “Home,” serves as this season’s show closer where contestants are sent home and is sure to duplicate the success of its predecessor, Daniel Powder’s “Bad Day.” And then there’s the unbelievable story of season 3’s seventh place finisher, Jennifer Hudson, whose talent was once questioned by AI judge Simon Cowell, and who has since won a Golden Globe and Oscar for her performance as Best Supporting Actress in Dreamgirls. 

The show has now established its credibility and is given respect by many in the radio industry as being a powerful platform that introduces talent. WIOQ (Q102)/Philadelphia PD Rick Vaughn knows the show connects with his audience and garners “lots of reaction.” He adds, “Early on the audience started out on the young end, then it broadened out a bit, and now it’s even older. But it’s powerful.” WAKS/Cleveland APD/MD Kasper adds, “It’s a Pop culture phenomenon and people get drawn into the drama of it all. It’s all people want to talk about. It’s a real positive thing for Top 40 radio because Pop culture and Pop radio go hand in hand.”

WAEB/Allentown MD Eric Chase has experienced Idolmania first hand in many markets. “It’s probably the greatest thing to happen to Pop radio in my lifetime. It’s 100 percent relevant to the demo.” Adding, “Whether you’re that person that goes out and drinks and acts like an idiot ‘til three in the morning or you’re the one up at eight in morning with your kids and listen to Top 40, it’s relevant to you. There’s that commonalty between the vast spectrum of Top 40 listeners.” KHKS/Dallas APD/MD Billy The Kidd remarks, “It’s the epitome of mainstream America. It’s a huge monster!”

AI’s star making power has been well documented by the show’s ability to convert unfound talent into music superstars. Even RCA Music Group President Clive Davis has given the show its due, not only because his label releases many of the AI artists, but he believes it’s an important part of pop culture as both sales and television ratings indicate. Davis even introduced Jennifer Hudson as the main headliner at his annual pre-Grammy party last month. Hudson is now in the studio recording her first album under the legendary hit maker.

Many programmers can’t find a negative in giving AI artists exposure, even if they’re unsure of the song. WRHT/Greenville OM Alan Fox thought Chris Daughtry had tremendous potential during his AI run and was surprised he wasn’t the eventual winner. “When he was voted off the show, like many others, I was stunned. He had the look, and sounded like the winner. In retrospect, I’m glad he did come in fourth because he was able to co-write many of the songs on the album, which is loaded with hits.” Fox continues, “Our audience reacted from the very first spin of ‘It’s Not Over’ and it has since moved into POWER rotation.” And even though Fox was at first a little ambivalent toward Katharine McPhee’s single, he thought it deserved a shot and was willing to take a chance on an artist who already had a familiar name with his audience. “I was initially unsure because I was expecting a much more Pop sounding song. But we decided since she had millions of impressions throughout the show it was a risk we could take. Now we’re seeing the record react.”

But some programmers often evaluate the music and its artists the same way it would any artist…research. Billy The Kidd points to the scores on Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” as coming back overwhelmingly positive and became one of the stations top testing records. Sure she’s from Texas and her album is Country, but Kidd never expected the station would play the song. “What surprised me was how accepting our audience was of Carrie Underwood,” says Kidd. “But it’s a female anthem. Sure it’s very twangy but it was not only backed up in research but requests.” Kidd continues, “People questioned [KHKS PD] Patrick [Davis] and I about it at first when we put the record on. But no 21-year-old girl is driving down the street thinking perceptually how is this going to position the station. They like the song and it’s a smash!”

We heard similar stories in a variety of markets including Cleveland, where Kasper says that he and PD Bo Matthews went on gut and saw Underwood’s potential after they put the song into research and the scores came back strong. “We knew this type of record had universal appeal with females because of the subject matter with a guy cheating on his girl,” Kasper says. “Initially it tested #2 behind Justin Timberlake and the following week it was #1! It was crazy after only two tests and it tested as POWER…and it tested across the board with all demos. The same people that are calling for Mims are calling for Carrie Underwood!”

Eric Chase adds that many programmers underestimate their country cross listeners and believes that Underwood would test 75 percent familiar in their callout. But he says that songs by AI finalists aren’t always a given. “In radio we still look at things on a song by song basis.” But adds that consumers are much more aware of the people that don’t win as the ones that do. “You don’t have to win American Idol to make good records. Chris Daughtry is proving that in a big way, and where consumers may become wary of buying a CD from the winners of Idol, they become more open to buying one from one of the finalists.” Kidd concludes, “A hit record is a hit record at the end of the day. I don’t care whether it comes from Katharine McPhee or Clay Aiken, but we know Carrie Underwood and Daughtry are hit records!”

More and more stations are putting Carrie Underwood into rotation on a weekly basis with no Pop mix. Many believe Underwood has that Shania Twain–Faith Hill crossover type of talent. The only difference is she’s doing it with a song that’s Country. The Idol effect has no doubt helped her profile at a format that can only add more sales to her more than 5x platinum debut that ended up as one of last year’s top selling albums.

Last year’s AI finalists continue to release recordings. The newest being Elliott Yamin, who finished in the Top 3 alongside McPhee and AI winner Taylor Hicks. Yamin is already being well received after Ryan Seacrest recently world premiered his new single “Wait For You” on KIIS-FM/Los Angeles. The station continues to spin the record due in part to listener feedback and interest on its web site. The song is sure to surprise many, as is his debut CD.

After five seasons, American Idol is still breaking records as 57.6 million viewers watched this year’s sixth season premiere in January, making it the show’s highest rated premiere ever! If you haven’t yet tuned in to see this year’s crop of talent, this coming week is as good a time as any as AI moves closer to its Top 12 finalists, and need we mention the Antonella Barba racy picture scandal? The show surely doesn’t need that kind of exposure to draw ratings but it can only add to the drama of it all. It’s hard to believe that this year’s contestants could be more talented than in years past but it might be true as bothLakisha Jones or Melinda Doolittle could easily become the next Jennifer Hudson…they’re that good! Then there’s Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson who is already being compared to Justin Timberlake. Or could it be that Jordin Sparks and Sabrina Sloan emerge, or even Chris Sligh, who with his Jack Osborne type of appearance could surprise everyone. Even though he might not look the part, it’s the vocal talent that often impresses the audience and the judges. As Simon Cowell often tells the millions of viewers each week, “This is after all a singing competition…isn’t it?”  

** QB Content by Bob Burke **