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“Success of American Idol Alumni Artists in the Music Industry”
A research paper presented to
Catherine M. R. Steel
In partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for
ENGLRES
T2, 2011-2012
Arvi Marie Sanchez Dacuba A52
December 12, 2011
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FINAL OUTLINE:
1.0 Introduction
1.1. Current Artists in the Music Industry Come From Television Talent Searches
1.2 Where TV Talent Searches Began
1.3 American Idol Success Description
1.4 Thesis Statement/Paragraph
2.0 What Is American Idol?
2.1 How the Show Works
2.2 Why is American Idol Such a Hit?
2.2.1 Television Entertainment
2.2.2 Inspiration to Many
2.2.3 Mass Power
2.3 American Idol: The Opportunity for the Big Break
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3.0 Success after American Idol
3.1 American Idol Alumni Struggles and Challenges
3.2 Names of Several Successful American Idol Artists
3.3 Reasons of Alumni Artist Success
3.3.1 Specific Genre Trademark
3.3.2 Publicity
3.3.3 Support of Production Team
3.3.4 General Mass Appeal
4.0 Basis for Measurement of Success
4.1 Album Sales
4.2 Singles Sales
4.3 Awards
4.4 Income
4.5 Popularity
4.6 Publicity
4.7 Tours
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5.0 No Guarantee Success
5.1 Possible Reasons
5.2 Names of Unsuccessful American Idol Alumni Artists
6.0 Conclusion
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In this day and age, it is not unusual to hear and see new artists in the music industry
coming from TV talent shows (American Idol, X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice, The
Sing-Off) making waves on the radio, television and press. Even a majority of the current
famous singers in this country come from talent searches. These artists include Sarah Geronimo
(Star For A Night, 2003), Rachelle Ann Go (Search For A Star, 2004) Erik Santos (Star In A
Million 2004), Christian Bautista (Star In A Million 2003). It seems as though talent searches are
the main platform for starters who want a taste of stardom. From the early years of the twenty
first century until present, television channels have covered at least several talent shows in their
TV programs. So why the sudden popularity of TV talent searches worldwide? Is it the music
producers’ means of finding new talent? Is it a tactic for television channels to gain more profit
from online voting from the viewers? Or is it just a pop culture tradition in the twenty first
century?
The popularity of TV reality talent searches in singing all began from the show Pop Idol
in Britain in 2001. From this success, FOX channel premiered their own version of Pop Idol,
naming their show, American Idol in 2002 which was created by Simon Fuller, a multi-Emmy
and Grammy award winning British producer and manager who has been included in the Top
100 Most Influential People in Time Magazine (2007). Despite several predictions of the show’s
failure, victory emerged from it worldwide, beating TV shows like The Cosby show and All in
the Family which were the consecutive number one shows for five seasons. American Idol has
been number one for six consecutive seasons and has been called “The Death Star” show by rival
channel NBC because of its massive success. To get an average of 30 million votes or more
every week from America was far even from what producers expected which concludes that the
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audiences are really immersed with this show (Warwick, 2005). As of 2011, American Idol has
been crowned as the most watched TV series according to Nielsen ratings.
Worldwide hit-series American Idol provides a good platform for alumni artists in the
music industry and has produced platinum-selling, award winning and hit-making artists
although only minority of the alumni artists actually get the “big-break”. The artist's success,
however, depends on his or her career after the show based on album sale success, hit-songs,
radio airplay, awards, publicity and popularity among the masses. Usually, the artists who
emerge as stars are the ones who have a specific music genre connoted to them.
The show claims to have the objective to find the next singing superstar in America. As a
result, thousands of hopefuls audition in different cities to get a shot and taste of stardom. The
process of this contest starts with a preliminary audition, followed by Hollywood week wherein
hopefuls perform on three rounds followed by the eliminations by the judges. This is the basis
for the judges to find the Top Thirty-Six contestants. The following process is the audience
voting, wherein the fate of the contestants depend on the votes of the people of America after
seeing the contestants perform every week. Semifinals determine the Top Twelve contestants,
then the finals will determine the ultimate winner, all based on the votes of the viewers, with no
bearing on the judges’ decisions. The original judges were Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and
Simon Cowell. These three judges have stayed for seven consecutive seasons until a fourth judge
Kara Dioguardi, a multi award-winning singer-songwriter, was added to the table in the eighth
season in 2009. By the tenth season, Cowell and Abdul had left the show, deciding to move to
the show’s new rival, the X-Factor; leaving Randy Jackson and new judges Steven Tyler and
Jennifer Lopez and as the final judges of the tenth season in 2011.
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Why is American Idol such a hit? There are three main reasons: Television entertainment,
inspiration for dreams to come true and mass power. Truth be told, the show’s entertainment for
the viewers and the TV profit is still the number one priority of television producers. Through
successful audience entertainment, the show gains a vast number of audiences and earns more
ratings in the very competitive television show business. What sparked American Idol to attract
their viewers is their comedic auditionees who have no talent at all yet look downright hilarious
in their auditions. Through this, the show has created an entertainment to the audience in comedy
form. Aside from that, TV viewers are always eager and intrigued to hear what notorious and
verbally tactless Simon Cowell has to say on each contestant’s performance. Moreover,
entertainment also lies within the talent of the contestants. At first, the audience tunes in to watch
the show in order to laugh at hilarious singing failure auditions, yet as weeks go by, the audience
then tunes in to real talent and who they see has real potential and mass appeal. The judges make
sure upon screening several hopefuls that the contestants they pick shall bring something
different and entertaining to the table in order to amaze and capture the audience with special
talent. It is entertaining to see people with talent (Cabrera, 2005) and American Idol also
awakens the inner dream within all of us: To be a rockstar in our own little way. (Matthews,
2006).The show portrays the stories of ordinary people who have big dreams who want to show
the world what they are made of and who they are. This gives the media a perception that we can
achieve any dream of ours, no matter how big or small. As co-executive producer, Cecile Frot-
Coutaz says, "It's about taking people who live a normal life in some remote part of the country
but have an amazing talent, discovering that talent and making a dream come true. I think there's
something very powerful about that." This strategy inspires millions of viewers and aspiring
artists to awaken and chase their hopes and dreams and never give up. Last but not the least is
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mass power. Since the fate of the American Idol contestants depend 100% on the votes of the
public, this creates the mentality that we, as viewers have the power to decide and choose which
contestant we want to see in the following week. Since American Idol is a platform for building
and molding hopefuls to be the best that they can be, each contestant gains thousands or even
millions of fans. Furthermore, American Idol also shows a part of the contestant’s personality
and struggles. It also gives us a glimpse of who they are as a person and as an artist. Through this
process, the viewers can relate to each contestant’s life story and we start to feel what the
contestant goes through (Child, 2005). As a result, the fans put so much energy, time and money
in voting for their favorite contestant. (Gamache, 2007). Not only that, but the network shall also
gain millions of profits through the public votes every week. We all like control and power, and
the voting process falling entirely on the public gives power to the masses. With these three
major elements, American Idol has become a global phenomenon for the past ten years.
To add to the popularity of American Idol, several countries around the world have
adapted their own version of this show. In fact, American Idol has already been adapted in more
than 50 countries (Warwick, 2005).
What can an American Idol contestant hope for aside from capturing the attention of their
audience and avoiding getting eliminated from the show? The ultimate prize is actually getting
the big break in the music industry as the next singing sensation. This is what American Idol
promises the hopefuls. This is motivating enough for contestants to persevere and work hard
because they have seen the massive success of former Idol contestants like Kelly Clarkson and
Carrie Underwood, whose careers have rocketed into superstardom after winning American Idol.
For the winner, a guaranteed record deal is offered and also a brand new Ford car. For the Top
10 finalist each season, they are entitled to go on a 50-city tour around America getting a chance
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to perform and live the life of a professional artist. American Idol does not only benefit the lucky
winner, runner-up or finalist. Producers and record labels also benefit since they found a very
promising artist that could be signed under their label and could generate huge amounts of profits
through their album sales, digital download sales and publicity. The show’s reputation is also
heightened up since once a successful American Idol alumni has emerged in the scene, the
artist’s roots will always be traced back to American Idol, the show, and the platform where they
all began. In that sense, this would provide good impact, publicity, credentials and ratings for the
show. This in fact, is a two-way benefit, from both the artist and the producers.
As an American Idol alumni, it is not all fame and game. There are also several
disadvantages. The very evident one is the lack of autonomy. It is difficult for an artist coming
from a talent show to launch their careers right ahead due to the fact that they are often being
placed in a box with what kind of music are being expected from them based on their
appearances and performances in American Idol. It is difficult to start fresh and go a new
direction when the public already has an idea of what the artist should sound like. Often times, a
singer is labeled with one specific music genre only and that should not be the case. It is better to
have a variety of genres because music cannot be just summed up in one general word for an
artist says Adam Lambert, season 9 runner-up of American Idol. Moreover, there is a great
tendency for the artist to feel pressured and have trouble in the long run to get to his or her niche
in music and as a result, they become like manufactured artists who are forced to do what the
record label says; and their freedom to do their desired music would be hindered. The creativity
flow within the recording technicians and the singer/artist should be in harmony. The
singer/artist must feel the freedom and confidence in order to create the musical flow he or she
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wants, make mistakes, push his/her boundaries with only the guidance of the record label.
(Moylan, 1992)
Another disadvantage is that even if a winner emerges in a season, and is automatically
signed; it is vital that the artist and the record label should be interested in workmanship and
business. If the label is not interested in the artist, there will be no good promotion for the album
nor funds to spare the artist which will only result in an album flop. According to Simon Cowell,
It is not enough to be talented; the artist must have an “It-Factor” in order to make it big.
Is there really success after American Idol? Indeed, the show has already produced big
names in the industry such as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Adam Lambert,
David Cook, David Archuleta, Jordin Sparks and Jennifer Hudson. These former Idol contestants
have managed to emerge as stars in the music industry and have had several Grammy
nominations and wins, including several music awards and platinum and gold-selling records.
Yet they did not have this overnight success. There were several factors that made them as big as
they are now in the current music industry. First and foremost is that they have developed
themselves as an artist as to what direction of music they shall make. Kelly Clarkson has gone
pop-rock, Carrie Underwood has gone country, Daughtry and David Cook have gone into the
rock genre, Jordin Sparks has gone to R&B, David Archuleta and Jennifer Hudson went into the
scene of pop, while Adam Lambert has gone into the scene of glam/pop-rock. According to
American Idol judge Randy Jackson, it is very important that an artist must have this trademark
and distinct kind of sound in order to be unique and make it in the industry. No musician is the
same. Each one must have something different and special to offer to the table.
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The next factor is publicity. The press is important in building the artist’s career because
it gives the artists a sense of credibility to the masses since he/she is being promoted and
published. The press also gives the masses a glimpse of the artist’s personality (Rogers, 1986).
Exposure is really important for the artists, it doesn’t matter whether it is a good or bad
publicity since either way both are still forms of media tourism of the artist (Moylan, 1986).
Furthermore, the artist must have a good production team. It is vital that he or she must have
good promotion (album sales, singles, appearances, publicity, endorsements, guesting,
interviews, and more) that would aid the success of the artist. For good promotion to take place,
the label and the artist must believe in both of their capabilities in order to achieve proper
investment. The label must give full support and help the artist breakthrough.
Last but not the least is the general mass appeal of the artist, otherwise known as charisma and
star-quality to the public. In order for an artist to be successful, he or she must have a big range
of fan base. As season 10 finalist Paul Mcdonald says, “Artists are nothing without their fans.”
The fan base is important since they are the ones that uplift and support the career of the artist.
How can we truly say that an alumnus has been successful? There are several factors to
consider namely their album and single sales, success of tour, publicity and popularity, income
and awards. For album sales, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have the most number of
sales. Kelly Clarkson has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide, while Carrie Underwood
has sold over 12 million albums worldwide which proves that American Idol is capable of
producing multi-platinum recording artists. However, there are some artists whose albums have
not achieved a gold status but their singles have managed to become a success. One example is
Kris Allen, winner of season 8. His album only sold 327,000 copies yet his single “Live like
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We’re Dying” has sold over a million units. This can be concluded that despite winning, there is
also such a thing as a “one-hit –wonder” in American Idol alumni history. In general, the top ten
album selling American Idol alumni artists have at least sold more than one million copies of
albums worldwide. As for publicity and popularity, this depends on how many guestings at
events and TV appearances the artists have gone to. Also their online fan base matters since this
is what keeps their music and public figure visible around the world. Out of all the American
Idol alumni, Adam Lambert, season 8 runner up, has benefitted the most in terms of publicity
and popularity. In 2009, Lambert came out in the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and admitted
to the entire nation that he was gay. This became the hot topic worldwide in the entertainment
scene back in 2009. “I don’t think it should be a surprise to anyone that I am gay.” Lambert
quoted in the Rolling Stones magazine. Adam Lambert, aside from his over-the-top vocal range,
performances, and charisma, has been seen as a gay icon in society. In November 2009, Lambert
performed at the American Music Awards and but shocked the audience after he suddenly kissed
his male bassist live on national TV. This caused stir in the media, earning Lambert more
publicity and controversy. Yet in the end, it all worked out as Adam Lambert is one of the most
promising phenomenal music icons in the next five years (Kearns, 2011). Another basis of
success of American Idol alumni artists is the income they have earned throughout their post-
American Idol career. According to this source, which has based their entry from Forbes
magazine, season 5 winner Carrie Underwood tops the number one spot with $20 million, while
Adam Lambert and Daughtry tie with $6 million. The top profit of the artist in his or her income
comes from the number of tour places and dates the artist performs. The reason why Kelly
Clarkson, the most successful alumna in terms of sales, did not make it to the top 3 is because
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her tour was inconsistent which resulted in a fewer income on her part. This explains the
importance of a tour in the artist’s career.
Despite success on the American Idol show, post-Idol success is not guaranteed, take
example Fantasia Barrino. Though she won the 2nd season and her rendition of “Summertime”
was probably the one of the best performances on Idol so far, she failed to make it in the music
business. Although she has a respectable number of album sales, it still wasn’t enough for
Fantasia to make it big in the context of the music industry. According to producers, it is because
she failed to come up with a breakout song, which becomes a massive chart topping hit that will
make the listeners recognize you as an artist. In order to achieve success, artists must first have
breakout song in order to emerge into the music scene successfully. Other non-winners who have
failed to make a name for themselves are Taylor Hicks (season 5) and Lee Dewyze (season 9)
who all have never achieved a gold status in album sales nor have made it into the mainstream
scene of music.
In conclusion, the American Idol talent show is not only an entertainment show that
televises a singing contest worldwide, but it has an aim to find an undiscovered talent and turn
this talent into the next global singing. The show is a platform to develop an aspiring singer and
transform them into legitimate, star-powered artist. In the past decade, American Idol has
produced several award winning and multi-platinum selling artists worldwide. According to an
author on Billboard charts Fred Bronson, American Idol has produced the most number of hit-
making artists, and album/single best sellers. Not only in the Hollywood music industry have
alumni artists succeeded, but several alumni have gone into Broadway such as Fantasia, Taylor
Hicks and many more.
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The real competition doesn’t end during the show’s finale. It starts after the finale, when
each alumnus would launch his/her music careers. The real success depends on their post-
American Idol careers. Mostly, it is either the winner or the runner up that attains the success of
being a superstar yet even several American Idol finalists have managed to make a name for
themselves because of the American Idol platform. Season 2 finalist Kimberly Caldwell became
a television host, Jared Cotter of season 6 co-writes songs with Jay Sean, Luke Edgemon is
currently a member of the Warblers of the Emmy award winning show Glee. These are just some
of the jobs achieved by alumni artists who didn’t make it to the top 2 but all made a name for
themselves. In short, being a finalist on American Idol could open doors and opportunities
despite not winning the competition. It takes perseverance from the artist, if he or she really
wants to make a name for his or himself.
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