While "American Idol" winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have become two of music's A-list stars, this week's exit of Taylor Hicks from J Records means no male "American Idol" winner has a major-label deal now. (Ruben Studdard left J Records in December.)
Neither one of them, despite their wild popularity on the TV show, ever really connected with the mainstream pop audience with their albums. It's the difference between likable personalities who make for good TV and singers who make music that lots of people want to hear all the time. They're generally not the same thing.
The success of Chris Daughtry -- who, let's face it, was kind of a pain on the show -- is a good example and he's kind of become the example for the new breed of "Idol" contestant who perform to get more attention for their careers, believing that winning doesn't really matter. It's something last season's runner-up Blake Lewis said over and over again. And look for this season's contestants to use that as their mantra.
The plight of Hicks -- and Studdard to a lesser extent -- also shows how hard it is for male pop singers who don't fit into a rock or R&B mold to establish careers.
"The important thing for all of you to remember is that I've been a working musician my whole life," Hicks said in a statement on his MySpace page. "This is turning the page on a new chapter of my career. Artistic freedom and control is an exciting prospect. The things that are most important to me is creating my art, performing it, and my fans.
UPDATE: "Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee is now off of RCA Records, according to Entertainment Weekly. That leaves Clay Aiken and Blake Lewis as the only runner-ups still signed to major-label deals.
PHOTO: Taylor Hicks by Jim Wright/Montage for J Records
Comments (1)
I guess Daughtry set up the path for Cook's victory