More on Larry Platt, top album sales for Idol alums 2009
There are dozens of remixes of the General’s “Pants on the Ground” song. Pop, hip-hop, autotuned and even country. I have a feeling by the time he gets around to recording a version to make money off of it, it will be too late. As the Los Angeles Times suggested, perhaps Kandi Burress over at “Real Housewives” can produce the song and create a radio hit. Heck, she did it with Kim Zolciak.
He will be on ABC’s “The View” Monday. I got calls and emails from folks trying to track him down. The manager for hip-hop star Mims wants to record the record wtih him. A Buffalo radio station (I’m not even sure which) had me on the phone talking about him.
Someone found a photo of Larry Platt, age 16, on the front page of the Civil Rights Veterans Movement Web site. I tried to get on but apparently, the site is now so popular it is having “capacity problems.”
Idol Chatter reviewed some of his 60s past via that site.
Platt worked with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Georgia, organizing sit-ins in the South.
He was beaten during the Bloody Sunday march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery.
The Georgia Assembly even proclaimed Sept. 4, 2001 “Larry Platt Day” “for his great energy and
commitment to equality and the protection of the innocent and for his outstanding service to the Atlanta community and the citizens of Georgia.”
Jimmy Fallon, as Neil Young, performed the song in classic Young style:
–Ratings for Wednesday’s Atlanta show was down 12 percent over the debut, to around 26.4 million viewers. The 18-49 numbers fell to about 10.1 from 11.8. Last year, oddly, the second episode ratings actually increased.
– Showing how far album sales have slipped in recent years, only one “Idol” alum even sold one million CDs/downloads last year: Carrie Underwood with “Play On” (1.183 million).
The other 10 who made the top 200, in order, courtesy of Idol Chatter in USA Today:
31. Daughtry – Leave this Town – 862K
33. Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted – 815K
73. David Cook – David Cook – 464K
74. Carrie Underwood – Carnival Ride – 461K
81. Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment – 434K
144. Daughtry – Daughtry – 267K
158. Carrie Underwood – Some Hearts – 251K
166. Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson -239K
183. Kris Allen – Kris Allen – 228K
191. Kellie Pickler – Kellie Pickler – 218K
As someone noted in MJ’s blog, Jordin Sparks sold only 155K. A blogger there noted how she has had huge success as a singles artist but hasn’t developed a particularly strong following as an artist. Thus, she gets very few hits online and sells relatveily few albums. She had her first singles flop “SOS” and her album died along with it. (I posted video of her on YouTube from the Star 94 concert and it got very few views compared to Justin Bieber or two others I had seen in the same period, David Cook and Kelly Clarkson.)
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55 comments Add your comment
JTesla
January 15th, 2010
9:28 am
Pants on the ground!
Interesting list, Adam Lambert is a bit higher than I thought he would be considering what appears to be a lack of a big hit.
Rodney Ho
January 15th, 2010
10:56 am
Okay. It’s back on line. No clue why the comments shut off!
Deirdre
January 15th, 2010
10:58 am
Thanks Rodney. I think it’s pretty clear that JT broke the comments and then tried to hide it by claiming super powers. Humph!
JTesla
January 15th, 2010
11:06 am
Fear the man who controls the comments!
Harriett
January 15th, 2010
11:09 am
We do, JT, we do!!
Harm
January 15th, 2010
11:12 am
Nana’s dad made it through the night and is comfortable and stable. She really appreciates every ones concern for her. It can go either way and he is having tests today to see how much damage was done yesterday.
Harriett, Nana told me to tell you that she got away from the swine flu at her work place, though not the way she wanted to. I will be out and about today but if Nana calls with news I will let you know as soon as possible.
Rickster
January 15th, 2010
11:21 am
Thanks for the updates, Harm. Please keep up posted.
wreckedpizza
January 15th, 2010
12:14 pm
Where is Archie on the list? Figured he would be in the Carrie/Kelly neighborhood…
Gigolo Giovanni
January 15th, 2010
12:15 pm
Hi boysssss….if you’re hanging out in here I have ssssomething you might like better.
JTesla
January 15th, 2010
12:35 pm
Wreckedpizza, Archie must be #1 on the list Rodney probably just missed it remember: Ho is a foe!
Hey when Rodney is away enjoying the real nice weather is that enough of an excuse for us to talk about him behind his back?
Negativo
January 15th, 2010
12:38 pm
Kris Allen:
Sales on the ground.
Sales on the ground.
Looking like a flop with your sales on the ground
Record not gold
Career movin’ sideways
Sales hit the ground
Call yourself the Idol champ
Walkin’ back to hick town
With your sales on the ground!
Harriett
January 15th, 2010
1:10 pm
Neg!! Poor Chris.
JTesla
January 15th, 2010
1:20 pm
LOL Negativo… that’s awesome.
Deirdre
January 15th, 2010
1:38 pm
LOL!!! Neg, may I have your permission to use that on a down day for the blog next week? I figure it will get things pretty active
Negativo
January 15th, 2010
1:45 pm
Absolutely, D.
Highlander
January 15th, 2010
3:22 pm
THAT’s why we missed Neg over the off-season!
Interesting though that I’ve heard Kris’ single “Live Like We’re Dying” numerous times on the radio, but Adam’s “Whataya Want From Me” only once or twice. With those album sales, you’d think he’d have more airplay.
So far, Adam seems to be the very first “no-hit wonder” in music history!
Rickster
January 15th, 2010
3:22 pm
Or ‘Kris’ even, Harriett.
Harriett
January 15th, 2010
3:24 pm
Rick, I realized it as soon as I typed it, but it just didn’t seem worth it to correct myself!! Thanks for doing it for me!!
Rickster
January 15th, 2010
3:43 pm
I totally agree with Highlander.
For all the hype “He whose name I will never type again” generated… compared to the lack of any real buss generated about Kris, I think “He whose name I will never type again” has definitely been the bigger flop.
JTesla
January 15th, 2010
4:04 pm
A bigger flop by 206K?
We knew at the end of the season that Adam would sell more. The true test we won’t know for another 5 years. Who would have thought that Jordin, who doesn’t seem to get a lot of Idol or Idol fanatic love, would actually have some big hits.
Or, something I have been thinking about lately, who would have predicted that Taylor Hicks, who the country seemed to love at the time, would be virtually erased from Idol. Last year I played a game during the show of “Let’s spot Taylor in the Idol promotional stuff” with another winner he has gotten bumped even further off the Idol radar.
Deirdre
January 15th, 2010
4:40 pm
SPOILER ALERT
Rumors are flying now that Hollywood Week is coming to an end. On the list of those thought to be already cut is Maddy Curtis from the Boston auditions, Jason Castro’s bro, Michael, and(sorry JT)
Rose Flack.
There are also rumors that Skii Bo Ski has been disqualified. (big surprise, she said sarcastically)
Harriett
January 15th, 2010
4:52 pm
Wow, D! Spoilers!! How exciting! Now I know the Idol season is really here!
Rickster
January 15th, 2010
4:57 pm
Hope everyone has a good evening and a great (three-day) weekend.
Nana, hope things go well for your father & your family.
Linny, hope you get your computer fixed soon. We miss you around here!
Harriett
January 15th, 2010
5:01 pm
Bye everyone. I am gone, too. Nana, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. And, linny! Miss you, girl. Hope everyone has a great weekend.
JTesla
January 15th, 2010
5:02 pm
I’m Ok with Rose being cut, I don’t know if she can take it mentally… but that same thought is going through my head regarding my current fav Miss Air-O-plane. I want to see her succeed, but she might not have what it takes.
Skii Bo Ski not make it? He’s number one on the list of people I want to see crash and burn in Hollywood, please air that drama Idol!
Regency Barber & Salon
January 15th, 2010
5:14 pm
Don’t want to name drop, but the General and I go way back. The General, my son, Monte’, and I rode on the bus to the anniversary of the “Million Man March in DC. I have the original version of “Pants On the Ground”. I’m so happy for the General, because he has been fighting the battle of Civil Rights for a very long time. His story hasn’t been told, so WORLD listen please.
http://www.facebook.com/RegencyBarberandSalon?ref=profile#/album.php?aid=2049633&id=1306757838&ref=nf
Mercedes S.
January 15th, 2010
5:19 pm
Another Friday, another post-apocalyptic drama opening at the multiplex. In “The Book of Eli”, Denzel Washington spends 30 years trudging through a parched America, carrying the only surviving copy of King James Bible to some holy place “out West”. He encounters the expected “Mad Max” mix of cannibals, mini-kings, and testosterone-crazed henchmen . Plus one Good Girl. Gary Oldman plays the only other person in America who can read, and he wants Eli’s book. Badly. Spectacular swordplay, shoot-outs and explosions ensue. Heavy on religious symbolism, and way boring for the most part .Last five minutes lead up to a wow-ending, but you may have given up on Eli before then.
“The Lovely Bones” was a creepily good book about a murdered girl who spends the afterlife watching over her family – and the man who raped and killed her. The film version has been sanitized by director Peter Jackson who offers pretty pictures of limbo and nasty ones of the child-molester next door. Missing from the movie is the girl’s heart-breaking sadness over a life not lived, and her family’s mechanical response to devastating loss. Good performances by young Saoirse Ronan, as the murder victim, and Stanley Tucci as her murderer.
“Crazy Heart” is the movie to see this week. Jeff Bridges is Bad Blake, a booze-hound and former country star in desperate need of the kind of redemption only a pretty young thing (here, Maggie Gyllenhaal) can supply. Bridges sure to be nominated for an Oscar, and may even win.
Deirdre
January 16th, 2010
7:50 am
SPOILER ALERT
“Guitar girl” is also on the list of cuts.
golx
January 16th, 2010
8:22 am
Could people refer others to spoiler site links instead of posting the info? Hard for the eye to miss the spoiler names even with warning.
Mercedes S.
January 16th, 2010
9:14 am
Hard-core posters/readers of this blog want to know the bad news right away. Sorry to read about Guitar Girl, but glad to be told now. Thanks, D.
Deirdre
January 16th, 2010
9:27 am
golx…I understand why you feel that way. This blog has never held back from rumors, spoilers or back alley info. However, at least while I’m writing this week, we’ll leave it up to majority vote. My first outing as blog writer won’t be until Monday but I will try to get my contact to post a poll.
Rodney Ho
January 16th, 2010
9:53 am
I’m at the airport now… 80 degree weather just a few hours away. I’m humming the Zac Brown song “Toes” right now!
Rodney Ho
January 16th, 2010
9:55 am
JTesla–feel free to talk behind my back! And welcome back folks who weren’t around off season. Where’s Mike S? Has he shown up?
JTesla
January 16th, 2010
11:27 am
Hey everyone now that he is gone… do you think Rodney will be sporting a Speedo at the beach?
I think Mike usually chimes in later in the season once the field has been narrowed down. I know for me too many of the early favorites get the ax, which makes me not want to watch, but luckily I like the train wrecks.
If spoilers aren’t posted here from a friendly source, they will still pop up. I’d rather see a controlled spoiler post (with warning) then to have someone come in here and try to spoil without warning. I know that it’s a delicate subject, but we are stuck with spoilers.
Mercedes S.
January 16th, 2010
11:53 am
Happy safe flying, Rodney…
JT. if RoHo wears hats, he’s a shorts guy on the beach.
Deirdre
January 16th, 2010
11:59 am
Gotta agree with Mercedes, JT. Although a Speedo might be right for the beaches in Mexico, Rodney strikes me as a shorts kinda guy. Could be wrong.
You can already tell that Rodney misses us…he’s talking to us from the airport!
We’ll be FINE, Rodney! Have fun!!!!!
Lar
January 16th, 2010
1:28 pm
I like reading the spoilers here. Just my two cents.
JTesla
January 16th, 2010
2:33 pm
I don’t know, I think Rodney might be the type to live on the wild side a bit. Maybe he is feeling a bit European.
wreckedpizza
January 16th, 2010
3:39 pm
At least no one has pictured Rodney Ho (the FOE) in a thong! Oh crap, I just did!!! Seriously though, hope he and the Mrs. have a great time although I am insanely jealous of him at the moment…
Re: spoilers- just don’t tell me if Mallory from South Dakota is axed. She is my early fave.
Mercedes S.
January 16th, 2010
4:09 pm
Our shame is now universal. Had e-mail from friend G. England, who caught 15 mins of “Hotlanta” auditions. His impressions: “Except for the dreadful, full-of-himself bloke,dressed in red, the sweet young nutter named Holly and the vaguely les-experimental “best friends”, they all looked imported from Hicksville, Tenn or Slope Forehead, Alabama, where they shared the same great-grandfather.”
wreckedpizza
January 16th, 2010
4:18 pm
G. England’s impressions are a bit harsh, wouldn’t one say???
Deirdre
January 16th, 2010
4:32 pm
Sorry Mercedes but your friend comes across as a little snobby. That sweet little gal from Tennessee, Vanessa, is part of the melting pot that makes up this country. “Hicksville, Tenn or Slope Forehead, Alabama” are as important to our culture as the sophisticates of NYC or the laid back Los Angelenos. One is hardly more important than the other, and while, little Vanessa may not be your friend’s style, she represents a large population of pure country lovers.
Mercedes S.
January 16th, 2010
4:40 pm
Unfortunately,my friend only saw part of the show. He didn’t get to see Vanessa (whom I will honor with her name, because she is my absolute favorite so far); the girl he referred to might have been Guitar Girl. Wasn’t her name Holly?
Mercedes S.
January 16th, 2010
4:43 pm
I’m not even sure G. caught “Pants On the Ground”, but I sent him Neg’s brilliant Kris Allen hommage anyway. The General even got a big write-up in USA today!
Deirdre
January 16th, 2010
4:44 pm
I think Guitar Girl was Holly.
Boy, you guys have given me lots of topics for Monday. Speedos, country singers, spoilers…not to mention a whole paragraph on how badly Archie is doing just to keep things lively!
flbravesgirl
January 16th, 2010
4:53 pm
Stirring things up already, D?
And as someone who lives close to the beach, I can assure y’all that the only American men who seem to wear speedos are the ones who really really shouldn’t. Eww.
JTesla
January 16th, 2010
7:16 pm
I didn’t get the impression that the people at the Atlanta tryouts were any more hick like than the people at the Boston tryouts. There were a lot of losers at both. Stereotypes are hard to overcome and when someone starts watching a show filmed in Atlanta, and you add in some producer inspired hick-poking (that montage about the guy who nearly died a few times) then POOF you get Hicksville, Tenn or Slope Forehead, Alabama.
I was going to say that there were a few Southern accents, but the Boston show had a lot more accents in it. Perhaps that is my bias, I like Southern Accents, the whole New England accent makes me wish someone would punch me in the ear.
JImmy G
January 16th, 2010
8:08 pm
Congrats to Mr Platt – he’ll be worth a ton of money in the next 6 months.
I just have one thing to ask: What if he were a 60 yr old white guy singing that song???
My guess is that Jesse Jackson would be holding news conferences saying American Idol are a bunch of racists !! It’s a typical Chris Rock example – a black guy can make fun of black kids, but if a white guy says the exact same thing, look out!
JTesla
January 16th, 2010
8:56 pm
Jimmy G, Mr. Platt is not a “white guy” we have no way of knowing if the reaction you created in your own mind would follow. And while I’m at it, why you think wearing pants around the knees is only a black thing is beyond me.
Truthpaste
January 17th, 2010
5:43 am
I’ll take “Pants” over “Tardy” anyday.
Highlander
January 17th, 2010
6:05 pm
JT, I’m sure if RH wears a Speedo, he makes sure it matches the color of his hat. Let’s just not mention thongs! The Speedo mental image is hard enough to delete!!
Mercedes, for your friend G. England, let’s not forget that one of the greatest acts in music history came from Liverpool, England (Not exactly “upper-crust” society!!), with their very own “hick” accent.
Eyes Open
January 17th, 2010
7:37 pm
It’s not JUST a black thing, but let’s be honest, it is done more often by blacks than whites.
Grad student
January 17th, 2010
7:46 pm
@ JTesla – That is the exact point I make to these people making up these hypothetical situations! How you explaned that showed JimmyG’s mentality.
This is the same FOX news mentality. I am going to even stop watching channel five (sorry Mark and Sativa) Fox Palin news (pales in) comparison to sensable people.
Harm
January 17th, 2010
8:48 pm
Nana plans to be back on the blog tomorrow if she catches up on all the sleep she missed since Friday!
eliza dare
January 18th, 2010
6:47 am
I think that Desmond Child should replace Simon Cowell – He is legendary producer and songwriter, an awesome character –
American Idol should go back to picking brilliant songs for the winners! it seems that over the past couple of years the final song is always a bit lame. Statistically the biggest selling song ever out of American Idol was Clay’s “this is the Night” by Chris Braide.
It was written at Desmond Child’s writing camp in Miami. Sales statistics prove that these guys know what they are doing when they write a smash. Bring back the hit song – something with originality, emotion and heart.