Phillip Phillips’ ‘Home’ debuts at No. 2 on digital sales chart
AMERICAN IDOL: Phillip Phillips is the Season 11 winner of AMERICAN IDOL at the Nokia Theatre on Weds. May 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. CR: Michael Becker/FOX
“Idol” winner Phillip Phillips‘ coronation song ‘Home” debuted last week at No. 2 on the Billboard digital songs list with 278,000 in sales.
That’s the best opening week for a winners’ song since Soundscan began tracking downloads in 2003.
But even counting singles sales in CD form, Phillips’ opening week was the third best ever, only behind Ruben Studdard’s “Flying Without Wings” and Clay Aiken’s “This is the Night” from that magical season two.
“Idol Chatter” in USA Today tallied the top 11:
- Clay Aiken, This Is the Night (393,000 first-week sales)
- Ruben Studdard, Flying Without Wings (286,000)
- Phillip Phillips, Home (278,000)
- David Cook, Time of My Life (236,000)
- Kelly Clarkson, A Moment Like This (236,000)
- Taylor Hicks, Do I Make You Proud (228,000)
- Scotty McCreery, I Love You This Big (171,000)
- Carrie Underwood, Inside Your Heaven (171,000)
- Fantasia, I Believe (142,000)
- Kris Allen, No Boundaries (134,000)
- Lauren Alaina, Like My Mother Does (122,000)
Phillips had nine songs on the digital top 200 compared to 11 for Kris Allen season eight and 17 for David Cook season seven.
- Nigel Lythgoe is my idol. He is honest and logical in his assessment of “Idol,” its competition and how things went this past year, courtesy of Michael Slezak of TV Line.
A sampling:
TVLINE | Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly recently told reporters that Idol‘s Season 11 ratings dipped “more than anticipated” and that in retrospect the show should’ve made more creative tweaks to stay competitive in the crowded reality singing competition space. How did you feel about those remarks, especially considering that in many ways, Season 11 felt like a genuine creative success?
Lythgoe: I’m shocked that he would say we didn’t anticipate that. We always stayed away from [airing] two seasons of American Idol [per calendar year], knowing that ratings would dip, and the public would get tired. It’s just the very nature of offering the audience too much [of a particular thing]. Now, if you’re going to do The X Factor on the same [network] as American Idol, that’s like two American Idols back-to-back. So, yes, I’m shocked that they thought that the ratings wouldn’t dip. Plus, The Voice is in the mix now, too. There’s just a lot more on offer today, and kids don’t always watch the television anymore. The world has changed in the 11 years that we’ve been doing this.
He said this was a rare year where he couldn’t tell who would be the winner. He said the vote leaders would change each week. He is open to looking at voting changes given that a somewhat similar type singer has won the past five years (the white guy with guitar factor). He even jokes about the Filipinos supposedly voting for Jessica.
He felt Ruben Studdard, post “Idol,” was pigeon holed into R&B and not given a chance to cross over. (I agree.) He noted the big production values on “X Factor” and wanted to jazz up “Idol” a bit but not at the expense of the contestants. (I think he more or less succeeded on that front.)
And the killer quote of the interview: “The television producers, of which I include myself, don’t give a damn who wins this show. The only thing we’re interested in is turning out a fabulous show for people to watch. We get no money from the record companies or anything else.”
- There was a point when I thought “Good Girl” by Carrie Underwood was stalling but alas, country radio is pushing her into the top two again. She’s now battling “No Hurry” by Georgia’s Zac Brown Band (another act that has never had a song below the top two) for the top spot, as Georgia Kip Moore’s first no. 1 “Somethin’ About a Truck” is starting to lose steam. This would be Underwood’s 14th consecutive top 2 single on the country chart.
- The final ratings for “Idol’ was 21.5 million viewers, the lowest ever. Honestly, given “Duets” and “AGT” now, “The Voice” and “X Factor” in the fall and then “The Voice” again in the spring, music show burnout is inevitable. “Idol” can only see things going down, I fathom. It’s sad, but true.
- Here’s Adam Lambert’s video “Never Close Your Eyes”
- Want to hear Britney Spears insult a contestant during the “X Factor” Austin auditions? Here’s audio, courtesy of some Britney fan site:
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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172 comments Add your comment
JTesla
June 1st, 2012
7:48 pm
Might as well turn the page…
Mercedes S.
June 2nd, 2012
3:05 pm
Lonely, JT?
Seth T
June 2nd, 2012
8:56 pm
Dough no if any of u kids seen “The Glee Project” tonight — from the auditions they have 14 young talents that are starting into the competition for parts on the regular show. They are all pretty good and some would raise some serious hell on shows such as “The Voice” or Idol.
If you go back to just what they let us see from Hollywood and Vegas into the top 24 – (and there’s a lot we didn’t see) – there were some better choices to bring-along into the top 13.
But, the show is “cast” by the boy/girl/variety/ format. There were some like Aaron Marcellus, that would have been a much better vocal choice than Jermaine, who was a one baritone pony, and set-to-fail. Lauren Gray should have been in, but the put Shannon in because of her unusual stand-out height and a famous baseball father to spin-off extra stories, but was set-to-fail. etc.
Hey, what about the new show coming-up called “And The Winner Is”??? Where contestants can “buy-out” and take a pay-off, if they think they may not make it through another week???
Duets — another mess where the Judges have too much power — let the audience vote. We did it here on a local level, and the audience decided who placed 1, 2. 3 etc. We split-off groups ages 15 and under for their own contest.
The year before I became involved with the production, it was a problem because kids were getting votes because they were “so cute, sweet and innocent”,
often bumping-out older contestants that were much better rounded vocalists. So they had the csk (cute sweet kid) syndrome, that was beating-up any guitar player
JTesla
June 2nd, 2012
10:03 pm
Huh?
Seth T
June 2nd, 2012
11:06 pm
Yes, another Reality TV show —
Based mostly on Battlerounds, singing performances — $1 million in prizes, but contestants can negotiate to exit and take a little, rather than find-out they lost and get dumped.
From NBC as well, with some Voice producer involved. “The Winner Is” might include soloists and groups, all ages — and not limited to amatuers. Sounds like a cross between X-Factor, The Voice and Let’s Make a Deal.
Don’t know when it’s supposed to hit TV, but seen a blip of an advertisement for it.
Also heard “The Sing-Off” has been cancelled.
.
G
June 3rd, 2012
10:39 am
Very sad about the Sing Off being cancelled. It was the only true singing competition on tv. Much like radio today, people aren’t interested in real singing.
G
June 3rd, 2012
2:18 pm
On major award shows such as the Grammys, AMA, Billboards etc. they award artists according to genre and gender. Why wouldn’t this format work for AI, Voice, etc?
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
7:46 am
Morning!
I hope the weekend was good for everyone.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
8:15 am
Has anyone heard anything about Phil’s surgery? I find things to be oddly quiet on that front. I know his surgery was postponed because of a fever due to a sinus infection but that was a week ago.
Sam-A
June 4th, 2012
8:51 am
I’m thinking if Px2 doesn’t have surgery very soon, he’ll miss a significant portion of the tour – which is a real bummer if you pay all that money and don’t get to see the winner. However, though the Dr’s have been reported as saying it’s a 6-week recovery, Px2 has said he’d be ready to go at the start.
Saturday was the loveliest, most perfect day ever in June, at least that I can remember. Wish we’d have 9 mos of that lovely stuff!
Mercedes: Last week, I saw “….Marigold Hotel” – even with a group of some of the best actors in the world, it was painfully slow for me. And much as I loved Dev Patel in “SlumDog..”, he was way over the top in this. Yesterday, saw “Snow White…….” – I was disappointed. The critics were so correct about “the mirror needs glasses if they think Kristin Stewart is fairer than Charlize Theron”! I expected gorgeous costumes, but there were only a few of them. Underwhelmed.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
9:22 am
I haven’t seen any of the so-called “summer movies” yet. My husband’s job is keeping him extremely busy.
Mercedes S.
June 4th, 2012
10:15 am
Sam-A, I dare you to be disappointed by “Prometheus”! Sorry you didn’t care for “Snow White” – I liked very much the fight between inner and outer beauty; don’t think the point of the film was to compare the two women’s looks!
Bad weather threatening – rain, hail, storms -our fair city today. And yes, Saturday was the perfect day,
Sam-A
June 4th, 2012
10:22 am
I think it was a combo of inner/outer, especially since the “mirror” didn’t start comparing others to her until she was aged a bit, because she was always evil and “ugly inside”. Along the lines of Deirdre’s post last week, I don’t find Kristin S to be a very compelling/competent actress. And she’s horrible inept at interviews and on live stage. Like a little rabbit you stumble upon, who freezes thinking you won’t notice it.
I hope “Prometheus” is good – loved the first “Alien” (not so much the others). It looks promising.g
Woodpappy
June 4th, 2012
10:39 am
Saturday was like a real “breath of fresh air” indeed.
Mercedes S.
June 4th, 2012
11:03 am
I hope Rodney can bring us a new thread today… or we might just go book club again. I’m in the middle of Hilary Mantel’s “Bring up the Bodies” and reading it slowly, slowly because I don’t want it to end… it’s that good.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
11:42 am
I recently bought my d-i-l’s used ipad2 and have discovered the joy of downloading books. I can now read a novella that S. King wrote only for ebooks and something that Dean Koontz wrote for ebooks as well.
Rodney Ho
June 4th, 2012
11:44 am
Kind of busy this morning with the Boortz retirement announcement. Will get you Idol buddies a new home soon enough.
JTesla
June 4th, 2012
11:59 am
No worries Rodney, I can’t imagine that a lot is happening on the Idol front.
As for books, I started “The Lord of the Rings” again. Why read new books when I can just keep reading the same ones over and over again?
Rodney Ho
June 4th, 2012
12:01 pm
It’s pretty dead on the “Idol” front for sure. Just fished around. Nada!
Astrid G.
June 4th, 2012
12:39 pm
JT, in her old age (she lived to be 94) my m-i-l loved to watch “GWTW”, over and over again. When you put the second casette in (yes, it was that long ago), she’d already forgotten the first one.
Sam-A
June 4th, 2012
12:39 pm
K&CF: If you’re lurking around today, I’m surprised you’ve not asked for donations, with Kellly coming back for a second concert and Carrie coming as well. Imagine your wallet is looking a bit thin right now!
A bit dreary around Kennesaw at lunch time, but not raining steadily like it was earlier.Missed my mid-morning exercise walk around the office parks!
Mercedes S.
June 4th, 2012
12:43 pm
Or we could “talk” about the Thames armada yesterday, if anybody was watching. I was quite impressed with the little Queen, going on 90, standing up for four hours, much of it in downpour, watching a thousand boats sail/row/sputter by and saluting her for her 60 yrs on the throne.
Jubie
June 4th, 2012
12:45 pm
Looking for a Px2 update.
G
June 4th, 2012
12:53 pm
Of course it’s going to be slow on the Idol front. Look at who just won. There’s more buzz about his “ailment” that his upcoming release. PP is really going to be bad for business in the long run.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
12:59 pm
Seriously G…..it’s like this when Idol is over every year. Until the tour starts, there’s not much to report…..except how many people show up for the first auditions.
Watched a little of the Jubilee yesterday. My mom feels an affinity toward the Queen since they were both teens in the UK around the same time.
Not to worry, Rodney. We know there’s not much going on in Idol-land right now. Prep for the tour and auditions starting are about it for now. Next month will be tour reports and with a little luck, some leaks about changes to the judges’ panel plus the “tweaks” the show will receive.
G
June 4th, 2012
2:20 pm
Yeah D, I know. I miss picking on pp every week. It was such an easy thing to do. Well, guess I have to get my AGT on.
Does anyone watch Breaking Bad on AMC? I’ve been catching up and I’m on season 4 this week.
Sam-A
June 4th, 2012
2:28 pm
D: How’s your Mom doing these days. I would assume she has good, clear times, then kind of cloudy, murky times. Sometimes I feel like that myself! Short-term memory is often a fleeting thing after 50!
I watched a bit of the armada, but by the time I saw it on the menu for BBC, it was pouring so badly you could barely see the boats/ships. Saw film of earlier – Kate looked lovely in her red attire. The Queen is amazingly spry for her age, of course she’s got all the money and help in the world to keep her at the top of her game, And she had a Mum who seemed to keep her mind pretty intact well into her 90’s – I’m sure that helps as well.
Nana: I went to the Marietta Farmer’s Mkt Sat morning, and was talking with a woman at one of the veggie booths. We were both buying beautiful okra. I told her about your “3-way” -fried okra, green tomatoes and potatoes all in the same pan – after we both drooled, she said she was going to try it out – sounded too good to pass up.
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 4th, 2012
2:55 pm
Hi y’all,
Sam-A, yeah, my wallet’s taking a bit of a hit there, but I’m not going to complain. This is the first time I can recall where both are touring at the same time.
I did like Snow White. I just think it’s one of those where the hoopla gets to be too much and it’s hard for a film to live up to the expectations. CT did a great job as the Evil Queen, and KS wasn’t terrible as Snow White. I just found her to be “channeling” Bella in a few parts.
BTW, can we let go of the whole WGWG thing? I mean, sheesh. It’s been 12 whole days since P2 won! Idol is no longer about the destination, if it ever was, it’s all about the journey!
JTesla
June 4th, 2012
3:07 pm
K&Cfan: sorry, but I’ve decided to no longer use names for the last 5 winners, instead I will reference them by WGWG number. Didn’t WGWG#2 release some new music recently?
As for movies, I finally went and saw The Avengers. Awesome movie, but then I’m the target demographic or at least I have the mentality of the target demographic.
G
June 4th, 2012
3:20 pm
@K&C. You’re right, it’s about the journey and I feel as though I’ve been taken for a ride……..and dumped off in a roadside ditch.
@JT. Okay, I can get with that. PP just seemed to fit, because that name is what I thought of him. But to be fair to the politics that is now known as WGWG………PP shall be known as WGWG#5 (or #5).
Sam-A
June 4th, 2012
3:30 pm
K&CF: I’ve asked the same thing several times. It’s actually become quite “racist” sounding in it’s own right!
Glad you’re getting to see both ladies,a nd the added bonus of Kelly twice in a very short time! Cool.
Deirdre: The Queen’s concert, with our Sir Paul, is on ABC tomorrow night 9-11:00. Yeah!
Jenny
June 4th, 2012
3:36 pm
Hi y’all! Back from a much needed short vacation. Apparently I missed some nice fall-like June weather here! And apparently I also missed all the voting change discussion. Probably OK, as I’m still pretty sore over this season’s result. However, it made for interesting reading with my coffee earlier!
(sorry KCF, just these last few thoughts, since I wasn’t here for the live discussion… then I’m closing the book and hoping for change.
But I have to get these out, because the journey isn’t fun for me any more….)
Deirdre put it very well: “…There’s absolutely no proof that limiting the votes would change the outcome. There is, however, a growing belief that it would make a difference and belief, in this case, becomes reality when the viewers get discouraged and leave.”
Well, color me discouraged. Very discouraged. All that diverse, GREAT talent this year, and WGWG#6 wins. As D put it, I’ve hit the wall. Color me one of those thinking about leaving. (Though I’ll still chat with you guys anyway! You’re too much fun to leave.
)
I’m an adult with a good career, who spends a lot of money on iTunes and has bought much Idol music in the past. And I’m no longer looking forward to future seasons of this show. Does Idol *really* want to lose me and all the others like me?
D, glad to hear Fox is putting the pressure on. Idol NEEDS a major retooling. And if it retools and a WGWG *still* wins? Then I guess America’s taste just runs to bland boring vanilla comfort food instead of sharp and interesting. I find that a little sad.
Oh, and no…. neither Carrie nor Kelly would be able to win AI now. They’d both have lost to PP, Scotty, Kris, probably even Lee. America doesn’t reward talented female singers any more.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
3:39 pm
I’m very happy with this year’s winner, despite the slightly racist monogram.
Will be watching the concert, Sam! And yes, mom is having “episodes”. She starts vitamin b12 shots tomorrow and, since she is deficient, we’re hoping that they help stem the tide of irrationality.
Where’d Jenny go?
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
3:39 pm
LOL!!! The queen speaks and Jenny appears! LOL
Jenny
June 4th, 2012
3:42 pm
Oops… I count PP as WGWG#6 because Taylor, even though he was only a WG, was the one who started this whole popularity-contest problem. So he counts. Next year’s shoo-in (and without change, he WILL come and WILL win) will be #7.
D – as far as second place being the place to be… you’re right, as far as making it anyway, it doesn’t matter who wins.
BUT. It does matter as far as the show keeping its viewers. There’s a huge intangible.. the happiness you get from hearing YOUR favorite announced as the winner.
It’s only human, when we watch competitions we root for someone, and we want that person or team to WIN. We don’t want them to come in second and do just fine.
And I completely agree with you that one vote per person isn’t the right answer. But Dancing With The Stars has limited voting and it works great. In the week there are 11 contestants, you get 11 votes per device. The week of 10, 10 votes, and so on. That way you can vote for more than 1 person you like, or throw all your support behind your fave. Also, the voting period is only 30 minutes, so even if the herds could get there hands on 100 cellphones, they wouldn’t have time to use them all. So it effectively stops power voting.
G – I agree with much of what you said (and there are a lot of us, too.
) Your posts pretty much took all the words right out of my mouth, from blandness, to lack of melody and range, to predetermined outcomes. “You mean to tell me the WGWG#5 is actually helping the ratings? The WGWG#5 (and shoe-in #6) is playing a major role in the decline of [diverse] viewers.” Spot on, my friend. 
Phew. I think I’m done. On to SUMMER!
Jenny
June 4th, 2012
3:46 pm
D, haha! That’s too funny! And a little spooky….
Plus, y’all are wanting a new thread, and every time I put a nice long post on an older thread, Rodney posts something new. I figured I would work my magic.
Sam-A
June 4th, 2012
3:47 pm
Deirdre: Turns out I’m pretty happy with the winner as well. Wouldn’t have ever thought that the first few weeks, but now quite ok with him.
Jenny
June 4th, 2012
3:52 pm
I am good with book club today! D – what is the Stephen King e-book only novella? I haven’t seen it, but want to!
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
3:52 pm
Jenny: BUT. It does matter as far as the show keeping its viewers. There’s a huge intangible.. the happiness you get from hearing YOUR favorite announced as the winner.
Not sure I agree with you on that one. In 11 seasons, the only winners I have voted for are Kelly, Carrie, & David Cook. And I come back for more every time!
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
3:58 pm
And Rickster wasn’t feeling well on Thursday. Hope he’s better.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
3:59 pm
Jenny, King has a couple of ebooks(short stories or novellas) out. One is called UR and another is Mile 81
Jenny
June 4th, 2012
4:00 pm
I know D. You are so good about enjoying the journey regardless of who wins! You seem like you really do enjoy it no matter what. I wish I was more that way… but I get nervous, I get competitive, I hate results night. I don’t know exactly *why* it matters so much to see my fave stay in it and eventually win… but it just does. And every year since Carrie, I have felt such a letdown at the winner’s announcement.
Guess I am a competitive little brat at heart, huh? But I just want to see my favorite win. Just once!
Jenny
June 4th, 2012
4:01 pm
And thanks for the S. King info! Didn’t know about either of those!
G
June 4th, 2012
4:10 pm
Bottom line Idol is a competition. No one is satisfied with just making it to the championship game. Its about winning.
I’m not so sure the blog would be this calm if Elise, Joshua or Jessica had won. If Joshua had won, Roho would have to shut this thing down for about a week.
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
4:12 pm
Gotta say I would have been just fine with Joshua winning as well. I liked most of the singers this season but thought that Joshua, Elise, Phil and Jessica were top-notch.
G
June 4th, 2012
4:16 pm
D, I know. I remember your favs throughout the season. That rock wasn’t aimed at you. LOL!!!
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 4th, 2012
4:17 pm
I can relate to some of your frustrations. There was a point in time where I cared a lot more about the outcome and who won. But along the way, I’ve realized that it really doesn’t matter. If someone’s talented and takes advantage of the exposure they get from the show, they’ll do okay. If I like them enough, I’ll buy their music. If not, I’ll be ready for next season’s cast and enjoy the new journey.
OMG, I don’t even know who I am anymore!
But really, Idol is not going to give us another Kelly or Carrie. I’m way past accepting that. Once I did and lowered my expectations, it’s made the show a lot more enjoyable. And complain as some might about this season, 10 and 11 were far more entertaining than 9!
Deirdre
June 4th, 2012
4:27 pm
I think one of the things that Idol does well is find people who can embrace different genres. They may object o singing something out of their perceived “style” but often the winners are good at interpreting any kind of material. I think Lee and Scotty are the only exceptions.
Seth T
June 4th, 2012
4:28 pm
I believe that the WGWG is simply an outcome of a format/plan/tradition of selecting contestants that has caused Idol to become a launching pad for a paticular type of talent.
PP2 provided the most original style music, was not “under the thumb” of the producers or Judges whims, was attractive to a good number of the female voting base, and provided the only alternative to the “pressed into the Idol mold” style of artist this season.
He didn’t try to please Randy and the Judges with how well he could resurrect the faded glory of the 70’s and 80’s by doing copycat style in his music. So, he stood-out as an individual, rather than someone to be compared to the aged artists of the past, to see if he was any good or not.
The selection process is geared to put as many in the “cast’ as they can, to promote the songbooks and aging format they use. Later in this season, even Nigel got so much flack that he had to loosen-up a little on song choices.
The only way there will be any significant change to how Idol is presented, is to cut the head off the snake and get rid of the decision-makers, or lessen their authority and spread decisions toward other people who are not stuck in the old patterns.
Just as Simon said after the first X-Factor season, there needs to be a “bloodbath” of changes to prevent an even more dramatic slide in ratings next year. Another season of Nigel, Randy, Steven, J. Lo, etc. – could drop the ad prices so low that we would get 5 minutes of show and 55 minutes of commercials per hour.
G
June 4th, 2012
4:33 pm
K&C, you make a whole lot of sense. However, I still feel cheated about the outcome. All these years I spent voting, I feel as though I’ve simply wasted my time. The outcome on Idol is basically pre-determined based on the majority mainstream voters. I’m no longer going to waste my time voting. I’ll probably reduce my role to just watching. At this point, it makes sense to lower my expectations and take it for what it is.