As a follower of pop culture, mainstream entertainment, AND reality television, American Idol simply can't not be on my radar! The program has become a staple of today's pop culture and has proven it can turn out some superstars. As the annual Idol summer tour begins winding down, eyes begin looking to the November releases of Idol winner Kris Allen, runner-up Adam Lambert, and also 4th place finisher Allison Iraheta. Rumor has it that Allen and Lambert will release on the same day, lining things up for yet another Idol showdown between the two! I know I'm on the edge of my seat! My take on these contenders shortly following the results of last season were this: Allen would sell records, Lambert would sell out arenas, and the Iraheta would be the most successful of them all. We'll see how that pans out, but for now here's some more indepth words on these upcoming Idol releases.
My opinion: Allen will make a great pop singer-songwriter record. He's been working with the likes of the Fray and Matt Kearney, which makes me feel pretty confident that his upcoming release will suit my tastes. Lambert is an outside-the-box performer who will take some risks and give us something new and fresh. Working with Linda Perry and RedOne among others, it should be a very high energy, high personality, and highly anticipated release! Iraheta is going more melodic rock, which suits her. Working with David Hodges and Kevin Rudolf - her release should also fit well in today's mainstream market.
Timing is everything for these Idols - with their 15 minutes over, now is the time for them to prove themselves as mainstream artists, not just reality TV has-beens. We'll see what happens this fall with their album releases and likely returns to perform on the Idol stage once again. With Paula Abdul removed from the judges panel, it surely won't be the same as they remember. Also, having auditioned for the show myself this past summer in Chicago, I took note of some possible Hollywood contenders that I hope to see on the show! We're in for another great season, folks. Get ready!
P.S. I heard on the radio yesterday that Danny Gokey (3rd place finisher this past season of Idol) is going country?! Not sure how I feel about this...
I concur Bogie. I'm very much looking forward to Kris's album. It will be radio-friendly for sure and it sounds like he's taking a lot of control over the sound, which gives me much hope.
ReplyDeleteI think Adam will have a HUGE challenge as far as being radio-friendly for top 40. He'll have to have the PERFECT first single.
I can see Danny doing country. He has the sort of country "values" and the sound for it, I think.