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suckshardcore wrote:

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Thats exactly it though, they've built up this huge prime time broadcast that people watch for months for entertainment purposes and then leave the expectation on the winners to sell a bazillion records and become a superstar. TV watchers and music buyers are not necessarily the same people. Just because someone enjoyed Kris on AI doesn't mean they ever had any intention of purchasing his music but that's what the show would have people believe. Because of the expectations we believe Kris is suppose to sell hundreds of thousands of copies of his CD in the first week just because he was on AI. Sure AI is a great launching pad but when it comes down to it its slightly retarded to expect that just because a show got 30 million viewers a week or millions of votes per week that a high percentage of this people will be buying the music. Idol is just the beginning for these artists and the path they take after Idol isn't going to be the same one every time. Not every winner should be expected to become a superstar its just not going to happen despite what Simon would have you believe. To treat someone like a failure b/c they didn't live up to the hype that surrounded them on a television show, manufactured hype for ratings is unfair imo.

ITA. Also, AI does not really gauge the skills you actually need to do well in the music business. They do a nice job of showcasing your charisma and your ability to hold a glory note, but a successful artist has to have good original material. AI is all about doing effective covers. Now, if AI had a segment where you had to perform a song you wrote yourself, we might see a situation where they could figure out if these folks are really able to be pop stars.

Also - the very nature of AI means that these folks are replaceable. They may get tons of exposure, but there's also a new crop each year, because most people like the SHOW more than they like the individual contestants. The hype is for the show, not for Kris Allen, who happened to win it because he was less weird than his extremely polarizing opponent. So how can he live up to that? More and more often, the winners really can't. Consider this: since wildly successful winner Carrie Underwood back four seasons ago, THREE of the winners have been disappointments: Taylor, Jordin, and Kris. (Maybe Cook's doing a little better, I'm not sure.)

Possibly the expectations are unreasonable.