Chart Watch: Whataya Want From Me? Adam Lambert Tries Once More To Get A Hit

     Last November, 17 Tracks sarcastically wondered in sales of the debut album by American Idol's winner and runner-up marked a sort of cultural referendum on Obama.  Foreshadowing the success that the president would have passing one of his highest priority legislative items, the gay Californian Adam Lambert representing the "blue states" schooled the aww shucks Arkansas bred Kris Allen representing the "red states".  Lambert's For Your Entertainment sold 198,000 copies its first week compared to the 80,000 copies Allen sold of his self titled debut.

     Lambert seemed like the Clay Aiken to Allen's Ruben Studdard, a second place finisher who was destined to overshadow the winner.  It's no surprise that Lambert will be Idol's mentor next week, coaching contestants on their performance.  Sure, Allen got to come on and sing "Let It Be" earlier in the season, but he's not going to be asked to mentor anytime soon.

     Even though Lambert is outshining Allen in every possible area, the Hot 100 is not a place where he has done too well.  Allen's perfectly fine but completely inoffensive "Live Like We're Dying" reached the dizzy heights of No. 18 on the Hot 100 while his coronation single, "No Boundaries", peaked at No. 11.  For an Idol winner, those are some dismal numbers.  Although Lambert hasn't done any better, it looks like he might have an actual hit on his hands in the coming weeks.

     "Whataya Want From Me", penned by the heralded (and criminally over-appreciated) Max Martin and Pink, currently sits at No. 20.  That's one spot up from where it was last week.  Slowly but surely, Lambert is moving up. If he can jump three or more spots, he bests the peak Allen got with "Dying".

American Idol: Season 9 Kicks Off

As American Idol gears up to launch its ninth season, it begs the question: will it live up to past seasons? Sure, the glory days of Idol have long since passed-- days when its ratings rivaled that of the Oscars and the World Series...on a weekly basis-- but to say it has lost its mojo is debatable. Last season introduced a new judge, showcased the most talented top five since season 4, gave us the most polarizing contestant in its eight season history (sorry, Sanjaya) aptly nicknamed 'Glambert,' and concluded with arguably the biggest upset in Idol history, making for some great television.

With that said, the show has also recieved an onset of backlash over the past few seasons, and although the votes are still churning in by the billions and trillions, record sales for Idol alum aren't reaching the platinum statuses they used to. Reigning champ, Kris Allen, for instance, has seen tepid numbers with his self-titled debut (although, his first single has recently seen new chart life and has so far climbed to #30, more than Glambert can say). Aside from Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, most winners of American Idol have failed to make much of an impression on the music biz.

Season 9 proves to be an equally interesting season; with Paula out and Ellen in, it could make for some much needed humor and charm on the show. Ellen may not being a musician, but who are we kidding? Paula Abdul isn't either.

Only time will tell whether American Idol can maintain its firm grip on the hearts (and remotes) of America and if it can re-secure its position as the most powerful show on television. With 7 Grammys, 1 Oscar, and over 27 million records sold, the show has all but proven it can discover talent. The question standing, however, is "Can it continue to do so?" Tune in Tuesday and Wednesday nights from now until the end of May and see for yourselves.

Album Review: Kris Allen "Kris Allen"

Conway, Arkansas native and American Idol's eighth season winner, Kris Allen, will go down as one of the most underwhelming Idol winners. Its unfair really. His schlocky debut single "No Boundries", stalled at No. 13, but he didn't pick that song, and his album sold only 80,000 copies in its first week (compare that with runner-up Adam Lambert who shifted 198,000 copies in his first week).

Critics and A.I. fans have labeled Allen's self titled debut boring and bland, but its really not that bad. What's its missing is a lead single that dominates radio and drives consumers to the store. What would Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway been without "Since U Been Gone"? That's all Kris Allen is really missing.

Instead, Allen gets "Live Like We're Dying", written by Irish band The Script. Its fine, but its not exactly burning up the charts. "The Truth" wouldn't either, but its an extremely powerful ballad as Allen sings, "Trying to be perfect, trying not to let you down. Honesty is honestly the hardest thing for me right now".

"Written All Over My Face" is one of the highlights, and it would have fit in perfectly on Breakaway. Same with "Let It Rain" and "I Need To Know". All three are MOR pop songs that are well crafted and catchy. Once again, if only they had a strong lead single.

If only Allen wrote Kanye West's "Heartless". West's tune has seen several reincarnations, and Allen's is one of the best, dragging out the pain and emotion of the pop hit. In all honesty, I like his version better, and that's coming from a huge Kanye fan.

Keeping working Allen. You don't have to sell out, but you need at least one Max Martin song.

Rating: 7/10
Must download: "The Truth", "Written All Over My Face", and "Heartless"

Susan Boyle Trumps Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Adam Lambert

Back in April, Susan Boyle became an overnight YouTube sensation. This week, she's got the number one album in the country.

Outselling Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, Rihanna's Rated R, and Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment, all released last week, Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream shifted 701,000 copies. That's good enough for the best sales week for an album in 2009.

Lambert ended up having the second highest debut of the week, opening at No. 3 with 198,000 copies sold. If Allen vs. Lambert was the referendum on Obama that we said it was two weeks ago, Obama has nothing to worry about. Allen only sold 80,000 copies of his self titled debut in his first week.

Rihanna's Rated R opened at No. 4 selling 181,000 copies. For such a high profile pop star like Rihanna, these numbers might seem weak, but its actually the highest first week sales of her career.

Lady Gaga came in at No. 5, but she kind of got the raw end of the deal. The Fame Monster sold well, 174,000 copies, but that number only includes the stand alone EP without the original The Fame album attached. Those who bought the deluxe version contributed to sales figures for The Fame which jumped to No. 6, giving Gaga an extremely rare position of having two albums in the top ten at the same time.

The week in sales is up 34% compared to last week, but sadly, its down 12% from this week last year. Poor record industry.

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert Album Sales: A Referendum on Obama

This Tuesday, American Idol winner Kris Allen released his self titled debut album. The same day, former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin released her book Going Rogue: An American Life. It seems fitting that Allen and Palin would share that day to release their respective works.

The finale for season 8 of American Idol was touted as a red state vs. blue state showdown. Allen, the humble Christian guitar player from Conway, Arkansas was up against the flamboyant and dramatic Adam Lambert from San Diego, California.

If Idol were just a talent competition, Lambert had the edge. Wowing the judges week after week, he displayed amazing range and was unlike any contestant the show has ever had. American Idol is much more than a talent competition though. It's also a popularity contest.

Ultimately, Americans decided that Lambert was a little too "out there" for their taste. Either that or the 14-year-old Allen fans who voted dozens of times the night of the finale overwhelmed Lambert's supporters. Regardless, The New York Times ran a front page article questioning if AT&T swayed the voting results when they hosted parties in Arkansas and provided free phones for fans to text on. Sure, it isn't "hanging chads", but should we demand a recount?

The New York Times wasn't the only "liberal elite" media outlet that took sides following the more conservative Allen's coronation as America's Idol. Rolling Stone did a full on cover story of Lambert with the headline "Wild Idol: The Liberation of Adam Lambert". The singer appeared on the cover with a snake and publicly came out in the article.

Various news outlets, including the New York Times, hyped gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia a few weeks ago, calling them a referendum on Obama. Of course, Republican victories in a few states don't necessarily spell doom for Obama in 2012, but could album sales for Allen and Lambert be a barometer for the country's political climate?

Let's see what each artist has going for and against them in this red state-blue state showdown.

What Kris Allen has going for him:

• Non-offensive singer-songwriter music can reach unlikely music buyers such as soccer moms.
• His good looks and awe-schucks demeanor might be enough to sway Lambert loving homosexuals to buy both albums.
• Without the support of mainstream media, his "underdog" status might make crazed 14-year-old female fans buy two copies.
  

What Kris Allen doesn't have going for him:

• Radio programmers might deem him too boring.
  

What Adam Lambert has going for him:

• Music co-written with proven hit makers Max Martin, Lady Gaga, and Dr. Luke might be catchy enough for red state record buyers to pick up a copy.
• People who live on the coasts make more money than everyone in the "flyover zone", right?
• If Lady Gaga vs. Britney Spears is any indication of America's political climate, Lady Gaga is winning right now.

What Adam Lambert doesn't have going for him:

• Let's be honest, that album cover scares children.

Numbers for first week sales of Kris Allen will be available next week and Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment will hits stores November 23.

American Idle: Season Eight Finale

I've lived a lot of places growing up. I was born in Utah, raised mostly in Arizona, but in between those two locations, my family moved around quite a bit. One place we lived was the small town of Conway, Arkansas. Like the rest of Arkansas, Wal-Mart was the economic and social center of our town. It was probably just a conservative enough a place to be less than happy our former governer was in the White House at the time. The most exciting event every year was Toad Suck Daze (sic), a municipal celebration of...well...I still don't know what, but my brothers and I got to race toads every year.

Conway was the kind of town that you would graduate high school from (CHS, home of the mighty fighting Wampus Cats which, in case you didn't know, is a six legged cougar), and get out of town never to return again. The only problem is that Conway is also home to three universities so you'd probably end up staying and never ever ever leave.

May 20, 2009 will be a day forever remembered in the town of Conway. It was the day that the biggest export from the town was no longer Toad Suck jokes that found their way onto Leno every year. It was the day that Conway native Kris Allen won season 8 of American Idol.

I'll be honest, I've watched two episodes of American Idol in their entirety this season. They were both this week. The producers do a good job with the finale making you wish that you actually had invested time in the show and its contestants but it remains to be seen if I feel the same way a year from now. Here's some random thought from my A.I. viewing experience.

• Simon Cowell is tired of judging talent competitions.
• Adam Lambert is the love child of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.
• The key to winning American Idol is to "peak" at the right time but not enough to overshadow the front runner. For two years running, Simon's pick to win has gotten second.
• I still hate "So What".
• I don't understand why "Boom Boom Pow" is still No. 1 and Fergie is an Amazon princess. She is gigantic!
• Adam Lambert can pull off the "bird cage" look. Those Spice Girl shoes were a nice touch.
• Gene Simmons needs to cool the whole tongue thing. He's become a parody of himself.
• Kara DioGuardi bothered me a lot, but she made up for it when she belted out "Vision of Love". Imagine that, a judge who can actually sing!
• Kris Allen honestly didn't think he was going to win and now he has to promote the drab "No Boundaries". Why do the finale songs have to suck so much?

That's me in the yellow at the Toad Suck Daze Toad Jump. I think Kris Allen is to my right. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's him. Here's his rendition of Kanye's "Heartless".