Blake Lewis — Audio Daydream debuts at #9

Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 07:49 AM | Blake Lewis

Blake Lewis

Blake Lewis’ Audio Daydream debuts at #9 with 98,017 copies sold.

Blake debuts one spot higher than American Idol winner Jordin Sparks but with 20,000 less sold.

via HITS Daily Double

25 Comments for Blake Lewis — Audio Daydream debuts at #9

1

19E is not the starmaker they used to be…but — this is his freshman CD so you can’t expect it to be a multi-million dollar seller….very few “new” artists are selling these days, the same about “old” established artists….look at Britney, she hasn’t cracked the 250,000 mark yet….
Could it be that there is AI fatigue….or could it be that the talent last year truly wasn’t that great?
AI has to depend on making stars to be viable….
did anybody read AI forum about Fantasia missing 50 Broadway shows?

Chicago-48 on December 12, 2007 at 9:23 am
2

It will be interesting to see what the album does from this point. I can’t imagine that there are too many Blaker girls/boys who haven’t purchased the album yet so they won’t account for the majority of future purchases.

laureldj on December 12, 2007 at 9:46 am
3

I normally don’t reply to any of this off-base crap and fantasy analysis, but making stars is not what AI is all about. It’s about TV ratings, and secondly, ticket sales during the tour.

“19E is not the starmaker they used to be” — what a load of crap. You write that as if they used to churn stars left and right. 19E was never a starmaker. Only a handful of the singers that have competed in American Idol have gone on to make a dent in the music industry.

American Idol is a TV SHOW. Who cares if Jordin and Blake have not sold as well as previous Idols — American Idol is still the only place where a total unknown can be a household name overnight. Whether that translates to album sales is not the point. And we only care about Jordin and Blake’s sales because we are fans.

Only 2 Idols in the 6 seasons that American Idol has been on have made any sort of success in traditional music scene: Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry. Only 1 Idol has made a major impact in country music: Carrie Underwood. 3 out of 60 top 10 finalists. Some starmaker. Clay Aiken is the only Idol whose success has been generated by his Idol appearances alone. That’s 1 out of 60 Idol fanbases.

“AI has to depend on making stars to be viable…” another load of crap. There will be ZERO STARS when American Idol premieres this January — and yet American Idol WILL BE THE MOST WATCHED SHOW in America for yet another year.

Rickey on December 12, 2007 at 10:08 am
4

According to BillBoards.

Blake is debuting at #10 too with 98000 albums sold.

totallyme on December 12, 2007 at 11:05 am
5

clap clap, Rickey.

heavyblow on December 12, 2007 at 11:10 am
6

Success is a relative term. I define it – for the Idol contestants – as anyone that is making a living doing what they love to do. Taylor is not selling like Daughtry, but Taylor is getting to tour and play his music for a living. Elliott is doing a great job. There are several that are performing on Broadway. I don’t define their success by CD’s sold. I think there are a lot of success stories in the Idol family.

MindyLCK on December 12, 2007 at 1:20 pm
7

One more note – I think that Blake’s exposure on the Monday Night Football telecast will help him greatly – especially with Tony Kornheiser being a huge American Idol fan. He was able to talk about who Blake was – I think every little bit of exposure will help.

MindyLCK on December 12, 2007 at 1:22 pm
8

Okay, Rickey I have to reply. Yes, it’s a TV show and as Sanj. states a “reality TV show”. However, if the top finalists don’t record and become stars (ala Carrie Underwood), then they fail at attracting “talent.” If I’m a talented person and I know that this is my last shot at fame and to become a “star” I’m going with AI all the way. And yes, I believe 19E and AI are starmakers….they’re a management company; right? Management companies are supposed to rep and manage clients and push them to the top. use their strategies and contacts to get them on TV shows, recordings, private events, Vegas, etc. If not, then what’s the point of being a manager? Besides thanking God when they accept awards, singers/actors thank their “managers” because they’re the ones doing the dirty foot work to get their clients “seen”.

I don’t for a minute believe that 19E doesn’t care whether their clients become stars…Isn’t 19E/Nigel managing the Spice Girls? I believe so, he’s instrumental in their “comeback”, and getting paid handsomely too.

Sorry to disagree with you on that little point Rickey, but maybe I didn’t make myself clear.

Chicago-48 on December 12, 2007 at 1:40 pm
9

I agree with Rickey…It’s all about Ratings and they have been the most watched show in America for every year they’ve been on.

ealbino on December 12, 2007 at 2:15 pm
10

Absolutely agreed, Rickey. Well put.

rockpopstar on December 12, 2007 at 2:24 pm
11

There are 2 aspects of American Idol. First and foremost is the television show. Which is still going strong (even with the drop in ratings last year).

The 2nd part is 19E taking those winners and runners up and launching their careers in the music business. The exposure they get from American Idol (the TV show) is SUPPOSE to give them the kind of boost other new artists don’t normally get. 3 Months if intense publicity and a chance to build up a fan base foundation.

19E manages these kids with the hope/expectations that they’ll do well and make them lots of money. If the winners success continues to wane then so does the point and the appeal of the show.

One of the reasons American Idol is so awesome is because the PRIZE is so awesome. A million dollar record deal with a MAJOR record label.

With the horrible state of the record industry in recent years, one of the few things they could rely upon is an American Idol winner providing platinum sales for SONY/BMG’s bottom line.

If AI winners can no longer deliver that, then SONY/BMG might re-think their partnership with the American Idol TV show.

snuffles on December 12, 2007 at 3:06 pm
12

Yeah, but you guys have ignored Rickey’s list of statistics. AI *hasn’t* proved to be a starmaking machine. Its appeal still continues as long as the public want to watch the reality show. And not b/c of its ability to make recording stars.

Those stats should be proof enough for his theory. You guys are just spouting theories without much proof to back them up.

heavyblow on December 12, 2007 at 3:24 pm
13

I disagree.

American Idol has continued to be such a strong force in the industry because of the successes of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Daughtry. And to a slightly lesser extent Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino. All of whom went platinum with their albums.

The the ratings stay high and the appeal remains because of the chance of repeating the successes of the above Idols.

When AI first came around, the industry mocked it mercilessly as just another pointless reality TV show. Then Kelly Clarkson became HUGE and sold millions. And then it was like “Hey maybe there’s something to this show.”

If it didn’t matter, then American Idol wouldn’t tout their platinum sellers and award winners and pretty much ignore all other Idols that haven’t done as well.

The show has always touted their value because of their ability to make very successful artists.

snuffles on December 12, 2007 at 3:39 pm
14

Good points on all sides, but three load of crap accusations in one post — ooooh, ouch.

laureldj on December 12, 2007 at 5:57 pm
15

Thank you Snuffles — nicely stated.

Chicago-48 on December 12, 2007 at 7:46 pm
16

Although it’s true a major part of American Idol is the show and the ticket sales, I do not believe they do not care about the success of the winner that comes from the show. If they have another season where the winner falls short of what people have seen in both Underwood and Clarkson (as winners), then people will start questioning the credibility of the show. I already have several friends who have been die-hard fans of the show, but because of the “lack of talent” refuse to watch it anymore.

Yes, there will always be people who watch because of the brilliance that has been put into so many aspects of the show, but the winner’s success is what will attract more viable talent to audition, which will result in a better top 12, which will result in a more marketable/talented winner, and more people will watch.

oboeadam on December 12, 2007 at 8:03 pm
17

Well stated OBO.

Chicago-48 on December 12, 2007 at 10:41 pm
18

Most watched tv show in America? I’m not so sure that’s going to be true much longer. Viewers are becoming bored with the show. I’m beginning to think they may have alterted the votes this year to keep it insteresting. If Sanjaya or Blake got “voted off” any earlier, the show would have gotten much lower ratings. Watching someone stand up and simply sing gets real old real fast. Watching someone stand up and sing wearing a ridiculous mowhawk or breaking out some beatboxing and modern dance moves will keep America watching. So either America got smart and kept those two in, or the producers did. And since we’re Americans, my money’s on the producers. Kinda of topic I know but it’s just been running though my mind lately.

CatManiac on December 12, 2007 at 11:49 pm
19

“look at Britney, she hasn’t cracked the 250,000 mark yet”

Um Britney debuted at 249,000 and she’s went gold….

Fireboy on December 13, 2007 at 2:56 am
20

*gone

I wish Rickey had an edit feature, LOL!

Fireboy on December 13, 2007 at 2:58 am
21

I agree with Rickey that 19E has never been a starmaker. I think the reason is that they simply suck at producing music, or they just don’t care. The majority of the debut albums that they put together for the contestants are of below average quality. But when they did it right, the rewards are tremendous. Just look at Carrie and Daughtry. I always have this feeling that they just want to make some quick bucks off the contestants rather than planning a long career for them. The popularity of AI could very well translate to huge record sales if they put more focus on the music part, but sadly it doesn’t look like that’s their priority at this point.

creativebin on December 13, 2007 at 2:56 pm
22

I don’t think they did it “right” w/ Carrie and Daughtry. They were just simply lucky or that Carrie and Daughtry (personas and looks) inherently have strong appeals in their respective music fields.

Their debut albums were just as generic as the other idols’ (except for Blake’s). It’s just that it’s the generic types of music that the public embraces at the moment.

Sales # doesn’t mean quality.

heavyblow on December 14, 2007 at 1:03 pm
23

I do agree with the notion that 19E doesn’t have long term goals in mind when it comes to the Idols.

The show is a great way to LAUNCH someone but maintaining that over the long term has never really been a priority for them.

I feel like any extended success an Idol’s album has, is mainly due to their record label. But that is ONLY if they hit it out of the park on their first try. And that’s where they rely on the AI TV show to be a huge part of that.

It’s only THEN the record label rally around and work on a long term plan.

snuffles on December 14, 2007 at 2:34 pm
24

i loved his album.
lovelovelovelovelovelove it.

hes absolutely amazing and am so proud of him!

TeamBlakee on December 17, 2007 at 1:07 am
25

yay-uh thatss maah booooy! DDD

TeamBlakee on February 6, 2008 at 9:52 pm