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Got any questions for Jennifer Hudson?

USA TODAY's fabulous film reporter Susan Wloszczyna is interviewing Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls this weekend, and asked me if I had any Idol-based questions for her. I mentioned the belated signing-with-Clive issue, but I thought, why not open it up to you?
So if you have questions for Jennifer, post 'em on this thread, and I'll submit the best of them to Susan in time for her interview.

Nobody wanted her first time around, after she finished seventh in Season 3, but now that she's starring in Dreamgirls, Jennifer Hudson is a desirable commodity for record labels. She just signed to Arista, Clive Davis' original branch of the BMG realm he now commands.
Said Davis in a statement, Jennifer is a vocal wonder, a tremendously gifted artist.

Her extraordinary voice gives her a signature sound and distinguishes her from every singer on the horizon today.
Jennifer's statement: Clive Davis is a legend, and I feel more than honored to be associated with him. Because of his vision and hands on (sic) approach, Arista already feels like home.

I can't wait for us all to make beautiful music together.
Your comments: eagerly awaited.
Ruben Studdard will guest on The Rachael Ray Show Tuesday (check local listings for time), discussing his weight loss, which if you check on the show's site you'll see they're claiming as over 400 pounds.

Now I'm not a dedicated follower of Ruben's ups and downs in the weight department, but considering that in his currently diminished state he still appears to have some heft, that seems like an awful lot to have lost. I mean, was he ever in the 600-700-lb. range?

Much obliged if you more knowledgeable fans clear this up.
Speaking of clearing things up, thanks to nevada sk2 for noting the typo I made on Diana DeGarmo's singles sales (201,000, not 301,000, now corrected on the post). I'll find out what the deal is with Fantasia's album sales; as many of you commented, the 2.

1 million figure SoundScan listed doesn't make sense. Probably 1.7 million is more like it, but I'll get the answer later today, I hope.

BMG Nashville just announced that Carrie's Some Hearts album has been RIAA-certified as quadruple platinum, meaning 4 million copies have been shipped to retail. That's not quite the same as selling 4 million, but since she has sold 3.65 million as of this week, it's not much of a gap.

It's a tremendous achievement; it's the second-best seller among Idol albums and is, according to BMG, only the second debut country album by a woman to be certified for quadruple platinum (Gretchen Wilson has the other one).
After reading hundreds of comments here and on the Listen Up blog, and watching the replay a few more times, I'm starting to lean toward the proposition that Faith Hill wasn't deliberately dissing Carrie, but that it was part of an ill-timed and ill-conceived backstage comic routine. It's a total judgment call, and without having been there, I don't think any of us can say for sure what she intended (which hasn't stopped a lot of people from saying they're sure what she intended).

But USA TODAY's Brian Mansfield was backstage, and although he didn't see the incident himself, he did talk to someone who did: One friend had been standing near Hill when she realized that the producer cut away to Carrie just a little later than Hill thought he had, and overheard her say something to the effect of, 'Oh my God, did they realize I was joking?'
Maybe that was instant damage control, but it sounds sincerely chagrined to me. In any case, even if it was an intended joke, it wasn't a great one.

As Sister of Don Francisco put it (perfectly, as usual): If a joke requires a massive spin operation the next day to clean up the PR damage...

...

I think you've found the working definition of a lousy joke.
Before I post your comments on the fascinating Faith Hill/Carrie Underwood affair, I wanted to update it all with the most recent explanation from Faith's camp.
FAITH HILL STATEMENT: “The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me.

For this to become a focus of attention given the talent gathered is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving Female Vocalist of The Year.”
GARY BORMAN (MANAGER) STATEMENT: “I’ve worked with Faith for many years now and the idea that she would ever insult or undermine another artist, let alone another human being’s success is absolutely preposterous.

Those who know her know that she’s incapable of such actions. She was being playful while the nominations were being read and playful after.”
And for those of you who haven't checked out just what the furor is all about, .

Carrie had a fantastic night at the Country Music Association Awards Monday. She got to wear that diamond-studded dress, sang the heck out of Before He Cheats, and, nominated for Horizon Award (breakthrough artist) and female vocalist, she won both of them, a highly impressive feat for a new country artist. (She also apparently managed to shock the daylights out of fellow female-vocalist nominee Faith Hill, who was shown on TV mouthing, What!

in what sure seemed like a snit, although her management company stated that she was just joking around and didn't realize she was on camera.)
It also appeared that Carrie was at the show with Anthony Fedorov, but what do I know? She was overcome with excitement at winning female vocalist, which is understandable.

Kellie also got some time in the spotlight, co-presenting the Horizon Award and co-hosting CMT's red-carpet arrivals, acquitting herself just fine in both tasks.

Life after Idol: Carrie to wear $850,000 gown at CMAs

She ain't in Checotah anymore, as Carrie Underwood's song puts it. The singer, who's got a really good shot at winning a couple of Country Music Association awards Monday, will be sporting a Kwiat Diamond Dress, a gown that happens to contain $850,000 worth of Kwiat diamonds (the noisy kind would be too disruptive for an awards show, I guess) on its straps.

Afteward, the dress will be auctioned, with part of the proceeds going to the charity of Carrie's choice, the Humane Society.
Carrie Underwood, one of Idol's true blockbuster success stories, just scored her third straight No. 1 on the country (Billboard/Radio Records) singles chart, as Before He Cheats joins Jesus Take the Wheel and Don't Forget to Remember Me.

According to her label, she's the first artist since Wynonna in the early '90s to hit No. 1 with her first three singles (since, in country, Inside Your Heaven thankfully didn't count as a single, not being promoted to country radio). A terrific achievement (especially since Wynonna isn't really a parallel case, having had tons of hits as part of The Judds before going solo), but also a cautionary warning on the fleeting nature of fame, in that Wynonna would have a hard time hitting the country top 40 nowadays.

At the risk of sounding overly defensive, I've got to respond to a fresh comment from Rob, who writes, Carrie Underwood has the #1 selling album of the 2006 Billboard chart year on the Top 200 Albums chart (not just the country chart). Simon Cowell predicted Carrie would do just that long before she won. I know Edna doesn't seem to be a big fan of Carrie, but it's wrong for her to exclude this huge factoid just so she can make a negative story.

Rob, the whole point and topic of Edna's story was whether follow-up albums (second, third, whatever) by Idols have waning appeal. Carrie's had only one album, so she is completely irrelevant to the story and was not even considered for mention. (I know this for a fact, having commissioned the story in the first place.

)
Not trying to jump down anyone's throat, but just wanted to clarify that point.
I don't know how deep you, the participants and audience that really drive Idol Chatter, want to go with coverage of Idols and their afterlives. I don't know how deep I want to go, in fact -- I'm pretty sure that if Brenda Gethers or those twins from the Hollywood auditions whose name I've mercifully blocked out put out an album, I'd probably draw the line.

Ayla Brown seems worth tracking, though. She just missed making the final 12 this past season, and I and others, I'm sure, thought she was robbed, deserving the place that instead went to either Melissa or, heaven knows, Kevin. She sang well, I thought, and if she'd made the finals, she could have offered some direct competition to Katharine (there were similarities in style, I thought).

Anyway, since Ayla has an album just out (Forward, on the Double Deal Brand label), I decided to give it a listen, and my informal review follows.
I've seen a few comments, very positive ones, about Anthony Fedorov, Season 4's fourth-place finalist, including one from Alexis wondering what's up with the Ukrainian-born balladeer.
There are for a new album, but it all seems worryingly vague -- as if it will be another one of those limited independent releases that will likely have minimal impact.

And the of recent and upcoming activities (also detailed on the first link above) don't exactly suggest a thriving career. The national anthem at the Raiders/Steelers game Oct. 29 is nice, but the Fear Factor appearance (with Carmen Rasmusen) sounds pretty grisly, and the concert with Jan Dean in Rhode Island this summer provoked a little curiosity in me, considering that Jan died in March 2004.

(Sure, that doesn't mean a duo may still be using the name, but it sounds a little dubious.)
Anyway, there don't seem to be a lot of current updates. Anybody who knows more is certainly welcome to add to our collective store of knowledge.

The first two games of the World Series have been a real Idol-fest. Jennifer Hudson was the designated celebrity singer of God Bless America in the middle of the seventh inning of the first game in Detroit Saturday, while Josh Gracin did the honors Sunday.
Since I spend an inordinate amount of time watching postseason baseball, much to the delight of my wife, I caught both renditions.

Jennifer went all-out, going for every spectacular high note she could aim for and pretty much hitting them (except for an unwise attempt at a big finishing note that was truly painful). Josh kept it low-key, no glory notes, and turned in one of the more tolerable versions of this trite and tiresome classic (give me Take Me Out to the Ball Game any day -- especially if Ozzy Osbourne is singing it -- a classic memory from a Cubs broadcast).
Perhaps video exists -- couldn't find any, but if any of you do, I'll post the link.

First-season finalist RJ Helton has taken a forthright step. Here's the relevant portions of the press release:
RJ Helton, the 25-year old former American Idol contestant, came out of the closet publicly for the first time ever yesterday -- Wednesday, October 18, 2006 -– to host Larry Flick on Flick’s show OutQ in the Morning on SIRIUS OutQ, the gay channel on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
EXCERPTS OF INTERVIEW BELOW: Flick and Helton were discussing Helton’s most recent music projects.

LARRY FLICK: What made you decide not to do inspirational music anymore?
RJ HELTON: … the industry has just really jaded me…I can have a faith but can’t be who I want to be or who I feel that I am…so a lot of it was just personal things I needed to overcome and just be proud of who I was…just because I am gay does not mean I can’t love God.
LARRY FLICK: Well there you go.

.congratulations. This is something that I wasn’t sure you were going to talk about on the air today so what made you decide to come out?

RJ HELTON: Today..this morning.

.3 seconds ago. I’ve never even said that.

It feels good.
LARRY FLICK: Does it feel good?
RJ HELTON: It does feel great.

It feels good. I’m just really comfortable with who I am now. I’m very proud of who I am.

Continuing my responses to comments on Clay and Ruben...

Actually this one diverges from the topic du jour, which might be a welcome diversion. Pamela asks, Since we're on sales, could you please give us an update on all the coronation CD's? Did Taylor ever pass Carrie?

I think you're referring to the souvenir single CDs that the Idols inevitably put out shortly after the series is over (Do I Make You Proud, in Taylor's case), right? I stopped asking for Taylor's figures a few weeks ago when they threatened to slide into the three-figure range each week. He was about No.

5 or 6 on the singles list last week, when Janet sold 2,500 to top the list. The week before (the week ending Oct. 1), Taylor's total sales for the single were 444,000, so he's not in any danger of passing anybody .

.. or making it to the gold level, unless the Soul Patrol wants to rush out en masse and buy 50,000 more singles and push him over the line.

Sam makes some good points: All things considered, Clay's album is selling amazingly well. How many other pop artists have produced these numbers without benefit of a video or radio single, not to mention absolutely no pre-promotion to speak of??

? Name me one, Ken, then I'll buy your disaster theory. Clay is selling on the basis of his voice name ALONE.

Despite the covers concept despite a vast national lack of supply at retail. Any other artist in his situation would have probably fallen off the chart by now, yet there he is hanging in at the Top 20. You've also given no thought to how well he traditionally sells during the holiday shopping season where this CD his Christmas album will most likely be promoted together.

Now, are you planning to give us a week by week death knell for the upcoming CDs of all the other Idols as well or is it just Clay you're obsessed with pronouncing a failure?
Whew! Good points, especially about the Christmas season, which might just be enough to give the album the boost it needs to go gold.

Some of the other points have been discussed in the previous post, but as for that last question -- cut me some slack. I'm not obsessed with pronouncing Clay a failure -- I've been covering his sales figures because he's the only Idol with a major album out now. Of course I'm going to report the sales progress of all the Idol albums this fall.

Ruben's first sales figures will be available Oct. 25, and off we'll go.
Shasta, at the end of a fervent and impressive comment, asks, Finally, Aiken is not Top 40, nor is Hicks.

Are you saying that only Top 40 makes a pop star or a hit?
Not exactly. I got into this earlier, the gist of which was that Carrie's success in country certainly proves an Idol can sell a lot of records without top 40 radio support.

R B has helped Ruben and Fantasia to some extent as well. But Clay and Taylor aren't going to get any country or R B airplay (though, come to think of it, Taylor could make a country-type record and really, so could Clay. Interesting alternatives down the line).

So top 40 is their only hope for a format whose airplay could expand their sales outside of their sizable fanbases.
OK, back for more Monday, and expect Steve Jones' review of Ruben's album Tuesday (Monday night on the site). I'll follow with mine later in the week.

Clay, Ruben and the charts

There's been a dizzying amount of comments on Clay's sales, Ruben's chart achievements and both of their future prospects -- much of it stimulating and thought-provoking, some of it -- how should I put it -- a bit doctrinaire. I jotted down a few over the course of Thursday that I wanted to respond to before I scuttled out of here for the week. I'll take 'em on in the order I received them.

Scorpio, responding to my comment that Clay's Without You was a dubious prospect for top 40 radio success, said, A Thousand Different Ways, and Without You in particular, was rumored to be directed at AC, not Top 40 radio. However, anyone with any sense would have wondered why RCA would select a single that already has two versions playing on AC radio. It is unlikely stations would add a third version.

So why was this RCA's choice for a first single instead of one of the perfectly good original songs such as 1000 Days or Lonely No More?
Good question. The point I've been trying to make about top 40 radio vs.

AC radio is that it's important to Clay right now, now that all the hard-core fanbase has presumably bought the album, to stimulate sales from other, less committed consumers who might like something they hear on the radio. AC stations play new records so seldom, and their audience is so relatively unmotivated to buy albums, that airplay on those stations is rarely a significant contributor to sales. Top 40 radio airplay, on the other hand, often (not always, but often) can provide a substantial sales boost.

The overriding question of what and how much RCA is doing for Clay is a constant theme in the comments. Paranoia strikes deep, as Buffalo Springfield once said, and it's hard for me to think that a label would deliberately let an album by an artist who sold nearly 3 million copies on his first album wither on the vine. On the other hand, nothing that's happened so far, from the original, puzzling conception of the album to the visible promotion efforts, has seemed all that inspired.

Strange indeed.
Babe has similar concerns: You are right about the radio jocks not touching Without You. This is a 4-time recorded cover, with Harry Nillson's cover being the best.

Critic scratched their heads at where that voice came from, when the rest of Harry's songs had been fairly mediocre and his voice being average at best. He really knocked it out of the park with that one.
True, plus AC radio ate up Mariah Carey's version too.

She continues, When you said 'this week's #1 single sold all of 2500 copies,' are you referring to the week that Ruben was #2 or THIS week (meaning the current week)? If you are taking the current week, then Justin's position of #1 was based mainly on airplay. So,, Clay could significantly increase his rating by releasing one of the four original songs.

I meant this current week; Janet Jackson's Call on Me sold 2,500 copies. However, as pointed out during the lengthy and I hope useful discussion among DaDivanMe, Mitli and Jess, downloads now count on Billboard's sales/airplay combo charts, such as the Hot 100, so Justin's No. 1 position was a combination -- he's got the top airplay record, and it's also been at or near the top of the download tracks chart for a month or so.

Ruben and Clay are going to have to accrue some downloads to make a chart splash. (In answer to a few inquiries, I'll look into Clay's download stats for the tracks on the album and the album as a whole next week. Don't expect big numbers, though.

)
There are still a lot of comments I want to respond to, so I'll break them up into periodic posts today. Next one coming shortly.
Among the many, many comments about Clay and Ruben since I last surveyed Idol Chatter Thursday were a couple of questions I thought I'd address:
Jack wrote, Ken, I assume that you are counting overseas sales in your statement that 'Clay sold nearly 3 million of his first album.

' According to RIAA's database, Clay's first album was only certified 1x Platinum. Translated, Clay's first album sold somewhere between 1 and 2 million copies here in the USA.
Actually, I was using actual sales numbers for the USA (SoundScan tabulations) rather than RIAA data (based on reported shipments to retailers).

Clay's definitely way over 2 million in sales (I'll try to get an updated figure later today). If the RIAA still hasn't certified him for double platinum (2 million-plus), it means the record label is lagging behind in seeking the certification (which happens a lot).
Pamela wanted to know how Ruben's single, Change Me, was doing on the R B charts.

Not so hot, actually, so far -- in its eighth week on the Billboard R B chart (a combination of sales and airplay) it went from No. 44 to No. 46 and lost its bullet (signifying upward momentum).

Exact same move on the R B/Hip-Hop airplay chart. It's healthier on the airplay-only adult R B chart, No. 8 with a bullet (up from No.

9), but that's a far less influential chart (although a major stronghold for Ruben and Fantasia in the past).
The wait for a new album is almost over (The Return is due Oct. 17).

And the weight for Ruben Studdard is significantly reduced -- he's lost about 60 pounds after completing the fitness program at Duke University. He says, in his new record-label bio, I'm definitely feeling happy about being more fit and conscious of my health.
That's good news -- he was worrying people.

Meanwhile, the album, which overall has a ballad-intensive R B feel, has 15 tracks, with a number of top-notch, big-name collaborators producing and writing. Ruben has three writing credits: an excellent ballad called I'm Not Happy (I've heard an advance copy of the album; will probably review it more formally closer to the release date); another, not so excellent ballad called To tha Crib, and another ballad, Blow Your Mind, the content of which is not exactly PG-rated.
First single is called Change Me, which is (surprise!

) a ballad, and a pretty good one, produced by hit team The Underdogs. Hitmaker Ne-Yo wrote Rather Just Not Know, which is a standout and has a bit more tempo going for it. Ne-Yo also wrote Make Ya Feel Beautiful, one of several unexceptional ballads.

Ruben also does a great job on a Luther Vandross tribute, the Brenda Russell-written ballad If Only for One Night that Luther released in 1986. Should be a good album for the fans and several cuts have something to offer for the more generalist music devotee.
OK, how's this for a trade-off?

I'm still mired in collecting my thoughts in some sort of cogent form for the long-promised Clay Aiken album review, so I'm going to have that ready for tomorrow morning now.
But meanwhile, check out the excerpts from Clay's interview with (full interview coming Friday on newsstands). His answers vary in forthrightness, but there's some interesting stuff.

All right, you won't have Elysa to kick around any more -- you'll have me.
If all goes well, I will have taken my newly arrived copy of Clay's album home Tuesday night and listened to it carefully, and I'll post my reactions later today (probably around midday ET).
I hope to do this with all the Idol albums, but I thought I'd start with a non-controversial record that we all can easily agree on.

(Kidding...

)

Kelly, Carrie get AMA nominations

It's not the Grammys (far from it), but it's recognition of a sort. Two former Idol winners, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, each received a couple of .
Carrie was nominated as country female and breakthrough artist; Kelly was singled out as an AC artist and pop/rock female artist nominee.

Here's an in which he discusses his next tour (not till early next year) and advances an explanation for why his album is so heavily infused with covers.
Responding to a few Clay-oriented comments, while we're on the subject -- USA TODAY space limitations don't allow us to comment on every song; they've got to be pretty short. When (and if) I throw my two cents in on the album, I'll try to go track by track.

And yes, Leslie and many others, technically A Thousand Days is not the title track of A Thousand Different Ways, although it would probably be fair to call it the de facto title track. Still, that was careless of us (of course, not excusing the carelessness, it would be nice to have the actual album to refer to when reviewing. And by the way, the reviewer was Elysa Gardner, not Edna Gundersen).

Finally, in Mary's spirited defense of the album, she talks about taping her foot to it. I'm not picking on you; this is all in fun and I know exactly what you meant to type, but I can't get the image of taping your foot to a record out of my head.
We'll be giving you a double dose of reviews of Idol-related albums this fall -- first, the review that appears in USA TODAY; later, I hope, one that reflects my own opinion.

(I'll be writing that second one, if that's not clear; other reviewers will probably do the initial reviews.)
First one out of the gate is Clay's, and here's what USA TODAY critic Elysa Gardner wrote:
Aiken may be sporting a shaggy new hairdo and a more rumpled, raffish look, but the American Idol alum’s sound is still pure vanilla custard. This third CD is dominated by covers of adult-contemporary pop staples, from a relatively sure-footed reading of Elton John’s Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word to sappier takes on Harry Nilsson’s Without You (the single) and the Dolly Parton hit Here You Come Again.

Originals include the title track, an exercise in earnest melodrama that will delight the faithful and convert no one.
The release of Clay Aiken's new album, A Thousand Different Ways, will not be a quiet one, I have the feeling. Here's a couple of promotional devices recently announced for the Sept.

19 release.
Many Clay fans have already heard chunks of the album, judging from the comments here, but you can get what Clear Channel Radio calls a Sneak Peek at the album's tracks from Sept. 12-15 at .

(Info on the Clay peek isn't up there yet, but check back there for info.)
A whole raft of major CD retailers are hosting midnight release parties, allowing fans to buy the album just as Monday turns to Tuesday, according to fan group Clay Nation Chicago. Find info on specific parties .

Let the festivities begin.
President Bush continues to closely ally his administration with American Idols. After meeting with the current crop this summer, he has now appointed Clay Aiken to the President's Committee for People With Intellectual Disabilities, according to a White House release.

Clay has devoted considerable charitable efforts to this cause, so it's not a random celebrity appointment. Interesting ..

Keywords: r b, Rj Helton, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Female Vocalist, Usa Today, Larry Flick, Different Ways, Thousand Different, Thousand Different Ways

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