FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE: SINGING COMPETITIONS VS AMERICAN RADIO

So we at jork vs TPTB know that the singing competitions mostly want to create a good show with filler, but with regards to having "marketability for the radio?" Take a peek after the jump for analysis.

PROGNOSTICATING IDOL'S FUTURE, BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS, PART II

Continuing the series from Part I, we now focus on how the competition (both internationally and other domestic singing competitions) have affected Idol. Hint: it's not good.

PROGNOSTICATING IDOL'S FUTURE, BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS, PART I

So, as we've effortlessly established here, Idol is a downward slope. Their declining ratings allowed their competitors to smell blood and spawn more singing (karaoke?) competitions, both of which started in 2011 (ahem, X Factor USA and The Voice). But for Part I of this article, we'll only focus on how Idol is shooting themselves in the foot in affecting its future. In part II, we'll focus on how Idol's competitors might screw up Idol's contestant pool and contestant success in future years.

CHRIS RENE CHARTS ON AT40, DOING SOMETHING NO IDOL HAS DONE SINCE AI8

Chris Rene does something that no new Idol has done since Kris Allen/Adam Lambert in AI8 has done...be a new artist to chart on the mainstream.

IDOL SONGS, YOUTUBE VIEWS BY CONTESTANT

Ok, this is going to be a pretty important thread for Idol's prospects in the mainstream. Since everything is more or less being relayed via the Internet nowadays, it's important to get a ton of hits in your youtube views. Has Idol done that in the new world? Let's take a look, after the jump:

THE LIFE OF IDOL FLOPS AND FILLER: PRETTY BLEAK STUFF

Dear Jeremy Rosado, Shannon Magrane, Erika Van Pelt, Heejun Han, Deandre Brackensick, and any of the major flops in AI11 (likely), this is what you'll be facing, and perhaps news agencies will eventually be getting quotes from you in the future, about life after Idol:

EPOCH 4 (MORE WGWGS): THE CONCEPT OF "PIGGYBACKING" AND WHY IT MATTERS POST-IDOL

So as mentioned, Epoch 3 was a trainwreck: WGWG infestation led to massive flops, and Idol went zig with soft, coffeehouse rock while the world went zag with electropop and hip hop. There couldn't have been a greater clash in styles ever since the Jackie Chan met Chris Tucker in Rush Hour. So what did Epoch 4 have in store for us?

Well, let's just say Idol didn't learn its lesson (if you can already tell from the title above). Take a look after the jump:

EPOCH 3 (THE WGWG ERA): THE CONCEPT OF "PIGGYBACKING" AND WHY IT MATTERS POST-IDOL

This deals with 2008-2010, or AI7-AI9, and when Idol allowed its instruments and unleashed KrisAllenty LeeDeWyzeDavid Cook, er I mean, Kristy Lee Cook, on us, we got our WGWG era--the WGWGs started happening. And it's continuing to this day.

We'll see, er, what caused Idol's harm in the mainstream, below the jump:

EPOCH 2 (IDOL'S GOLDEN YEARS): THE CONCEPT OF "PIGGYBACKING" AND WHY IT MATTERS POST-IDOL

Continuing on to 2005-2007, or AI4-AI6, when Idol unleashed its rockers and had their contestants pull their weight (we won't be hearing that after this).

This is a continuation of my last article, the first epoch.

EPOCH 1 (AND SO IT BEGINS): THE CONCEPT OF "PIGGYBACKING" AND WHY IT MATTERS POST-IDOL

The concept of this post derives heavily from my other post where I questioned Idol's relevance in the music industry by drawing out treasure troves of data on its more successful contestants. I already brought up the concept of "piggybacking"--or basically leeching off of an artist who's having success at that time--in that particular post. It's the key here--as you'll see, why did Idol have successes in Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Daughtry? The way to get one foot in the door is to piggyback.

My goal is to list the top 10 best selling albums and singles of each year that Idol ran on, and highlight the ones that are similar (or somewhat similar) to Idol's more successful contestants.

And really, the goal is this:

Here we'll focus on Epoch 1, which is generally known as seasons AI1-AI3, or 2002 to 2004, when Idol was finding its footing, didn't have rockers, encouraged diva belters, etc. We'll take a look at how those contestants did in the real world, and what sold back then:

THE STATE OF AMERICAN IDOL VS THE CHARTS (AKA THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS DOMINATE!)

I'm wondering if Nigel instituted this British theme because there's just way too many British artists churning out hits in America. Check out this chart (all the British related hits are circled):

A CONVERSATION BETWEEN RYAN, JIMMY AND NIGEL, REGARDING POTENTIAL WINNERS

May 11, Friday 5:00 AM

Nigel and Ryan walk into Jimmy Iovine's Interscope office to discuss who should be the winner of the show.

*Jimmy: Alright, so we have an important issue to discuss. Who the hell I'm going to have to market as the winner of this show. Nigel, can you tell who's been leading the votes all this time?

CAN X FACTOR PRODUCE A RELEVANT CONTESTANT, LIKE IDOL (ONCE COULD)?

*EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS POST WAS FIRST WRITTEN IN NOVEMBER 27TH, 2011, WHEN I BRIEFLY WATCHED THE X FACTOR AND WONDERED IF IT COULD PRODUCE A RELEVANT CONTESTANT. THE RESULTS FOLLOW.

I ask this because American Idol's track record of producing modern, current music (aka music seen in the 'top 40') is growing worse and worse by the second. Think of this as the "outside bubble". This is the only way you'd really get the exposure, unless you're country. Let's bring out the big guns, er statistics, shall we? (By the way, songs that lasted on the charts <5 weeks won't be counted; they're pretty much irrelevant).

IDOL FINALIST CURRENT RATINGS; BASED ON SONGS THRU HOLLYWOOD

*EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS WAS POSTED INITIALLY IN FEBRUARY 24TH, BEFORE THE SEMIFINALS STARTED. THE DATES OF THEIR CURRENT SONGS ARE LISTED BELOW, AND A CURRENT RATING IS GIVEN. P.S. WHO KNEW JOSHUA WAS THAT CURRENT IN HOLLYWOOD WEEK?

Most current contestants in the show(newest song choice date; all songs 1990s and beyond listed):