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Home , Adam Lambert, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Free Yourself, Kara DioGuardi, Kris Allen

Culture MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2010

Simon Cowell Photo: reuters

ith ’s days Above left: performs with numbered and KISS during the season eight finale of W already gone, this season is in in May last year. shaping up to be the end of an era for Simon Cowell’s departure is another setback for Above right: performs at the season the US’ most-popular show, the Fox five finale of American Idol in 2006. Photos: reuters Network’s American Idol. Really, however, when it comes to living up to its title and creating show in America, which is a pretty good superstar acts that captured the place to be. I think in a way it’s a good imagination of millions, the power of ’American Idol’ thing for the show because it breaks it Idol has been ebbing for years. While it up: you know it’ll be speculation as to produced mutliplatinum sensations in its who’s going to replace me and more earlier days, starting with board magazine. “But actually translating This year, Idol champ shows need that,” he said. and ending with , those people who watch the show into released his self-titled CD to little fanfare. “You can’t have the same people the recent Idol winners or runners-up have buying remains difficult. It did not debut at the top of the charts whole time, it gets boring.” not had similar chart success. Like the rest of the music industry, and now sits at No. 91 on Billboard’s Hot Idol has already provided the show Kris Allen, last year’s champion, has Idol is battling a decline in music sales. 200 albums chart and has not generated a with some jolts. Last year, it added sold about 200,000 copies of his debut But even taking that into account, top hit thus far. a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, to . And while his Idol runner-up, the drop-off in sales and buzz for Idol In a recent interview, Underwood said the original panel of Cowell, Randy Adam Lambert, proved to be more winners is telling. When Clarkson became being on Idol is not a guarantee of suc- Jackson and Abdul, and last year, Abdul popular and controversial, even his the show’s first winner in 2003, her cess, even if a performer has a hit debut. announced her departure and is being debut has not stayed at the top of the album, Thankful, debuted at No. 1, sold “You look at people who came before replaced by sunny talk-show host Ellen charts for long. a healthy 297,000 copies and included me too, like some of them you haven’t DeGeneres. “When you start thinking about hits like and Miss really heard from in a while. And I don’t Donahue says contestants like Allen American Idol as a place that feeds Independent. It went on to sell 2.7 million think it’s just since me. I think you’ve got did well in digital downloads of their the music business, it’s not as much as copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. to have a lot of luck on your side, too. show performances, and that may be the people think it is,” said , The next year, champ Just because people vote for you doesn’t best way to gauge their success since the who produced the first two CDs for Idol sold 1.8 million and had the hit Sorry mean they’ll go out and buy your album, show is more popular with the 18-to-49- finalist ’s multiplatinum 2004. , that year’s runner-up, and especially now,” she said. year-old demographic, who tend to buy band, Daughtry. “It’s fallen off.” did even better, selling 2.7 million copies Still, the success of Britain’s Got singles more than CDs. Of course, “fallen off” is relative of his CD, Measure of a Man. Studdard Talent finalist Susan Boyle shows if an “More and more we can expect when you are talking about a show was followed by Fantasia, whose Free artist piques the interest of the US, they do pretty well in terms of their digital Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol. Photo: reuters that has been the undisputed ratings Yourself also sold 1.8 million and had can still generate huge sales. Boyle’s downloads ... but maybe it’s not really a champion since it debuted in 2003. It has the R ’n’ B hit Free Yourself. Underwood debut CD, I Dreamed a Dream, has sold fair measurement anymore to see how produced millions and millions in album established herself as the show’s most The departure of two judges more than 3 million copies since it was they do in albums, because the people sales, Grammy Awards, even an Oscar successful winner — her country debut released in November (the same month who watch the show, who buy music, buy winner in , who is also a sold nearly 7 million copies with major and a decline in sales and that Allen and Lambert’s CDs were singles; they don’t buy albums,” she said. Grammy winner and successful recording crossover hits like Jesus Take the Wheel publicity for recent released). Boyle’s CD was produced by a Fantasia, who had a gold CD and artist. Even the also-rans of Idol have and Before He Cheats. judge on Britain’s Got Talent, the judge success on Broadway after her initial managed to parlay career success after The next winner, Taylor Hicks, was champions could signal the being Simon Cowell. success, said in the end, the success or an Idol stint. a major disappointment, selling 700,000 end of an era for America’s In an interview with Fox News, failure of any Idol depends on the winner “It is by far still the most-watched copies of his self-titled debut. Jordin Cowell said he decided to leave the show and not the program. show on TV — even more watched in Sparks followed with a platinum self- most popular TV show after this season because “I don’t think “It’s in your hands. We had to fight for some years than the Academy Awards titled debut CD and hit songs, while you should be doing the same thing over [our success] as well.” and the Grammys or anything like that” David Cook had a platinum CD, also self- by NEKESA MUMBI MOODY and over again.” “You have to make sure you put out says Ann Donahue, senior editor at Bill- titled but without the hits. AP, New York “I hope and believe it’s still the No. 1 great music and sell yourself,” she said.

TOP FIVE MANDARIN ALBUMS P L A N E T POP Jan. 8 to Jan. 14 aiti’s devastating earthquake has , another pop star who is dizzy and having trouble breathing. blaming O’Brien for much of the fiasco moved Hollywood and chipping in to help Haiti, has canceled “Paramedics came to take care of and telling the on- stars to lead a rally for disaster four of her US concerts, citing exhaustion me, and told me my heart-rate was air jokes against Leno were “chicken- Hrelief donations and open their own and dehydration. irregular — a result of exhaustion and hearted and gutless.” wallets, led by Haitian hip-hop artist The Grammy-nominated singer, one of dehydration.” Hollywood insider Web site TheWrap Wyclef Jean. the top-selling artists of the last two years “I am so devastated. I have reported late Friday that the network Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were with hits like Bad Romance and Poker performed with the flu, a cold, strep had agreed to pay O’Brien US$30 million the first to reach out to Haiti by Face, pulled out of a show in Indiana on throat: I would never cancel a show to exit . NBC told donating US$1 million from their Thursday and on Friday postponed or just based on discomfort,” she added. Reuters the report was “not true.” foundation to Doctors Without canceled shows on Jan. 16 to Jan. 18 in Gaga also announced that all the NBC, which is at the bottom of the Borders, which has been tending to Connecticut and Atlantic City. ticket and merchandising proceeds big four US TV networks in audience 楊丞琳 Rainie Yang ( ) and Rainie victims of the quake that demolished “I’ve been crying for hours, I feel like from her Jan. 24 concert in New York share, has made no official comment & Love ...? (雨愛) with 18.39 % buildings in Haiti’s capital, Port-au- I let my fans down 2nite,” the 23 year- would go to relief organizations for the on the talks, which also reportedly put 1 of sales Prince, on Tuesday. Tens of thousands old singer wrote on social messaging earthquake in Haiti. Leno back in his old job as host of the are feared dead. site on Thursday. “An hour “I worry that young people don’t flagship The Tonight Show. Conan O’Brien is on the outs at NBC. Photo: EPA Jeremy Liu (劉子千) and Doctors Without Borders said on before the [Indiana] show, I was feeling know enough about what’s going on The vitriol started even before NBC Mr Why (愛異想) Friday that actress Sandra Bullock had there,” she said of Haiti. confirmed last week that it would end and joked that young people should 2 with 7.51 % also donated $1 million. In other news, NBC’s late-night in February The Show in the be inspired to believe they can “do donated $250,000 through woes have become the biggest drama 10pm prime-time slot because of low anything you want in life — unless Jay F.I.R. (飛兒樂團) and Partners in Health and said in a on US television, as comedians and ratings and a backlash from its local Leno wants to do it, too.” Let’s Smile (讓我們一起微笑吧) statement she was praying for the TV executives trade increasingly bitter TV stations. , late night host of 3 with 6.91% Haitian people. barbs in public. Earlier hopes that NBC could ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! told Leno Jean launched a texting campaign, With the struggling network still swiftly move Leno to his old 11:35pm on his show: “Listen Jay, Conan and I Alien Huang (黃鴻升) and calling on fans in the US to donate scrambling to sort out its failed prime- time slot and push The Tonight Show have children, all you have to take care Love Hero (愛&英雄) US$5 each to his Yele Haiti Earthquake time experiment with host Jay Leno, With Conan O’Brien back to 12:05am of is cars. I mean, we have lives to lead 4 with 5.92 % Fund charged to their cell phone bills Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel have disappeared when O’Brien released a here, you’ve got US$800 million. For by texting “Yele” to 501501. played out their talk show wars with bitter statement refusing to participate God’s sake, leave our shows alone.” Magic Power (魔幻力量) and He raised more than US$1.9 million Leno all week in what media watchers in what he called the destruction of Meanwhile late-night CBS rival self-titled album by Friday for the disaster relief effort called a public relations disaster from The Tonight Show. David Letterman took a shot, quipping; 5 with 5.42 % and is in Haiti “giving aid and assessing which NBC could be slow to recover. Since then, O’Brien has placed a “NBC announced it was putting the Album chart compiled from G-Music (www.g-music.com.tw), the situation,” according to his Web Senior NBC sports executive Dick sales ad on popular Web site Craigslist NBC peacock [the network’s symbol] based on retail sales site, www.yele.org. Wyclef Jean is on the case in Haiti. Photo: Bloomberg Ebersol entered on Friday, for a “barely used late-night talk show,” on the endangered species list.” — Agencies