O.K., I know you guys are going to think I must be slipping something into my coffee as this is the second time in a week that I’m writing about American Idol. It’s not the case, I subscribed to Billboard Biz a while ago and last night the omniscient Google Reader recommended that I get Billboard News as well. This article was surprising to me.
Season seven “American Idol” champion David Cook will set a record for debut entries on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs tomorrow as 11 titles enter the former, while 14 songs jump on the download tally. The onslaught is led by a No. 3 Hot 100 start for his original recording “The Time of My Life,” which shifts 236,000 downloads to easily take the No. 1 spot on Hot Digital Songs.
It’s impressive that Cook had that many songs enter the charts even though the Hot 100 is principally based on voodoo or, as Billboard puts it, a chart “in which we try to mingle sales numbers with radio data”. But, the real impressive number is 236,000 downloads. That is a big number for downloads. And, that’s for an artist with no physical CD release.
Lefsetz says Cook’s success is because we have to have a “center” and; “We live in a rock nation.”
I’ll buy that Bob, because I want to believe it but, it doesn’t explain why 236,000 people paid to download a can of sappy ballad.
Now, 236,000 paid downloads isn’t a number that’s going to save the music biz but, the fact this much of a buzz exists around Cook is a good sign.
Oh yeah, remember when I was busting on ZZ Top for appearing on stage with David Cook?
Well….that was before someone pointed me to this picture.
By the way, Jessica Simpson is releasing a country album. Apparently, Papa Joe is the only manager in the game that isn’t reading Lefsetz. We live in a rock nation, Joe.
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Tags: american idol, billboard, david cook, jessica simpson, Music, music biz, papa joe, Rock, world domination, zz top
Sans Direction wrote,
Do we live in a rock nation?
I’m thinking yes and no.
There’s lots of great young players who pop up, make an album’s worth of great pop and drop out again. I’d rather hear the Strokes or Interpol than Maroon 5, but even they’re “rock”. But the biggest names are Radiohead, who makes vaguely disturbing electronics-and-Sonic-Youth inspired rock, and Wilco, who makes vaguely disturbing electronics-and-Sonic-Youth inspired rock. People who ardently avoid swinging.
I’m not one to sit and watch CMT or the like for great amounts of time, but the people I see who make rock and roll, who make music with guitars and some swing, live on the country charts. Big and Rich. Sugarland.
We live in a rock nation that won’t accept rock recorded past 1984, it seems.
But I will consider it more.
Sans Direction’s last blog post..Remedial Songwriting 102, or Pray for the Thunder and the Rain
Link | May 29th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Pribek wrote,
Sans, I think that in Lefsetz greater point he would agree with you on Country being the current rock.
Actually, I hear that a lot. To the point, that it seems, to me at least, to be populist sentiment. I can’t honestly get on that band wagon. I’ve tried and can’t make the leap.
Are you saying that Wilco doesn’t swing?
Link | May 29th, 2008 at 4:50 pm