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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