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'American Idol': Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox can't crack Billboard top 10
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Like a lot of "American Idol" numbers this season, sales of the top two's debut singles are down from last year.Winner Lee DeWyze entered Billboard's Digital Songs chart at No. 12 this week with his cover of U2's "Beautiful Day" selling 95,000 copies. That's not quite twice as many as runner-up Crystal Bowersox, whose version of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain" was downloaded 49,000 times (No. 32). DeWyze also has two other tunes on the digital chart: "Hallelujah" (20th) and "The Boxer" (61st), while his and Bowersox's duet of "Falling Slowly" comes in at No. 38.
Their combined five spots on the Digital Songs chart is half as many as Kris Allen and Adam Lambert had last year, and none were as strong as Allen's "No Boundaries" (134,000 downloads in its first week) or Lambert's "Mad World" (115,000), according to Billboard.
Katy Perry, by the way, has the top spot on the digital chart with "California Gurls," which moved 269,000 copies.
The (relatively) sluggish sales for DeWyze and Bowersox follow a season in which "Idol's" ratings also fell. The show's audience fell off about 10 percent for the season, while the May 26 finale was off about 16 percent in viewers and 18 percent in the adults 18-49 demographic.
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Don't you worry about Lee DeWyze and his ratings as once he gets his first CD out there, he will get noticed in a BIG way. In my opinion, this man will become a BIG star, similar to Bruce Springsteen.
I hope the newest Idol alums Lee and Crystal will get play time on radio stations. If people do not hear their work they will not know they are there. Also, you failed to mention Lee's Slumberland album is #17 on the Billboard Heetseekers chart. Good work Lee. I cannot wait for his new album.
I've bought a lot of Lee Dewyze music including some of his pre-Idol music. I've fallen in love with the song "Love and Misery" and "Princess (reprised)". If you want to know what he's about as a singer/songwriter preview those. And though it's not a personal top favorite, a lot of people love the song "Flower Child". Check them out. He's not meant for karaoke. He's the real deal.
Sorry to be negative but winner of season of Season 8 was boring as hell. Now bring on the winner of Season 9 who's even worst!!! God save American Idol!
I have the sense that Lee will be iconic. His songwriting is second to none. Think: Neil Young: Dylan;Gordon Lightfoot...So we will not be getting the "canned" product that any decent singer can put out. When someone's got that kind of gift,there is no "fading away". Lee DeWyze is the real deal and he'll be around for a very long time.
-signed:48 yr old mother in Nova Scotia Canada.
DeWyze is a karaoke singer. Nice guy but boooring. Bowersox is the real thing . Lee sang flat notes several times on AI. Bowersox couldn't hit a flat note if she tried.
Lee cannot hold a candle to Crystal. Unfortunately, another vanilla white male has claimed the day. Idol has become so predictable as to be very uninteresting. I don't believe the show will last another season.It has become boring.
Sorry Crystal fans but she lost. Can't you get over it? She'll be fine anyway and they both have record deals. There is no need to Lee bash. Crystal fans all talk like she never hit a sour note and she did. Plenty in fact. And that screaming thing she does makes me cringe. She's not close to perfect. But I will give you this - when she sang ballads she had the voice of an angel. In the end it comes down to who you could listen to song after song. For me that was Lee. And Lee won. That should be that. Move on.
Lee won't get the sales because although he had a lot of votes most were from tweens voting 900 times each for him They might buy one CD for their 900 votes. If they had one vote per contestant he would not have that many votes that's why his sales aew going to be way short of the voting totals.
When Carrie Underwood first won, mixed reactions were everywhere on the media. She got called plain and boring too many times. After her debut album dropped, that's where she gained huge recognition for her hard work, and she is now a big star who has won plenty of awards.
David Cook also got bashed by many who favored Archuleta to win. But he finally gained the respect he deserved after proving he really did make an effort on his music.
Lee is going to be on the same path. After his record drops, he's going to be recognized in a HUGE way. I have many INTERNATIONAL friends who said Lee's very well-received there. That explains his marketability. A lot of international fans have even pre-ordered his album. He's going to get tons of non-US support, which is going to boost his sales tremendously.