Top Earning American Idol Alumni 2009

Kris Allen, the new American Idol for 2009, has something big to look forward to: a big paycheck! Here is Forbes' compilation of Top Earning American Idol Alumni in the past year, computed by Forbes' through earnings from album sales, concerts, merchandising and other income sources.

No. 1: Carrie Underwood (Season 4 winner) - $14 million
No. 2: Jennifer Hudson (Season 2 contestant) - $5 million
No. 3: Kelly Clarkson (Season 1 winner) - $4.2 million
No. 4: Jordin Sparks (Season 6 winner) - $3.1 million
No. 5: Kellie Pickler (Season 4 contestant) - $2.3 million
No. 6: Clay Aiken (Season 1 runner-up) - $2.2 million
No. 7: Chris Daughtry (Season 5 contestant) - $2 million
No. 8: David Cook (Season 7 winner) - $2 million
No. 9: David Archuleta (Season 7 runner-up) - $1.3 million
No. 10: Taylor Hicks (Season 5 winner) - $300,000

Some observations: Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard? Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino? What happened to their careers? Hmm. How about other runners-up Bo Bice, that beatboxing guy (what's his name?) and Katharine McPhee?

But even though some did not make it big, the numbers above still show how this show can be a fairy god mother to all aspiring superstars. :p



Forbes' List of Top Earning Idol Alumni

Kris Allen is American Idol winner for 2009

Adam lost!!! Whoohoo! :D
I think I'm happier about that more that about Kris Allen winning. Haha.

But yeah, about half an hour ago, they crowned the new American Idol: KRIS ALLEN.
Great!


Photo from NY Daily News

American Idol Top 9 Results: Alexis Grace is back!

OK, I'm kidding. And April Fools was yesterday. :p Alexis Grace is NOT back (yet). lol.

Yikes! My predictions were totally whacked. (I'm usually "spot on" - whatever that means.) The results are below after you click the "Read the rest of this post" button ('coz I didn't want to spoil it for everyone)...

Bottom 3 were Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta and Megan Joy. And of the 3, the still joyful Megan Joy sang her last song on American Idol tonight. She's still joining the tour though, so you Americans will see more of her around, and hopefully they will be picking better suited songs for her to sing on tour.

What will next week's theme be? Will Allison bring out the Pink-angst again? Will Anoop sing another ballad? Will Adam ever stop screeching? We'll find out next week... (using a Ryan Seacrest voice) on American Idol!

My American Idol Top 9 Ranking: I don't like Adam Lambert

Saw the performances on YouTube. Haha.

My Top 9 reviews:

Adam Lambert - "Play that Funky Music": He has this tendency to go off key with all his vocal shenanigans and nobody freakin' cares! They say he's original, but Steven Tyler's doin' that style for ages (literally). Yeah he CAN sing, but does he HAVE to sing everything that way? (Like a screaming...) Ugh.

Danny Gokey - “What Hurts the Most": I thought it was quite good. It was the first time I ever heard this song (being not a fan of Rascal Flatts) but hey, he made it interesting for me. He moves so well from pop rock type songs to more ballad type songs, which actually gives him more depth as an artist.

Scott MacIntyre - “Just the Way You Are”: Pardon me, but I really don't think he should still be in this competition simply because he's not that great of a singer.

Kris Allen - “Ain’t No Sunshine”: Very soulful. I think his being behind the piano actually changed people's minds about him, meaning they now think he CAN be the frontrunner. His arrangement of the song was also great, it once again showcased his talent. He can sing!

Anoop Desai - “Caught Up": He sounded OK, but dude, that song is an Usher song. And Usher is an awesome performer. I would say Anoop didn't deliver at par with Usher. :p And if you're singing an Usher song, you better dance really well. Bottom line for me is: don't sing an Usher song. :p

Matt Giraud - “You Found Me”: Yikes. He actually sounds like he's trying too hard. Possibly from coming off rattled from last week's bottom 2 experience, Matt is pretty nervous and he sounds like it.

Lil Rounds - “I Surrender": She brought the diva out haha. She actually sang it quite well, not mind blowing, but OK.

Megan Joy - “Turn Your Lights Down Low”: I think Megan has a great unique voice but she doesn't know what to do with it. Is it lack of experience maybe? Maybe she should listen to more songs and learn how to pick songs that fit her voice and personality more. This week's song was waaayyy too slow for her. It was like she was trying so hard to make it move faster but couldn't. Hopefully she stays longer because I'm still interested to hear her do better on a better song.

Allison Iraheta - "Don't Speak": Very angst ridden version, I kinda liked it. And yeah, she can sing.

My Top 3 are:
1. Kris Allen
2. Danny Gokey
3. Allison Iraheta

My Bottom 3 are:
7. Scott McIntyre
8. Megan Joy
9. Matt Giraud

Sorry Matt. Bye!

American Idol 2009 Top 12 + 1!

We've had the first 9 finalists:

• Adam Lambert - gay dude who sings Cher songs, and has a 5 octave voice (lol)
• Alexis Grace - reminds me of Avril Lavigne
• Allison Iraheta - I don't know her yet
• Danny Gokey - guy with a lisp who has a nerdy vibe
• Jorge Nunez - the crying man
• Kris Allen - dunno him yet
• Lil Rounds - her butt is huge! and so is her voice.
• Michael Sarver - nope dunno him yet
• Scott Maclntyre - the blind dude with the curly hair
  

And after the wildcard round, the judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and new judge Kara Dioguardi deliberated and chose not 3, but 4 people to go into the finals round. They are:

• Megan Joy - she's okay
• Matt Giraud - soulful singer, but needs to stand out more
• Jasmine Murray - young & inexperienced :p
• and Anoop Desai - the entertainer

On Wednesday, all 13 will be singing Michael Jackson songs. :D
I have a feeling Anoop will be bustin' some Jacko moves, and that the girls will probably do better than the guys. We'll see.

American Idol starts tomorrow!

American Idol 2009 officially begins tomorrow January 13! But it begins for us in the Philippines on Wednesday, January 14. For those with cable TV, it will be broadcast on Star World, but for most who don't (like me, stuck in Tabangao) we can still watch it on Q-11 (Quality Television) who bought the rights to broadcast it on local Philippine TV.

Read the local broadcast schedule here...
"Q-11 will broadcast the show via satellite starting with a four-hour, two-part season premiere tomorrow night (Jan 14) and the following night (Jan 15) at 6 p.m.
The channel will then broadcast American Idol every Wednesday and Thursday night at 6 p.m. with encore telecasts the same night at 8 p.m., and on Saturdays at 5 p.m., until a new singing champion is declared in May."

Aside from Simon, Paula & Randy, AI 2009 will also have Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Kara DioGuardi. I don't know yet how I feel about her since we haven't seen her in action, but 4 judges doesn't seem right. For one, there will be a lot of ties, 2 against 2, so they'll have to figure that out. (Is it if you get only 2 out of 4 votes, you're out?)

In any case, let's hope AI2009 will not be as boring as last years or as talentless as the year before that. :p Hehe. (Just opinions folks!)

Any if you want to read the rest of the article where I got these info, click here.