THE FINAL 7 FOR AI SEASON 8: THOUGHTS ON “LOCKING IN” THE OTHER FINALISTS’ CAREERS

One of the AI blogs that has been following my Adam blogs asked me to, “give a 2-3 sentence summary of where the other idols stand from your perspective as well,” and it follows.

I’d like to thank Herb and the AmericanIdolNow Blog, it’s outstanding and worth checking out often.

While you know how strongly I feel about Adam and his meteoric future, of course my colleagues and I have been watching the other finalists and this following message attempts to provide some perspective and recommendations on how to maximize the other finalists’ successes. Here’s the column, thought you might find it interesting:

THE FINAL 7 FOR AI SEASON 8: THOUGHTS ON “LOCKING IN” THE OTHER FINALISTS’ CAREERS

Looking at the Final 7 for AI Season 8, most importantly, I think they are all Winners and have my great admiration. To arrive at this pinnacle on America’s #1 television show is a tremendous accomplishment. I’m NYMichael on these AI message boards, and as a CEO in the entertainment industry (international management, production and new media) I’m focusing on the finalists’ commercial appeal and opportunities from my perspective. At this point, it’s about the finalists “locking in their futures.” I respect all viewpoints and there are no “wrong” answers, these are just my thoughts about this talented group of Artists. Many thanks to Herb and the outstanding AmericanIdolNow blog for asking me to put this together, I hope you’ll find it interesting.

Allison Iraheta has a tremendous instrument and excellent market appeal. I think if she continues to build on her personality to augment her recognition, in addition to a recording career she’d be a natural for a “Disney path” (that’s the Miley, Zac, Vanessa, etc path… having a career making role that fast-tracks her). She also has the benefit of time; as such a young Artist she can wait to make choices more easily than older finalists. But I think several of her studio tracks are already releasable, so she may strike lightning; her challenge will be the right team around her (see notes under Lil for more on that).

Anoop Desai strikes me as an actor as much as a singer and I can see him in television and motion pictures attracting a fan base as well. Timing is everything, and with the recent overwhelming success of “Slumdog Millionaire” there are a huge number of opportunities in that market. This is not meant in any way to be condescending whatsoever; entertainment is about striking while the iron is hot and right now Hollywood (and America) has “Bollywood” fever. “Bollywood” is known for musicals, and now a lot of these films are getting negative pickup deals (Hollywood studios handle US movie theatre releases after films are already made) so seeing Anoop as a leading romantic male would be a natural. That’s just an example; I’d bet he’ll be considered for a lot of television roles as an actor. (This is just sort of kidding around, but you may have seen that Kal Penn, who played Kumar in the HAROLD & KUMAR movies, has accepted a White House job as Associate Director at the Office of Public Liaison, where he will help the Obama administration connect with arts and entertainment groups as well as the Asian and Pacific Islander communities; is there a Kumar in Anoop’s future? :)

Danny Gokey is emerging as a leader in one of the fastest-growing market segments, faith-based music, and following AI I think his beautiful voice and compelling personal story will catapult him to the top of that category. Of course he has crossover potential as well, but going in with such a loyal and dedicated base is a great start. My colleagues and I have some concern about Danny’s instrument with respect to his vocal cords; MasterClassLady has more technical information that sums up what we’re hearing. It’s vital Danny has an ENT specialist make sure everything is OK so we can all enjoy the longevity of his glorious sound; if there is a node or some other issue the first step is usually vocal rest, but clearly that’s not going to happen so he’ll just need to be really careful.

Kris Allen is blessed with a lot of options. His natural warmth and charisma will take him far either as the lead vocalist of a band like Maroon 5 or potentially as a solo artist. Like Danny, he has a loyal faith-based audience as well, and America would be very lucky to have Kris as an international cultural ambassador. If he is an actor, his “Idol look” makes him a natural consumer spokesman or as an on-camera TV personality. If he isn’t an actor, I think taking some lessons would inure to his benefit as a musician as well. Because he didn’t receive as much “back story” on AI as some of the other finalists, to remain front of mind with consumers I think he’ll need to make a move as quickly as possible (a solid commercial deal would take care of that while everything else is cooking).

Lil Rounds has an excellent studio voice, and the experience she’s gaining from AI is tremendous. She’s been more difficult to classify, because there are so many artists in her groove that have achieved tremendous success. Of this group, I respectfully think she is the most in need of strong management. Managers are different from Agents; Agents book jobs and because it’s commission driven they look for the Artist to accept without completely considering the overall career. (This is an unfair generalization, there are many Agents, especially at large companies, which do look at the career direction, and I’m just being illustrative.) A Manager, on the other hand, looks at all the opportunities and advises the Artist on the best way to get from point A to point B (or be the most successful, pick your analogy). While Agents are generally capped a 10% commission, Managers, because they look at the overall career (including style, branding, publicity, marketing, etc.) can receive as much as 50% of an Artist’s earnings (Elvis Presley’s manager colonel Parker is one of the most famous examples; he was a 50% partner). Once the dust settles, Lil needs to work closely with a Manager to determine where she can achieve the most success (what niche needs to be filled).

Matt Giraud brings on an inevitable comparison to Justin Timberlake (his wardrobe and style choices are highlighting that), but it’s a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that Justin is one of our most talented artists, and is establishing longevity to his career that is admirable and deserved. To be compared in that company is a great honor. The downside is we already have a Justin Timberlake, so what can Matt bring to the table that provides differentiation? Justin had a lot of success beginning in a group and that may be a path for Matt to consider to keep working while he establishes his unique stamp. On the other hand, his keyboard skills are so strong that perhaps he’s a writer as well and his visibility and exposure will fast-track his songs being heard by A&R (Artists & Repertoire) executives?

Thanks again to Herb and here’s to another exciting night tomorrow on American Idol!

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Here’s to a great show tomorrow!

Best, Michael

Posted in: Industry Perspective by nymichael / Tags: Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud