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It is being reported that “mini-Timberlake” Blake Lewis (American Idol runner-up on the Jordin Sparks season), has been dropped by his label, Arista. His debut album, Audio Day Dream, was released in December and only sold an underwhelming 300,000 copies. This somewhat surprises me because (a) the kid was bearably charming, and (b) the album, although by no means great, had some decent production value and took some interesting 80s-inspired risks.

But Lewis isn’t the first Idol alumni to be dropped from a label; both “Soul Patrol” Taylor Hicks and “Open Toes” Katharine McPhee (who had an equally dance-ready album) got the boot after their albums tanked and same goes for Season 2 winner, Ruben Studdard. We still have yet to see any of these artists fully bounce back, so is Lewis now destined for the same fate of potentially fading into obscurity?

So, American Idol, what gives? I mean, yes, for every Idol failure, there has been a success story (namely Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Jordin Sparks), but it seems that the Idol “hit making” batting average has been a disappointing 50/50. So just how relevant is this show? What is more important here: the actual up-start of new-found talent? Or simply the juggernaut that is Idol franchise TV ratings?

Discuss.

Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

Posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm by Soja and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.

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