American Idol: Not always a golden ticket
It’s been a week now since Alabama pretty boy Kris Allen shocked even himself by winning the eighth season of FOX’s American Idol, beating the glittery pants off of glammed-up Adam Lambert.
The eBay figures? A whole ‘nother story.
A quick 90-day All Sites search for each singer shows that Lambert has outsold Allen 4,369-529 in terms of total listings, $65,995-$6,840 in terms of total sales, and 57.82-46.50 in terms of sell-through rate. The web is currently littered with Lambert memorabilia — everything from autographs and photos to some of the creepiest-looking Barbie doll modifications we’ve ever seen, ever.
Actually, the hubbub reminds us of another Idol finale, back in 2003, when Clay Aiken lost to Ruben Studdard but went on to develop one of the most fanatical followings in recent memory. (Aiken has outsold Studdard on eBay 3,008 listings to 585 over the past 90 days.)
So how does this bode for Allen? We’re not even going to try to predict. The careers of past Idol winners have been all over the map, from superstar status to seeming oblivion. Here’s a look using Value Track at the recent sales of all eight winners, ranked by total listings:
Good luck, pal.
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Well, that is understandable, Adam lambert is ten time talented then Kris, and till now I dont understand how the hell he did not win, and what you show here is even make my suspicious stronger as this statistics reflects who the people like more no???
Weird, well I am sure Adam will become a MEGA STAR any way
To be fair, feelings around the office are a bit mixed as to who really should have won, but you’ve got to like Lambert’s web presence as an indicator of who’ll have the most sales appeal…
That being said, many have also noted that Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood (Idol’s two biggest success stories) both had to kind of reinvent themselves before becoming the massive stars that they are today.
Thanks for your comment, effy!