NY Times talks about Idol CDs - Including Clay's

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 - "Take a chance," Kelly Clarkson sings on her new hit single, "Breakaway." "Make a change and break away."

But her managers, along with many others who have a stake in the careers of former "American Idol" stars like Ms. Clarkson, are not so sure that is a good idea. And as a flood of their albums arrive in stores for the holidays over the next few weeks, the singers are wrestling with how closely to link themselves with the show that made them famous.

Starting Nov. 16, the RCA Music Group will deliver five new CD's from former "Idol" finalists, including Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard and the most recent winner, Fantasia Barrino. The glut will again pit the singers against one another, jockeying not for praise from Paula Abdul or Simon Cowell but for limited slots on radio stations and television.

Appealing directly to the show's huge audience could stoke sales during a season already thick with offerings from established stars like Eminem, U2, Gwen Stefani and Destiny's Child.

But it could also hinder the former contestants' efforts to establish themselves as recording artists with distinctive personalities and the legitimacy needed for long careers.

It is a particularly nettlesome issue for the stars of the show's first two seasons - Ms. Clarkson, Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken - who are releasing albums without the hype of a just-finished television victory behind them.

"We're venturing into brand-new territory here," said Tom Ennis, a senior executive at 19 Entertainment, which is the creator and a producer of "American Idol" and manages the careers of Ms. Clarkson and Ms. Barrino.

Mr. Ennis said he worries that there could be a logjam of "Idol" stars trying to land, for example, spots on the same late-night talk shows. But he insisted that the artists should still play up their ties to the show, especially if it means appearing in front of more viewers. Ms. Clarkson, Mr. Studdard and Ms. Barrino all are scheduled to appear on an "Idol" holiday special on Fox, to be broadcast on Nov. 24. But Mr. Aiken, who finished as the runner-up in the second season and whose debut album has sold more than those of Ms. Clarkson and Mr. Studdard, is not taking part. Instead, he will have his own holiday television special, Dec. 8 on NBC. Representatives for Mr. Aiken, who has broken from 19's management division, said he was interested in standing apart from the show and would not comment for this article.

"Idol" has continued to draw a large audience, with little sign of weakening. The show drew an average of 25 million viewers a week in its third season, making it the most-watched show on television.

Clive Davis, the music impresario and record executive who oversaw the new albums, said the artists could survive only if they receded from the show's glare. "We're not having an 'American Idol' marketing campaign," Mr. Davis said. He credited the show with energizing the pop field, but said, "I'm not interested in merely souvenir sales."

The release of so many albums in such a short period of time stems partly from a collision of agendas. In Ms. Clarkson's case, RCA executives are releasing her CD to try to ride the wave of holiday sales and to capitalize on the popularity of her hit "Breakaway," from the "Princess Diaries 2" soundtrack. Mr. Aiken, for his part, was pressed by the label to record a Christmas album. And more generally, RCA has made a habit of releasing albums by the most recent season's finalists at about this time, before viewers have a chance to forget them.

For many in the music business, "Idol" is the starkest example of how marketing concepts seem to have trumped art. Some analysts have said the show's appeal stems more from the drama of competition and the judges' critiques than it does from the music.

Indeed, most of the albums from past contestants stalled on the Billboard album chart, including one by the first season runner-up, Justin Guarini, whose debut sold 140,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. RCA has since dropped him.

Meanwhile, "Idol" spinoffs, including a television series for younger contestants called "American Juniors," have flopped with viewers. On the whole, however, many music executives continue to have faith in the power of television to sell music.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment, RCA's corporate parent, struck a deal with Mr. Cowell, in which the company and Mr. Cowell will jointly own his new talent-search show, "X Factor."

In their debuts, each of the best-known "Idol'' contestants outsold bigger names. Ms. Clarkson's first album has sold an estimated 2 million copies, Mr. Studdard's about 1.7 million and Mr. Aiken's about 2.6 million.

Mr. Davis estimated that the show's audience accounts for a base of only about 500,000 copies for the top contenders. Success beyond that, particularly for the artists who are releasing their sophomore CD's, hinges more on whether their music connects with a general audience.

Mr. Studdard, who won the second season in a close contest with Mr. Aiken, said he was not rushing to step away from the show. "I know I wouldn't be where I am without it," he said. The crowd of coming releases simply "means we get a chance to saturate the music marketplace with good wholesome music," he added.

Perhaps the biggest test of the show's continuing clout will be the sales performance of the most recent season's winner, Ms. Barrino, and runner-up, Diana DeGarmo. In keeping with an "Idol'' custom, they both released debut singles in June, but neither measured up to the previous seasons' stars, whose singles rose to No. 1 on Billboard magazine's singles chart.

Rick Krim, executive vice president of music and talent for cable channel VH1, said: "I don't think it's going to be the phenomenon of when Kelly came out or when Ruben and Clay came out at the same time. I don't quite feel it this time."

For her part, Ms. Clarkson said label executives and her handlers have spent too much energy hand-wringing over the shadow cast by the show. "Every time I go into a meeting, it's hilarious,'' she said. "They're like, 'This is what breaks you away from "American Idol." ' " First, she said, the apron strings were supposed to have been cut with the success of the debut song from her first album, then with a follow-up song and now with her current hit. "The only people thinking of it are y'all," she said she recalled telling her associates. "It doesn't matter how you got in the business. It matters how you stay."