USA Today Article Talks of "AI Alumni Idling Sales"

USA Today's article, "'Idol' Alumni Feeling The Sting of Idling Sales", by Edna Gundersen, sounds as though it would be quite a downer, but it actually has some good things to say about Clay.

Although it does start out by comparing the lower sales of Clay and Ruben with the much higher sales of their first CD's, it then mentions the good. The article says:

"The Clay number wasn't bad," says Geoff Mayfield, Billboard director of charts. "I'm not so jaded to think a 200,000-plus week is a failure. That's just the way the market is this year. He still has a substantial fan base."

In talking about Taylor Hicks and the expected high sales for him, he then goes on to say, "His cohorts? 'We'll see,' he says. 'The only non-winner to have stellar numbers has been Clay.'"

The article goes on to say:

Corson says he's unfazed by Aiken's and Studdard's slower starts. After all, Idol queen Kelly Clarkson's Thankful opened at No. 1 with 297,000 in 2003, better than 2004's Breakaway, which opened at No. 3 with 250,000 but went on to sell 5.6 million copies, more than double her debut.

An Idol debut "capitalizes on the momentum of the show," Corson says. "The second or third is more of an artist's album, a big challenge and a different task. You have to create momentum."

If radio snubs an Idol, eager TV bookers more than compensate, he says.

It seems, based upon these comments by the Billboard Director of Charts, who certainly knows what he is talking about, we should not at all feel badly about the lower sales for Clay. As he said, the market is low, Kelly Clarkson sold lower to begin with the second time around, and Clay's fan base is large. Clay's future looks bright for better sales!

Clayis' update - According to the Raleigh Chronicle, ATDW managed to stay in the Billboard 200 this week capturing position 32, down 12 spots from 20. An amazing feat Clay! Congrats! -- UPDATE -- this is old data. Clay is #52 this week.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, ATDW, American Idol, Without You, Invisible