"Idol" CD Sales Down

The early episodes of American Idol's fourth season -- with their nightly parade of would-be Kelly Clarksons and William Hungs -- are bringing in some of the show's highest-ever ratings. But even with as many as 31 million people watching each night, the new crop of finalists can no longer expect instant superstardom, according to last season's winner, Fantasia Barrino. "A lot of people don't really take you seriously when you come from a TV show," she says. "You have to go out there and prove yourself."

In fact, there are signs that Idol's CD-selling power has diminished. Diana DeGarmo, runner-up to Barrino, sold a mere 125,000 copies of her debut, Blue Skies -- fewer than even first-season laughingstock Justin Guarini, according to Nielsen SoundScan. So far, Barrino has sold a respectable 850,000 copies of her debut, Free Yourself -- but that figure fails to match the sales of previous Idol stars Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. And while Barrino's CD has jumped back into the Top Twenty, two and a half months after its release, her label, Arista/J Records, credits that leap to radio play, not Idol-mania.

So why aren't more of the show's viewers turning into CD buyers? Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says that singers such as Barrino are deviating too far from the unthreatening fare they sang on the show: "If you become a star with a huge choice of music, and then you are put in an urban niche, you will lose many of the fans who voted for you."

But Arista/J Records executive vice president and general manager Tom Corson disagrees. "If it was just a question of creating a souvenir from the television show, then we very likely would support what Nigel's saying," he says. "But Fantasia has to compete in the marketplace. She has to set herself up for when that TV show's no longer there for her."

While critics have declared Barrino the show's most artistically credible winner thus far, Lythgoe says he's also impressed with this season's contestants, particularly the male singers. But whoever wins will face one undeniable fact, says Barrino: "Watching the show is free, and a lot of people just don't go out and buy records."