Reality Show Winners-Turned-Losers: Record Label Drops Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard
Jeez, these reality show winners are dropping like flies! I've said it before: coming in second is the way to go.
J Records dropped Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard, Season 5 and Season 2 American Idol winners, respectively; although Taylor will release another album on his own. Damn. I love it when big stars' labels drop them, but this hurts.
For the record, Ruben Studdard recorded three albums with J Records - he did? - including his most recent one, The Return; but they all did really badly, sales-wise.
What happened to his voters? The only thing I remember about Ruben post-Idol was when he went on The Rachel Ray Show and identified the girl you can barely see on his album cover as Bre from America's Next Top Model Cycle 5. But hey - I didn't vote for him.
P.S. I remember Bre going on the E! True Hollywood Story of ANTM and begging for work; and this in-the-shadow-of-Ruben gig totally sucks. It doesn't mess with my second-place theory, though: Bre came in third.
And yeah, Taylor Hicks blew and Simon knew it - especially compared to Katharine McPhee and Daughtry; but again, where are his voters now? If I was going to expend the monumental effort to vote for someone on American Idol, I would certainly buy their album. I don't get it.
It's the "Sometimes-Applies Reality Show Winner's Curse!" What about these dating show winners we all forget so quickly? Look at Deelishis from The Flavor of Love 2: She actually loved Flav, and now they're onto Season 3 like nothing happened. (Although, I should not complain about Vh1 extending that show; best show ever.)
And Deelishis is so fierce, I'm not about to feel sorry for her.
Usually, though, failed reality TV romances/dating show extensions involve the winner dumping the show's host (Tango and New York, Bootz and Flav, Jes and Bret Michaels, Bobby and Tila), hence the re-do, but why does it also never work even when the winner's still game after the cameras are off?
And I won't even mention the America's Next Top Model winners getting jack-sh*t. I love Season 1 winner Adrianne Curry for being so vocal about the show dumping her even though they said she was the best of a talented group. Here's a snippet from her MySpace blog, in reference to the most recent season's winner, Saleisha, and why she shouldn't have been eligible to be on the show...
"When I did watch the show, I didn't think that they chose the girl who could actually model...but then I remembered that they are 9 seasons into this show and have yet to be successful in making a real "Top Model". I would have picked the other girl based only on that I think she would work more. It's Tyra's show, and she can obviously do whatever she wants. ...
I know Tyra is an honest person. I have been assured by many that Tyra isn't unfair. Seeing how she isn't, I know she will do the right thing in this situation. Heck, maybe after she is done righting this wrong, she could hint at the agency she placed me in to PAY me for the work I did and won through her show? Been trying to get that check since 2003. ; )
Ah, yes; Adrianne just loves Tyra, even to this day. But I shouldn't be so shocked, even with American Idol. Moral of the story: I need to stop being so invested in reality TV. ... But it's so damned hard!
Although we think getting dropped is a bad thing, it may give them (Taylor especially) the chance to make the kind of music they want instead of what Clive Davis wants. That fight is a hard one to win. Ask Kelly Clarkson.
Posted by: junior | January 08, 2008 at 03:34 PM