the buzz log
Idol Talk: Reviving the Southern Dynasty
In the end, the South rose again.
In the last possible moment, Kris Allen made "American Idol" history—or perhaps reinforced it. The numbers and judges may have been with Adam Lambert, but Allen once again showed that the Cinderella storyline could rally the American South and the heartland.
Even the city slickers at the Los Angeles Times see Allen's win as bringing "the show back to its original premise," that of someone from nowhere rising to the top while remaining true to him or herself. As for the Arkansas Online, the hometown news outlet calls Allen the "neighbor, fellow churchgoer and friend."
As for supporters of the more polished Lambert, Newsday points out, as so many other "Idol" pundits have, that the runner-up took the news just fine and "doesn't really need the show's voters to validate" his readiness to be a star.
Season 8 messed up our projection record (at least we had three in a row), although we did talk of upsets. Below, a congrats to all "Idol" winners past and present, from wherever they hail. Note the only non-Southerner was Season 6 Jordin Sparks, an Arizona resident born in New York.
"American Idol" Winners (and Birthplace)
- Kelly Clarkson (Texas)
- Ruben Studdard (Alabama)
- Fantasia Barrino (North Carolina)
- Carrie Underwood (Oklahoma)
- Taylor Hicks (Alabama)
- Jordin Sparks (New York)
- David Cook (Texas)
- Kris Allen (Arkansas)
Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol, Music
Idol Talk: Standouts in Songs, Performances, and Height
In the eighth bid to be the next "American Idol," one Search question rises above the rest: "how tall is adam lambert."
Well, one pressing question among many. The Fox producers rotated Lambert and Kris Allen three times with machine efficiency on Tuesday performance night. Drama was restricted to the vocals, although the Arkansas contender got Simon Cowell's belated blessing of his worthiness to be onstage.
People went online to evaluate the contestants, the songs, and judge Kara DioGuardia's songwriting abilities. Below, "Idol" performance curiosities, questions, and some true winners that emerged that night:
Top "Idol" Searches, Performance Night
- Favored Song: "Mad World" (sung by Lambert)
- Original Singer: Marvin Gaye ("What's Going On," sung by Allen), closely followed by Sam Cooke ("A Change is Gonna Come," sung by Lambert)
- Meh Reaction of the Night: "No Boundaries," sung by both contestants and written by judge DioGuardi
- Most Popular Judge: Paula Abdul, who looks like she really used her home tanning booth before the show
- Questions of the Night: "is adam lambert gay" (ambiguous) and "how tall is adam lambert" (6' 1" per IMDB, about two inches taller than Jordin Sparks)
- Most Searched Contestant Among Core "Idol" Fans (women 35-64): Lambert by more than threefold
Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol, Music
Idol Talk: Upsetting Talk
If a contest looks lopsided, then there's only one way to drag out the "American Idol" suspense: talk of upsets!
Adam Lambert rocks his rival in terms of online affection and sheer buzz. Kris Allen is no slouch, but he's got less than a third of the frontrunner's searches.
If any upsets are going to happen, they will have to be seen on performance night. And if the final two's chill attitude is to be believed, all the theories about home states, the Christian vote, and Katy Perry's plug don't matter compared to raw onstage talent. Besides, the "American Idol" 2009 tour tickets already went on sale May 9.
But really, the winner's already decided: Despite a dip, "American Idol" still holds onto the ratings crown.
Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol, Music
Idol Talk: The Third Place Curse?
The duel. The face-off. The toe-to-toe, mano a mano singfest. "American Idol" is finally down to two. But before we leave Top 3 week behind, let's examine the lore of the Third Place Curse.
Coming in second isn't the bummer as it used to be. While the runner-up isn't an understudy who steps up in the event of laryngitis or rehab, more than a handful have gotten decent stage work and sitcom guest roles (Idolheaded blog has an impressive round-up of almost-rans through 2006).
Visits from Chris Daughtry (season 5, 4th place) reminded audiences (and competitors) that winning isn't everything. And Jason Castro, who got the boot in Top 4 week last year, signed on to big-name Atlantic Records.
But third place? Whispers across "Idol" forums speak of third place as purgatory. "Nobody who's placed 3rd has been successful," averred one commentor. TV Squad has a sympathetic once-over for that awkward spot, noting things like "Vonzell has the disappointing record of being the highest finishing Idol contestant to not get picked up by a record label."
But, the curse may be lifted thanks to Elliot Yamin's independent streak. Below, a Web ranking of the past season's 2nd and 3rd place finishers. At least their "Idol" rank doesn't necessarily determine their online popularity.
Top "American Idol" Runner-Ups, past 7 days
- David Archuleta (season 7, 2nd)
- Clay Aiken (season 2, 2nd)
- Elliott Yamin (season 5, 3rd)
- Katharine McPhee (season 5, 2nd)
- Blake Lewis (season 6, 2nd)
- Melinda Doolittle (season 6, 3rd)
- Bo Bice (season 4, 2nd)
- Nikki McKibbin (season 1, 3rd)
- Jasmine Trias (season 3, 3rd)
- Diana DeGarmo (season 3, 2nd)
- Justin Guarini (season 1, 2nd)
- Syesha Mercado (season 7, 3rd)
- Vonzell Solomon (season 4, 3rd)
- Kimberley Locke (season 2, 3rd)
Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol, Music
Idol Talk: Who's on Second?
If you know the vintage Abbott and Costello routine, the "American Idol" variation would go: Lambert's on first. Who's on second? I don't know. Third base!
But finally, we do know. Ryan Seacrest would hate this, but credit should go to Simon Cowell. The outspoken Brit made a plea against complacency during Top 3 performance night. Since the caustic judge made clear his preference that the Season 8 crown be placed on Adam Lambert's head, rallying the troops was key to making his projection come true.
And yes, people got off their duff: Searches for "how to vote for american idol" jumped into the top 75,000 terms on Yahoo!. People also looked for the telephone numbers, which means either people tune out Seacrest when he talks, or they're just voting without watching. Either way, score one for the Brit on promoting democracy.
As for the contestants, Lambert maintains his lead among women 30-64 (the Fox show's faithfuls), key "Idol" states, and the world. But the close race for second doesn't look so close anymore: The data-slice-and-dice now puts Kris Allen far ahead of Danny Gokey.
Could be his acoustic guitar won the night... or maybe he was helped by folks who spelled his name "chris allen." Hey, a vote's a vote.
Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol, Music
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nidal Malik Hasan | Breakout! |
| 2 | Fort Hood Shooting | Breakout! |
| 3 | Tyrannosaurus Rex | Breakout! |
| 4 | Fort Hood | 43518% |
| 5 | Tropical Storm Ida | 4377% |
| 6 | Willie Aames | 3325% |
| 7 | Shannon Dedrick | 3299% |
| 8 | Gretchen Rossi | 2702% |
| 9 | Epic Mickey | 2583% |
| 10 | Lee Harvey Oswald | 1907% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danica Patrick | +194 | 207 |
| 2 | Fort Hood | +185 | 185 |
| 3 | Angelina Jolie | +114 | 164 |
| 4 | Rihanna | +39 | 157 |
| 5 | New York Yankees | +54 | 154 |
| 6 | Alicia Keys | +139 | 153 |
| 7 | +1 | 153 | |
| 8 | NFL | +6 | 138 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.