Not every American Idol gets idolized

By Barry Garron

As "American Idol" gets closer and closer to naming this season's winner, maybe the real story is why so many of the winners and runners-up haven't been more successful. Considering the enormous and unprecedented publicity and exposure the final finalists receive, it's almost surprising that more of them don't get to the top of the Billboard charts.

In the music industry, maybe more than any other branch of entertainment, making it big depends on marketing, promotion and publicity. It's why musical groups compile lists of friends as long as phone books on MySpace. It's why even some of the most successful artists jump at the chance to play during the waning minutes of "The Tonight Show," long after most people are snoozing.

I don't want to downplay the importance of talent but, as "American Idol" demonstrates year after year, there's no shortage of that commodity. What really turns a musical artist into a concert tour phenom is the ability to catch and hold the public's eye.

In that respect, there's never been anything like "American Idol." Each week, each finalist makes tens of millions of impressions on air. Forests of trees are felled to supply the pages and pages of stories written about them. They are on the lips of morning radio hosts and evening entertainment reporters. They generate millions of internet messages.

As any record label exec will tell you, you simply can't buy that kind of exposure. Not even with a platoon of publicists.

And even with all that, not every "American Idol" winner has become an American Idol. (In an earlier day, not every "Star Search" winner became a star, either, but the promotion, ratings and exposure was only a fraction of that of "AI.")

Of the six winners, only two -- Kelly Clarkson (right) and Carrie Underwood -- are undeniable stars. Two others, Fantasia and Jordin Sparks, have done well but the verdict on their staying power is not yet in. The remaining two, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks, are not likely ever to reap the popularity their platforms provided.

The record for the runners-up, each of whom received about as much exposure as the winner, is equally mixed. Last season's No. 2, Blake Lewis, has done poorly of late. The year before, Katharine McPhee came in second. Her debut album entered the charts at No. 2, then sputtered. She was dropped by RCA.

Maybe a true American Idol emerges only every third year. For the sake of this season's winner, let's hope so.