Some interesting news out about TOML today. Billboard and mjsbigblog are good sources-I won't post all the details here. You can check out those websites.
In a nut shell, although downloads have declined for TOML this week, they're still very strong. Take into consideration that we - DC's big AI fan base - already made our TOML purchases a month ago; it's great to see the song still selling so strongly. Clearly the wider audience (non-AI/Cook fanatic folks) like it and have discovered it. Here's info from Billboard's upcoming (7/05) chart listings:

20 Jordin Sparks “No Air” 56,584 (-14%; lw 65,584) Total: 2,121,229 (12)
39 David Cook “Time of My Life” 34,961 (-20%; lw 43,780) Total: 557,852 (23)
42 Carrie Underwood “Last Name” 32,703 (-11%; lw 36,911) Total: 338,925 (32)

Last week DC was really strong at 43,780 downloads. 35k is still amazing.
Now let's consider these facts:

• TOML is ONLY available via digital downloads (itunes, amazon, and I suppose walmart.com)
• TOML, while considered a pretty good song, still has the stigma (in the general public) of being "an AI sappy coronation song" albeit perahps the best one so far. DC has been given credit all around for making it into a hit. I, like many people, freely declare how much I actually like the single. I like it a lot.
• David's TV appearances might be helping to fuel the continued vigorous sales of TOML, and radio airplay has picked up considerably these last two weeks. LA and NY were late to play it but now both markets have really jumped on the song. And yet, it's generally played on just one station in the big markets. It's like the little engine that could!

Given all that... I would say TOML is a smashing success. Now imagine how well DC's pure rock singles will do off his upcoming hair raising, boundries pushed CD! If TOML can succeed like this, I expect a couple of new singles will have no problem going platinum very quickly.

Good news! Thanks for sharing!

It makes me want to make a banner/wallpaper/t-shirt/whatever that says something like "Only DC can rock Skittles!" and have the background all rainbow-y.

WOW, almost 558.000 downloads for Magic Rainbow?Cook does make miracle with the songs he touch, I love the song, and Im glad it is doing so well.Congrats DC.You deserves.

I found this kind of interesting.



So Cookie has so far sold more of TOML than Carrie has with her latest bad girl song? That's interesting. I guess I just really love this latest song of Carrie's and wish they would retire "No Air" already. You can't breathe, Jordin! We get it! Now get some lozenges and give it a rest already.

There was less of a drop this week than there was with last one. It seems to be doing okay and may end up hitting near the top of the pack when it comes to CS. Not bad.

So awesome! I hope he out sells the world!!! MUhhahahahaha!!

that MUhhahahahahaha scared me.



Ha!

Yea, David!

39 David Cook “Time of My Life” 34,961 (-20%; lw 43,780) Total: 557,852 (23)

This is really good news, especially since it is only available for download.

I would have expected to see the TOML CD by now - don't they usually have it for sale during the tour? A lot of sales to be made ....

I wonder what David's cut is from this. All the top 12 have indicated (I think as far back as the Larry King intvu) they were starting to see residuals trickle in (royalties go to the songwriter, % of sales go to the performer). DC of course has a bigger contract with 19/RCA and he has probably gotten a hefty advance that covers the whole new album and it's singles... with more to come later in the year. But does that cover current TOML sales? Plus, he must have topped 1 million downloads for all his AI tunes by now-he was close to that figure the week he dominated Billboard's charts. If he IS getting just 1 percent of sales that could be more than 10-grand! If he gets 10 percent that's more than 100-grand! Anyone know how this works, based on prior Idol seasons?

The sales will definally increase during the tour.

Ok no one throw stuff at me, but Jordin just doesn't do it for me. Everytime I hear that song I think "if you REALLY had No Air I wouldn't have to hear this." So totally with you there. I love Carrie's song though. Jordin...not so much.

There is a radio station here in Cincinnati that plays TOML every two to three hours. A lot of stations are saying that they're not allowed to play it. Also, this station does AI tour news throughout the day. Today they were talking about DC and others already complaining about issues on the bus with Jason. It's a cardinal rule to never take a dump on the bus, but Jason doesn't like to follow that rule. It started when they used the bus while shooting the Ford commercials.
They also said the ladies were very happy to have their own bus because the guys bus will be an absolute pig pen.
Now children...you haven't even gotten on the road, play nice!

Weird. The way it's been going up the charts I don't think a lot of stations are having that problem. But I guess it doesn't fit with the formats of a lot of stations.

There has been some discussion at another board regarding <cough> payola. Now I don't doubt there is some heavy-duty promotion going on here, but it really annoys me to see the rationalization of what are decent numbers.

Besides, not like I know anything, but I suspect payola never killed Chris Daughtry. Or Jordin Sparks.



That report sounds so stereotypical of Jason that I doubt that it is true. Besides, don't believe everything you hear from radio DJs because they love to spread rumors. But it does bring a whole new meaning to the concept of The Smelly Van Tour.

That's pretty damn funny, what a thought! Still, if given the chance, I'd man up and get on that bus, Jason or not!
But honestly, doesn't Cookie deserve his own freakin' bus? He is the WINNER, after all!!

Way to go David!!!!

I just heard TOML for the FIRST time on one of my fav stations just the other night and I was SO happy!!

You know I was going to say..that seems really odd to me. Carrie seems like she just sells so much on everything she puts out as a single..and her CD is always at the top of the charts, so to see this makes me really wonder what's going on with that....hmmmmmm. Honestly, I would've guessed it to be more.

I love the song too...I'm glad it is doing so well. I don't hear the radio much anymore...since all I hear is DC cd my daughter burned for me....

YAY FOR DAVID!!!!

I agree that sales should pick up once the tour gets going. I don't usually listen to the radio here, so I don't know if they are playing it or not. I'm figuring they aren't, though.

And, I agree with a poster above me....have no use for Jordin, but I do like Carrie. That girl has some pipes.

Jeannine

As far as the airplay situation goes, I can believe some stations aren't allowed to play it. I've said this before, the program directors make the ultimate decisions in what does and doesn't get airplay on the individual station. Basically the DJ's can't play a song till they are told to do so and they won't play songs not on their playlist.

I suspect payola may be involved in this song getting played. In a nutshell, that is called "label support". Airplay is basically what has kept TOML from sliding completely off of the i-Tunes top 100 and that's a good thing. The new download #'s will be out tomorrow morning.

I don't know. Should we be concerned that he needed the help? That's pretty much how it works, right, though?

OTOH, I know many Cook fans, particularly on LJ, who just want this song to go away as soon as possible and refuse to DL it. In my Cookie bubble it seems that it is doing okay but I sometimes wonder if there are rumblings in the real world about the way it's performed.

i don't get it.. if they are cook fans.. why they hated the song so much??

anyway.. nice to see that the song is doing so well.. i must say that this is one of the nicest CS.. well after you skip the 'magic rainbow' part..

on jordin's "no air".. it is a nice song.. come on.. she is a good singer.. but sometimes i suspect it is due to chris brown that the song is doing that well.. and carrie underwood.. i'm a fan.. but "Last Name" is something like a "Before He Cheats" rip off in some way..

If that is true, then that's a shame. I hope that they realize it doesn't do him a darn bit of good for them to not DL it. That being said, I don't believe that anyone should DL it a bunch of times because they feel the need to "help" him. I agree that it is certainly probably not a great fit of a song for him. But, it is what it is. If you win the show, you get to sing the winning song, no matter how well it suits you. I do believe that people (not the people here, but regular people who don't care much about what is going on after the show ends) might look to see how well that first effort does and it does probably have some sort of an affect in whether or not they decide to purchase the first full CD. I, for one, will be glad when his CD comes out and he can tour to promote it. Fingers crossed that it is everything he wishes for it to be.

Jeannine

Today was the first time I've heard it on the radio, too. Sent them an e-mail right away thanking them. It sounded great. Yes, there is that "cheesy Idol song" stigma, but the man's voice is pure heaven, and if the lyric was just a little different (magic rainbow?)...

It's wrong of me to isolate LJ. I belong there and post occasionally. There are lots of great people and great info there and it's a great community, but it is much, much smaller than the one here -- only 1600 members and we have close to 10,000. From hanging out there it seems like a lot more people are more focused on the music David will actually make and the quality of it. I have heard a few people say they don't want to DL it because they don't like the song. And many of the LJ people aren't crazy about the CS and don't really want David to be associated with it.

I understand their perspective. I don't think multiple digital copies are counted anyway so it's no use to DL it like crazy. I know some people on the scary boards have accused the Word Nerds of buying DLs every week like candy (of the same songs) because they don't understand how he could have sold so much across the board. From my perspective David is doing OK and from everything I've read he went gold relatively quickly. The fact that he's done as well as he has and that all of the Idols sold so many DLs is really impressive considering that the ratings were down this year and so much of the media was convinced that Idol was over. And I'm not really sure Magic Rainbows is the kind of song that convinces random people to DL it if they don't already love David Cook. I wonder if my perspective is skewed sometimes, though.

I live in Wisconsin, and every year, they never play the winning song. I have never heard them play the American Idols winning song. However, this year I have heard it a few times. Yeah, it hasn't been a lot, but at least it is getting played. They always say nice things about Cook after too

i heard that song today for the first time on the radio at the mall and started freaking out!!!

i've heard TOML so many times on the radio here
ABMB too
and yes, after that they say nice things about david like he's great, or he's handsome too
TOML also reach #2 position in radio chart last week, probably gonna be #1 this week
go david!

I don't see how having the coronation song that has gone to gold faster than that of any other winner (and without the benefit that previous seasons had of physical copies as itunes and digital outlets in general do not count multiple purchases towards the sales charts) can possibly be seen as a bad thing or underperforming in any way. But.... if paranoia works for some people, more power to them, I guess.
And if payola is involved in his airplay, it wouldn't be anything new. Is there anyone who doesn't think that Jordin's first single (Tattoo) benefited from massive payola? That song was getting played about twice as much as DC's is on Z100 from the first day it was released (yet, somehow, it never appeared on their most requested song countdown while Cookie does). And...that particular single was not released to itunes until it had been at radio for a month and was in the top 30 in terms of radio play on pop stations across the country. Even then, she was only able to sell in her first week what Cookie did in his sixth week with Magic Rainbow. I don't think there is anything to be worried about. In fact, from what I can see, it should be the opposite. His sales right now are most likely based on his airplay. The AI fans who wanted it have had it for quite some time. He has become the second winner to chart in the pop top 40 with a CS. He has charted higher on AC than any winner except Kelly with a CS. He has charted higher on HAC than any winner, period and is only the second winner to chart there at all with a CS. And, the song is still climbing up these charts. How is this a bad thing? If radio and music buyers are this receptive to him with a song like TOML, it certainly bodes well for when he releases good music.
If anyone knows something that I am missing, please, enlighten me.

Only David can make that song incredible.

Um no. ALL new artists need help getting their foot in the door in terms of airplay. Even established artists need help on the Top 40 front these days and labels are forced to make bold moves. Radio is a very tough nut to crack and there are several artists who hit the scene and can't get ANY airplay due to the politics of radio and Clear Channel. IF RCA is working payola for a coronation song and not even his first single I'd say there's very little reason for concern, it makes me think they want to break him into radio as quickly as possible. Payola is a sketchy issue and it's not as easy as some think. Labels don't simply hand over a check to program directors. Years ago there was a huge blowup over payola and labels now take to more legal forms. If you think getting airplay is easy for a new artist ask Blake Lewis who had not 1, but 2 songs flop hard. If David is getting RCA radio support be very grateful.

I cannot understand that attitude. I love the song and his voice is so radio friendly. Why do DC fans have to have this kind of disdain. Why are they waiting for it to go away. I hope it never does go away. It is his coronation song and means a lot to me. Why on earth do the words make or break the song. Why not just accept that David is doing wonderfully well with this song and I believe will go platinum, now that the tour has started and he is being so well received. It is rather snobbish in my belief to consider it mundane. If you are a DC fan you want him to do well and support him and promote him in any way - well that is why I do. TPTB are supporting him because they believe in him. You can see what a performer he is.

Whenever I hear it on the radio, I get extremely excited.

I like the song. I don't know if he was allowed to change it around because it wasn't changed all that much. Anyways, if you hear him on The View or on the Walmart Shareholders thing he changes it up and it sounded awesome... despite the horrid "magic rainbow" line.

His voice is angelic though so he could sing a Barney song and I would still DL it. :]

I agree with audrey. He's going to do amazingly because of the way he acts and his meaningful songwriting. I don't want this song to go away at all because everytime I hear it on the radio I squeal and say 'there's my boy!!!' hahaha

That's great!