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The biggest backstage drama on American Idol this season hasn't been that alleged spat between Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest. Instead, it's the jockeying by record labels to get their artists a coveted guest spot on the lung-fest. The reason is simple: ''The only other show with this kind of sales impact is Oprah, ''says J Records executive VP Tom Corson. He speaks from experience. After J's Rod Stewart appeared on Idol in April, sales of his four Great American Songbook albums jumped 253 percent (see sidebar, below).

Only there's one fact Corson neglects to mention — and here's where things can get as confusing as a Paula Abdul soliloquy. Half of season 5's cameos, including Shakira's and Barry Manilow's, have come from labels within Sony-BMG, home to J and RCA...which release the CDs of the show winners, such as Kelly Clarkson, and some runners-up, like Clay Aiken. ''Coincidence? Of course not!'' says Dominic Griffin, exec director of film and TV for Hollywood Records. ''We would do the same, by the way.'' But Corson begs to differ. ''There's a separation of church and state,'' he says, before admitting, ''Obviously [we have] a relationship, so maybe the process has less steps.''

It's easy to bypass those extra steps when you're a living legend like Stevie Wonder, who landed his theme night despite being signed to Universal. Speaking of that label, according to a source close to the negotiations, Universal is in talks with two major networks to create its own Idol-like series, which may air as early as January 2007. Not only could it give artists like Nelly and the Killers a platform, it could also (oh, we can only dream!) provide a place of employment for Brian Dunkleman.

Sales Force

Idol gave new life to these artists' albums

STEVIE WONDER 'A TIME TO LOVE'
Week Before Idol: 2,900*
Week After Idol: 5,500
Increase: 90%

QUEEN 'GREATEST HITS'
Week Before Idol: 6,000
Week After Idol: 14,000
Increase: 133%

BARRY MANILOW 'THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE FIFTIES'
Week Before Idol: 32,000
Week After Idol: 78,000
Increase: 144%

SHAKIRA 'ORAL FIXATION VOL. 2'
Week Before Idol: 11,000
Week After Idol: 81,000
Increase: 636%

*Number of units sold source: Nielsen Soundscan


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Posted May 05, 2006 | Published in issue #876 May 12, 2006 | Order Article Reprints