“American Idol” and the Ultimate Low
Carly Hennessy
Seven years ago, I received five promotional copies of a compact disc that became a music industry legend. Now, with “American Idol” returning to Fox for its seventh season, millions of people are hearing about Carly Hennessy, the would-be pop star who became infamous for the spectacular failure of that debut CD.
I remember unpacking all those copies of Hennessy’s Ultimate High, and the ridiculous level of promotional overkill ultimately worked. I cracked open the jewel box, listened to it and liked it enough to give the Irish singer a positive review, primarily on the strength of its production and songwriting work by Gregg Alexander.
Alexander had abdicated his role as a pop star when he folded New Radicals, which scored a hit in 1998 with “You Get What You Give.” I’ve never been able to decide if Alexander was a great and distinctive songwriter or a lucky guy with a few melodic tricks in the bag — the 2003 song he wrote for Santana and Michelle Branch, “The Game of Love,” could be identified as one of his spawn in its first 10 seconds.
Alexander, along with former “Archie Bunker’s Place” child star and fellow New Radical Danielle Brisebois, crafted Hennessy’s Ultimate High from top to bottom. It sounded like a New Radicals disc, albeit with an 18-year-old Irish girl singing lead.
And it was good, but while MCA Records could give Ultimate High away to a few gullible music reviewers, the company only got a few actual, flesh-and-bone music buyers to pony up. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company spent $2.2 million making and marketing Ultimate High, which means it cost MCA $5,820 to move each of the 378 copies it sold in its first three months.
You read that correctly: 378 copies. That is a number that would send a local band selling CDs out of its van into an existential crisis. I’m sorry to say that I probably drink more Diet Cokes than that in three months.
Flash forward seven years. Hennessy’s name recently leaked as one of the singers most likely to appear on the seventh season of “Idol” — she previously competed in Season 5, but did not make the finals reportedly due to visa problems — and her possible presence this season ignited a mini-controversy among “Idol” watchers. Web sites such as VoteForTheWorst.com have called Hennessy a “plant,” and she has been referred to as “a ringer” in various online news stories. If she wins, she would be the first “American Idol” champ with a major record contract on their resume.
But honestly, why such a hue and cry over this? Has “American Idol” presented itself as some kind of music industry paragon of virtue, an institution so pure and chaste that its virginal divinity cannot be sullied by a singer with experience?
Furthermore, making fun of Hennessy for selling fewer than 400 copies of a record is completely inappropriate. That number reflects more on her label’s inability to sell a reasonably good pop record. I wonder if anyone made fun of Universal CEO Doug Morris because one of his labels committed one of the biggest marketing bellyflops in the history of the music industry.
If Hennessy does well, I will cheer her on. But consider this: “American Idol” winners are tanking left and right: Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard recently lost their recording contracts, and so did runner-up Katherine McPhee. Season 6 champ Jordin Sparks’ self-titled debut has yet to be certified Gold.
Carly, do you really want to take a chance with these people? You might consider something more reliable. Like Powerball.
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I’lll say one thing for young Ms. Hennessey, though.
She seems extremely marketable.