So I’ve been trying to get tickets to see Chris Daughtry, fan club was supposed offer pre-sale tickets (no email ever came). Money conquers all and I’ll say it right now – American Idol was staged, Daughtry is complicit, the entire scheme rigged to cash in on his record sales and tour sales.
American Idol has always been a prize of the pop music market. They’ve promoted generic, unoriginal crap for several years now. While the sales of some winners have been adequate, over the past few years the marketability of the performers has dropped drastically – case in point, Taylor Hicks. If the idiot who signed that karaoke singer’s million dollar contract isn’t working the fry vat at a McDonald’s somewhere I’ll be astonished.
The real crime is that a ringer enters the show, Chris Daughtry. He sails through several rounds with bigger and better backdrops only to be dropped in favor of people with inferior talent and stage presence. Everyone’s shocked. Daughtry is dumbfounded. The judges are in tears. The mistake was Seacrest. He simply said “You’re going home.” That’s it. No shock, nothing. Other people get voted off every week and he’s always got a little something more to say. He didn’t look shocked because he wasn’t.
Fans are furious. Complaints arise of his number going to other contestants (one of mine went to Hicks). The official and accepted line being “He was so popular people didn’t vote because they didn’t think they had to.” Sure, its possible… Likely? Not even close. Every week they claimed more callers. How could they claim a record number of callers that week if enough didn’t call in to support the best performer on the show?
Now everyone is looking for more Daughtry. They buy t-shirts and cd’s from his Absent Element days. Realistically, all are waiting for the inevitable release and tour. The release comes out and breaks record with how quick it hits platinum status. Shows sell out within seconds of tickets going on sale.
I probably wouldn’t care so much if I had gotten tickets, but the simple fact that these shows sold out in less than a minute and that ticket brokers who use official tickets THEY OBTAINED FROM PROMOTERS AND TICKETMASTER as well as others that resell tickets have them for prices ranging into the hundreds of dollars… I call bullshit. Anyone who pays $100+ for a $20 ticket is a complete moron.
I’m sure there are folks who will pay for it. I’m also sure that come the next tour, bigger venues will be available and they’ll likely sell out as long as more people don’t catch on like I have. The trick to selling anything is that the consumer must want what is for sale. They must desire it. I won’t disrespect Daughtry’s talent or presence. He’s got plenty of both and kudos to him for that much… But this whole situation STINKS to high heaven, and I have very little doubt it isn’t completely staged.
Q/A:
and then make a new season with no talent whatsoever?
This season is no different than any other, a lot of mediocre performers with minimal stage presence. For God’s sake they’re going to have an ABBA week. Who the hell cares about ABBA? Should the ratings be enough to keep checks coming in from sponsors, expect at least 2 ringers next year. I say 2 ringers because whoever pulled this off will definitely want to bring in more money to make up for not pulling the same act this season. They couldn’t pull it this season because it would simply be too damned obvious to drop another ringer into the game and have them cater to the ‘anti-idol’ market. Mark my words, the folks with the power will always make more money off the losers than the winners – especially after Daughtry.