Entertainment Weekly is reporting that both Ruben and Taylor have been dropped by J Records. Wow.
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/

I'm going to move this to Updates & News for awhile even though it is not directly about Elliott, it is a cautionary tale and a reality check that it's all about sales, always.

I'm shocked they didn't even give Taylor a chance for a second album. I think it harms the credibility of the show a lot. I'm going to guess and say it was probably poor sales and Taylor was tough to work with.
I must be very naive but this is a big surprise. Isn't it great that Elliott has made it on his own without the benefit of Clive's "support." :rocker: :rocker:

Clive has dropped all three of the Alabama boys!? Clive should not visit Birmingham Alabama in the near future. Ruben, Bo and Taylor all deserved better, IMO.

I have to think that Taylor was pushing for this because, let's face it, he still sold nearly 800K albums in the US without much radio play. I would think the Soul Patrol would still support his next record. If he goes independent he can make lots of money doing things his way.

I think you're right on this one. Taylor is perfect for an independent label.

From a couple of snyde comments he made about Clive when I saw him in Sept....I feel like he is glad they dropped him.
Maybe he begged his way out. ;)

He probably compared notes with Elliott and realized Elliott had made more money. ;-)

Clive has his Daughtry, and nothing and no one matters beyond that.

I wish Taylor much success. Whatever the reason, I hope it benefits him and not the greedy music powers-to-be.

Elliott is doing so well, I am so proud of him. His success and happiness makes my heart dance!

Lilly :)

I wish him well, also. I bet he is delighted to be out of Clive's claws.

PoorMe , I couldn't have said it any better. I know the soul patrol are strong and loyal. They were one hard bunch to outvote and they really worked amazingly well together. I always admired the soul patrol and their passion to support Taylor. I wish Taylor and all of them the best.

:hooray: Good for Taylor..I wish him well.... ... :etrain:
Maybe Hickory could sign Taylor.indy seems the way to go...

Taylor was a huge loss for the label. Over a million albums shipped, and only 695K sold. That's a 300K loss, folks. This is why I was never concerned about Elliott's sales, because I knew his had been within the estimation of the label, and the numbers shipped confirm that fact (a little over 500K shipped right now, with 483K sold? That's a huge, huge percentage sold). Jordin better worry next; she needs a super-strong second single; she had over a million shipped, and her CD sales are flat. Will she be Clive's next sacrifice?

I don't think Taylor ever wanted to be this huge pop star anyway; an independent label is better for him. Ruben and Bo are better off without Clive too. I hope Ruben continues making good R&B music. :)

I thought I saw 900K as the figure for the albums Jordin shipped. That seemed too high to me. At least Jordin sells downloads and gets played on the radio. I think Kat will be dropped next if she hasn't already been.
They didn't overship her album but they must have spent a fortune on it - top producers like Danja, Babyface, etc. I just can't see them giving her another shot.

I wish Taylor well. His fan base should support him but going indy won't be easy. The only one who had made it work so far from AI is Elliott Yamin and he's a super talent.

I wish Taylor well. He knows what he wants to do as a musician.

As far as Kat, I'm wondering. But didn't Elliott say he had cut cut a duet with her??? (She wasn't there at the same time.) I don't know what it was for. I guess I thought it was for her second album. Maybe not.

Can anyone clarify?

I always thougth Taylor and Elliott probably had similar goals....just make the music they each love, work hard at it, and make a decent living doing it. Everything else is icing on the cake.

Check-out this thread Sk8888

http://etrainstation.com/index.php?showtopic=15477

This is where the duet with Kat on Randy Jackson's CD is discussed.

Personally, Clive Davis tried to kill Taylor's career. He was poorly promoted, he doesn't even have a decent music video except Just to Feel That Way which seemed like a rehearsal. He didn't get enough airplay anywhere.

So I think Clive didn't give him the same support he gave Daughtry and even McPhee (given her good music videos and exposure). It's a good choice for him to part ways with Clive, that money hungry pig. :) Ooopss! Sorry for that. ;)

I agree, I'm not sure they all can make the indie route work for them. AI had to help them both for exposure... I'm sure they are doing better now than they did without them. Wishing them the best.

I just can't stomach Clive. He's all about the numbers.

Seems to me I remember something about Taylor telling his band he'd be back with them in three years.Kind of like he really had no intention of staying with his recording company long term. Article said Reuben still had 19 E management, are they also Taylor's management team? I wish him well too. I really like Taylor's voice,but if it was up to me I'd just glue that boy's shoes to the stage. jk

Definitely better for him. The label never really did support Taylor, did they?
No one at AI or SonyBMG/Jive wanted him to win. With radio turning a deaf ear,
it became only a matter of time. Now, he can focus on making music, and entertaining his loyal supporters. The indie status means he'll be able to recruit LiMBO as his band, which Jive was opposed to from the get-go. Hopefully he will also leave the disaster that is known as The Firm.

Don't overlook the possibility that Kelly Clarkson may also soon part ways with Clive. I'm not certain everything has been smoothed over yet. Again, she shipped platinum, and the label is operating at a heavy loss in regards to that record.

I hope this works out for Taylor. I like "Under the Radar" very much and look forward to a more "Tayloresque" CD in the future. I get the impression that he has been frugal with his Idol earnings and made some investments, so he's prepared financially to go indie or with smaller label. Good luck to him.

It will be interesting to see what this means for Idol. Has winning forever lost its luster?

I guess it is all about the money.

I totally agree. I don't think Taylor wanted to be a superstar, he just wanted to make music and make a comfortable living. The one thing that AI did for him was open doors and make his name known so that he should have more opportunities to make music without having to live in his car.

I think the best thing any AI finalist can take away from this competition is a fan base. Taylor is now able to tour nationally (and even internationally) and do what he loves. The same goes with Elliott.

I do worry though, that the 19Executives will continue to exploit the show's audience just for that purpose. I was reading about one of the "leaked" 2008 finalists, Carly Hennessy, a singer from Ireland who had a deal with MCA a few years ago. Her project flopped even after they'd spent a couple of million on it. I think the folks at 19 figure that all she needs is a fan base, and they'll be raking it in. If you want to read more about it, here's a link to an article about it originally published in the Wall Street Journal:

http://blog.mattgoyer.com/stories/2002/02/...SpentByMCA.html

note to self:

do not vote or support Carly Hennessy; she is not an "true" amateur, and not worthy of the title. Sounds like a deal behind the scenes to me.

Grrrrrrrr, this is the crap about Idol that pisses me off. It is a singing competition, but for those who wouldn't ordinarily get a shot in the industry. Which is one of the things I love about Elliott so much. NO formal training, NO experience on stage or traveling with his own band on the road. And to have the amazing vocal talent he has. :thud: Elliott is the epitome of American Idol.

Edied for a typo....shocker, I know.

If you are right and this is Taylor's decision, then I am happy for him. However, if this was Clive.... :clubbed: Why in the heck did they treat their winner like this?? It's just horrible.

Whatever. I feel confident that Taylor will be successful. He's got his fans, and now (just like Bo Bice before him) he'll be able to put out the album that he actually wants.

iTunes introduces its own label next week; perhaps Hicks will end up there.

:discuss: If this rumor is true then Taylor will be better off without the Clive Davis group. I feel they never promoted him in the way a winner should be promoted. Basically it appears to me that most of the promotion came from Taylor himself. Another factor was no video to show off his songs and as far as air play it was basically not pushed enough. I know I requested his music several times in my local area and they said they did not even have the cd.

In my opinion Clive Davis is a total :puke: who is all about the money. I am so totally sick of Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood being shoved down our throats. Don't get me wrong, both are talented but enough already. I am at the point now if I see or hear them I turn the channel because I am sick of their music.

Elliott has shown that you can be a success without Clive and I know that Taylor who does have a huge fan base which includes me will be there to support his career in the future. I have both of his prior cds before idol and both are so much better than the one he put out with the Davis group.

It was the same with Bo Bice whose first cd with that group was such a huge disappointment but his newest cd is totally awesome.

Will this hurt the show, well it might because they did lose a lot of viewers last year who are pretty upset with the way they treat their idols and even some of the contestants. Not to mention both Jordin and Blake are not doing that well in sales. I would say at this point the only good thing about the show is the exposure the contestants get which may bring them lots of success in their futures.

I am actually happy for Taylor, I am sure he is thrilled to be gone from Clive and J records. Beyond some initial promotion, they treated him poorly, dissed him as a winner of AI, and he will be better doing his own thing. Taylor can now play his own music his way, and his fans will support him. I wish him the very best.

As far as American idol and this season, I have read about the spoilers, all the professional contestants, the planned appearance of Simon's "project" Leona on the show( they aspire to make her an american pop idol, by forcing her on the public as usual), and I am losing interest in this show as I write. I had stopped voting after Elliott and have no intention of doing so this season.
I am thrilled that I was introduced to Elliott, to Bo, to Clay, to Vonzell, I want real amateurs on the show, not former big label artists , or grammy nominated singers, and songwriters. They had their chance and fair is fair, give a "undiscovered talent" the opportunity to reach their dream. Otherwise, just give this Carly person another contact and don't wait my time..

Kellie Pickler will pass Hicks next week, to become the second bestselling Idol album from Season 5.

She does have a video up on youtube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=k0xEvNlF42I

Are there any rules to American Idol? besides the age? I also heard somewhere, maybe on the radio, that some will be playing instruments this year... anyone else hear that?

Stay strong, Tay. Take care of the music and music will take care of you. I prescribe: a two-disc release, one disc of true soul-Americana originals, and one disc of all classic covers. Priced to sell.

I agree that Taylor's better off.

But I don't think we should be fooled that the indie route is any easier (although you're not a pawn of titans so much, there, so I'm sure it feels a lot better).

Elliott's success as a debut artist on indie is virtually unheard of. The other indies who sell in his range (very few) tend to be people who've worked at it for years and years and years, struggling along without much money in their lives, just infinite dedication.

Elliott's quick success had a whole lot to do with just exactly who he knows, in my opinion ... and his truly extraordinary talent, of course, which has a broader appeal than that of many other artists, such as Taylor, I think, plus the AI exposure, and the fact that he was able to get hold of and beautifully perform a Top-40 hit out of the box. All those things are hard to come by. I love Bo's new album, for example, but it really isn't selling. On the other hand, I imagine Taylor will be happy to get a good touring career out of all this, and that seems pretty well assured.

American Idol's ratings are suffering lately. The thing that might save it this season is the fact that the writers are on strike and there won't be much competition. If Idol continues to fall with the writers strike still going on, it is in major trouble.

Taylor is a gimmick act and I knew he wasn't going to succeed. He is probably fun to watch in concert, but his CD from what I've heard is excruciating to listen to.

I, too, can't help but feel happy for Taylor that now he is free to do what he loves to do - make and perform music his way. I'm grateful to AI for introducing me to artists that I love like Taylor, Ace, Bucky and Chris and especially Elliott, and in a Kevin Baconesque-way through Elliott (three degrees of separation), Josh Hoge and The Last Goodnight. But the machine behind AI has lost my respect for the way they have treated Taylor and Bo and Reuben and I will never again vote there or support their shoved-down-our-throats idol contestants for 2008.

I wish Taylor and his fans all the best in the future.

I have to agree with applesauce above. Going the independent route is not easy.
Elliott is the only one from Idol I've ever known to succeed going that route. It doesn't seem like Bo or Constantine are doing that well. Taylor will probably do okay but I honestly don't see huge sales ahead.

Elliott's sound is more contemporary than the others I've mentioned. He also has excellent management and benefits from a cousin who is a major player. Of course without the talent, none of that would really help.

Taylor is a fun performer to watch but his vocals are just "okay, dawg" in my book.

:goodpost:

I agree 100%.