Predict the success of the final American Idol winner

[trustypepper]

As we all know, the final winner of American Idol will be crowned in just a few short months. We don't know who the winner will be, but let's make some guesses as far as their future success. Try to ignore the enormous amount of potential variables that could make or break their career and just make a simple prediction.

Voting ends on February 12 at 6 pm ET!

[Gabe]

It depends. If it's going to be another WGWG then he's going to disappear into the nothing just like the 7 other WGWG.

If it's a white girl with a good voice and good image, she might be successful but never a superstar.

[Kurt]

Voted "some brief success:" Nick Fradiani managed a top 40 single after winning last year, and I expect this year's winner to surpass that considering the likely "this is American Idol[/s]'s last winner ever!" / "from Kelly to x" press that will come. I also wouldn't be surprised if the coronation songs are intended to be viable Olympics-worthy syncs (though last year's World Cup tie-in was more natural since FOX was airing it) in an attempt to mimic what happened to Phillip Phillips's "Home." I might be more optimistic if Fradiani had done anything this past fall/winter; I'm surprised there hasn't been at least a follow-up single to keep momentum going.

[ant]

I'm also gonna say "some brief success". I think the winner could get a Top 40 hit, depending on which genre they fall into. I think radio might give them some interest at first, considering they're the final winner of an iconic show and the "bookend to Kelly Clarkson" as I believe Harry Connick Jr. mentioned on the show. But I won't hold my breath considering Idol has only produced 2 "superstar" winners out of 14.

[Revelry]

If its a guy, basically any guy, then no. If its a current sounding female pop artist then yes I think she'll have a much better shot at success.

[ILLUSION]

Show is past its prime. They did a terrible job of hyping it, I think most people don't even know it's on TV right now.

[toomuchboy]

Depends on the contestant that wins and the song(s) they're given. If they get someone at least a little likable, they could probably get a hit or two out of them and maybe a Gold album. Otherwise, nothing.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

They need to have a full album ready to go as soon as they crown the winner. If they wait 8 months to a year to release a debut album, then they have no shot. If they use the coronation song as a full blown lead single for their debut, then maybe some minor success. But since the winner will probably either be a WGWG or a country girl, I'm going with no success at all.

[SoMuchToSay]

If they are signed to Scott Borchett's label, then I'd say no success. Aside from getting lucky with Taylor and a a string of country singers, they've not had anyone break through in the pop world.

[chasebailey]

Unless it is Tristan, no success.

[trustypepper]

Less than 12 hours to vote!

Some of you may want to revise your choice based on who's left, but that's up to you!

[ml7673]

It really depends on who that final winner is, although I imagine it doing better then recent seasons solely for it being the last season of AI.

It'll have a high debut (at least on iTunes) then rapidly fade away like Beautiful Life and all of the The Voice songs, but it could still become a hit if the song's good enough and if they're able to gain momentum back into the song after it starts fading away (like they did with Home - Phillip Phillips, which originally reached the top 10, dropped out of the hot 100, then reappeared and eventually reached a higher peak) the song could be a hit.

I still don't know why "Beautiful Life" flooped, it was a good song and it seemed like it could've been a hit

If I had to guess, Some but brief success, but I'd love to be proven wrong

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2016 0:40:58 GMT -5 SoMuchToSay said:

If they are signed to Scott Borchett's label, then I'd say no success. Aside from getting lucky with Taylor and a a string of country singers, they've not had anyone break through in the pop world.

Well, Big Machine really hasn't tried to break very many artists into the pop world until recently, lol. They are a Nashville-based label that's 97% comprised of country artists...they aren't catering to pop with most of their artists.

They are one of the most powerful labels in Nashville (rivaling even Universal, Sony, and Warner Bros.), and in the last few years they've been one of the best at breaking new country artists...they've had a lot of success with artists like Brantley Gilbert, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, The Band Perry, A Thousand Horses, Cassadee Pope, and Maddie & Tae. They also signed a bunch of veteran country hit-makers -- Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Jennifer Nettles (of Sugarland), Ronnie Dunn (of Brooks & Dunn), Reba McEntire, and Hank Williams Jr -- all of whom had had very successful careers and could have signed with any label they wanted. But they chose Big Machine, and Big Machine has really rejuvenated their careers (to varying extents of course). Big Machine also now has the Zac Brown Band on board, and later this year they'll be releasing a new rock album from Cheap Trick and a country album from Steven Tyler.

In short, that's a roster packed with superstar artists. Their only pop/non-country artists are Taylor, Laura Marano (newly-signed), Who Is Fancy, and Nick Fradiani. The roll-out for Who Is Fancy was admittedly messy, but I don't think we can really blame Big Machine for the fact that Nick hasn't really taken off -- American Idol hasn't produced a successful artist in years.

Which brings me to the subject of this poll/thread...I doubt the final winner has much success. Admittedly I was never that into American Idol even when it was during its prime, but I've seen enough of the singers from this year and I just don't get the sense that any of them will ever become a true star.