May 26th, 2004: Diana DeGarmo pulls off upset victory, wins 2004 "American Idol" Crown

[49ersFootball]

Abdul
1:50 PM PST, Tuesday, June 1st, 2004
San Francisco, CA.

"American Idol" Judge & famous TV Actress & Singer Paula Abdul was a bit quirky for some people. They assumed she was "off her rocker", "completely nuts with the laughing" or "downright pathetic with her weird critiques in some of the performances of the contestants".

 

[49ersFootball]

Huff
3:04 PM CST, Wednesday, June 2nd, 2004
New Orleans, LA.

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George Huff (who was the last guy standing in the Top 5 from Season 3 of "American Idol"), was figuring things out: trying to avoid being typecast as a background singer for a famous entertainer or singer as his musical career was beginning to develop. Simon Cowell had accurately predicted that George would be a typical forgotten background singer in the backup team.

 

[49ersFootball]

Other fallout factors from Season 3's shocking Voting Results

Across the country, people were getting ready in preparation of auditioning for Season 4 coming up with auditions in several US States. Some in Middle America were emboldened watching Diana's upset victory proudly claiming "The Silent Majority has spoken out loud & clear!" one of the viewers declared as they dropped their daughter off to singing practice. Many musical experts were worried about the possible ramifications of later Seasons going forward because it galvanized the secret, hidden voter, who publicly said they might consider voting for Fantasia, but secretly voted for Diana in the privacy of their own home because in the eyes of some in Middle America, "Diana was more relatable, more like us & a true American."

 

[ejpsan]

Other fallout factors from Season 3's shocking Voting Results

Across the country, people were getting ready in preparation of auditioning for Season 4 coming up with auditions in several US States. Some in Middle America were emboldened watching Diana's upset victory proudly claiming "The Silent Majority has spoken out loud & clear!" one of the viewers declared as they dropped their daughter off to singing practice. Many musical experts were worried about the possible ramifications of later Seasons going forward because it galvanized the secret, hidden voter, who publicly said they might consider voting for Fantasia, but secretly voted for Diana in the privacy of their own home because in the eyes of some in Middle America, "Diana was more relatable, more like us & a true American."

Unfortunately it this is the case then the show is in real trouble much more earlier then it was IOTL.
This means that the people who are actually more responsible for picking the contestants are going to be looking for exploitable background stories to sell the audience on then going for actual talent, leading to what many critics said about the later seasons that the contestants were musically indistinguishable from one another and came from the same cookie cutter assembly line.

 

[49ersFootball]

Unfortunately it this is the case then the show is in real trouble much more earlier then it was IOTL.
This means that the people who are actually more responsible for picking the contestants are going to be looking for exploitable background stories to sell the audience on then going for actual talent, leading to what many critics said about the later seasons that the contestants were musically indistinguishable from one another and came from the same cookie cutter assembly line.

I'll focus on that aspect sometime in this TL. For now, I'll focus on the contestants from Season 3 & the Judges.

 

[49ersFootball]

Stevens
3:26 PM EST, Wednesday, June 2nd, 2004
Boston, MA.

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Despite coming in 6th Place & receiving over 4 million votes following the 3rd Season of "American Idol", John Stevens was signed to Maverick Records & would go onto releasing his debut album, Red set for June 28th, 2005. It would be produced by David Foster (more on Foster later LOL). The album featured covers of The Beatles' "Here, There & Everywhere" & Maroon 5's "This Love", both were arranged & performed in a relaxed jazz/lounge style. Note that during the 3rd Season, many Americans were frustrated & confused as to why Stevens was struggling in unfamiliar genres during the competition & it was blatantly obvious that Stevens' style was NOT the typical "American Idol" lore.

 

[49ersFootball]

Hudson
1:29 PM CST, Thursday, June 3rd, 2004
Chicago, IL.

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She was one of the 3 Divas of the 3rd Season of "American Idol" & according to some, Jennifer Hudson was viewed as controversial due to her diva attitude which alienated some skeptics of her musical potential & other talents or excited her fans, who appreciated her talent & saw greatness.

 

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Lewis
11:56 AM PST, Thursday, June 3rd, 2004
Boise, ID

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8th Place Finalist Jon Peter Lewis AKA JPL, was considered by some "American Idol" fans as annoying, ignorant of constructive criticism & downright boring. Nobody couldn't figure out what Lewis was in the musical aspect on the music industry going forward.

 

[Igeo654]

I don't see what all of the previous posts are leading to, but I wish I did. Like, is all of this going to spell the Death of televised corporate Singing Contests?

 

[ejpsan]

I don't see what all of the previous posts are leading to, but I wish I did. Like, is all of this going to spell the Death of televised corporate Singing Contests?

Hopefully...

 

[49ersFootball]

Hopefully...

Interesting to see how the auditions for Season 4 turn out during the Summer & Fall of 2004.

 

[49ersFootball]

Velasco
11:33 AM HST, Friday, June 4th, 2004
Maui, HI.

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One of the 2 Filipino Americans (also hailing from HI) who captured the attentions of millions of fans across the country during the 3rd Season of "American Idol", 9th Place Finalist Camile Velasco had been facing harsh criticism for her performances from the Judges during the show's finals. When Diana defeated Velasco's close friend, Fantasia for the 2004 "American Idol" Crown, the Top 10 of "American Idol 2004" began to prepare for a nationwide tour, sponsored by Pop Tarts, which would be consisting of more than 50 shows across the United States & some overseas. Paula Abdul & a few others saw potential in Velasco's musical career & Randy Jackson mentioned to her that confidence in herself as well as getting stronger support in record management in releasing albums, etc., would help in the long-term.

 

[49ersFootball]

I'm planning on doing a segment on Clive Davis & how his signing of both DeGarmo & Barrino impacts the music industry.

Interesting to see if he signs Hudson.

 

[49ersFootball]

Somewhere in Chicago, IL:

Somebody was jealous at watching a particular relative getting fame & fortune. "Who does she think she is ? The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin ?" He was angry, bitter & downright dangerous.

 

[49ersFootball]

I don't see what all of the previous posts are leading to, but I wish I did. Like, is all of this going to spell the Death of televised corporate Singing Contests?

I also put in a small segment of some person in Chicago, who is jealous of a particular relative's fame & fortune. It's unknown if the person is one of the Top 12 Season 3 finalists...

 

[49ersFootball]

I'll be doing a segment on auditions for the upcoming 4th Season sometime this week.

 

[49ersFootball]

ABC News Polling Survey (May 27th to June 4th, 2004)

Did the right person win "American Idol" in Season 3 ?
No: 66%
Yes: 21%
Not Sure: 8%

 

[49ersFootball]

I'll do a segment on DeGarmo sometime this week as well.

 

[49ersFootball]

I will also be doing a segment on Seacrest, whose star was rising nationally.

 

[49ersFootball]

Davis
3:27 PM PST, Friday, June 4th, 2004
RCA Music Group HQ, NYC, NY St.

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Music Record mogul Clive Davis was inside his office at the RCA Music Group in NYC, NY St: he had been busy signing new artists such as some of the "American Idol" 2004 finalists like Diana DeGarmo, Fantasia Barrino (whom Davis was deeply impressed with her performances & strong ability) & Jennifer Hudson including many other musical artists. Davis had left Arista Records (where he had been for 26 years as Founder & President) in 2000 & started J Records, an independent label with financial backing from Arista parent Bertelsmann Music Group, named with the middle initial of Davis & his 4 kids. BMG would go onto buying majority stake in J Records in 2002, & Davis would also become President & CEO of the larger RCA Music Group.

Davis' continued success in breaking new artists was recognized by the music industry A&R site HitQuarters when the executive was named "World's #1 A&R of 2001" based on worldwide chart data for that year. In 2004, BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment to forming Sony BMG (in order to save $$$). With the assets of the former CBS Records (which was renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 1991) now under Sony's ownership, the joint venture would mean a return of sorts for Davis to his former employer.

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