One day after the American Idol finale, winner Lee DeWyze and runner-up Crystal Bowersox have already signed their record deals. Billboard reports that Lee has signed to 19 Recordings Limited and RCA Records, while Crystal's contract is with 19 Recordings Limited and Jive Records. No word yet on when the albums will be released, but, if it's anything like years past, look for a fourth-quarter release, most likely in November.Crystal is orders of magnitude better singing her own original material than doing cover songs or singing the dreck from other writers. If her first CD is not full of originals, I'll be surprised and disappointed. Those who think she is a Joplin wannabe are quite wrong. She can do Joplin well, and clearly that is one influence, but her original material is far better and more marketable. Those clucking that she is not as marketable as Lee are about to be proven musically ignorant.
I don't know about that guy's crack about "Bowersox Nation", whatever that is. All I know is that she is a smokin' talent. What others think is their own business, but artistry is not defined by how many people are on some hypothetical bandwagon. That only correlates with financial success, not artistic success.
