2008 Idol winner Wes Carr didn`t score a number one record this week, but he came close. `You` missed out by 11 units.
The release of ‘You’ as a CD single increased his sales over the last week. The CD sold 4889 units. Digital sales for ‘You’ were 7499. Total units sold were 12,388.That wasn’t enough to topple Lady GaGa. ‘Poker Face’ sold 12,399 units across Australia, 11 more than ‘You’.
The price of the CD single did not help the cause. ‘You’ was selling for the $8.99 in some stores although Chaos had it for the more reasonable $6.88.
Wes Carr is an interesting winner for Idol. Previously, Idol contestants were not supposed to have any professional experience. Wes, however, had released two solo albums ‘Rhythm To Fly’ (2006) and ‘Simple Sum’ (2008) as well as the self-titled ‘Tambalane’ album with Silverchair’s Ben Gillies in 2005 before Idol.
All other Idol winners were thrown into the deep end by the contest and had to sink or swim. Wes has experience to fall back on, so will most likely fair better than most.
The two most successful Idol winners both came from the first year. Both Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll gained their credibility over time by getting out and performing live.
Others, such as Casey Donovan, Kate DeAraugo and Natalie Gauci quickly faded back to obscurity.
2006 winner Damien Leith has managed to maintain a profile through covers albums.
Runners-up, such as Anthony Callea and Rob Mills have gone on to discover life in the theatre.
Last week, ‘You’ sold 8292 units digitally.
