Damien No 1 Idol Star

[sunshine]

I was just looking at the ARIA charts, especially at the albums chart. As we know, Damien holds at No 1 again this week, with 'The Winner's Journey' certified 4X platinum. The next best Aussie Idol stars are The Young Divas at No 10, with a platinum certification. Next, you have to go all the way down to something between 40-50 on the chart to find CDs from Anthony Callea and Guy Sebastian(disappointly for Guy, he's doing pretty badly with this latest effort). This further proves the point that Damien is no flash in the pan, he has the potential to be more successful than Guy or Shannon.

[lissa]

well sunshine i love D to bits as u know but I hope him and shan will be as successful as each other after all shan is the ONLY aussie artist to have 9 consectutive TOP 10 Hits ....YES thats right i said 9 not something to be taken lightly and a great effort from shan ;D I JUST LOVE D AND SHAN

[sunshine]

Lissa: good point! Shannon is probably the most successful Australian Idol competitor ever(in terms of Chart positions and CD sales), but Damien potentially is a serious contender for Shannon's throne. Maybe the difference is Damien has more capability(I think) for international chart success, particularly because he has a base in Ireland and potentially the U.K.
Much of course depends on Damien's debut CD, which I'm sure will be terrific. The success of 'The Winner's Journey' sure raises expectations and excitement for what Damo will produce next for us in 2007.

[lissa]

i see where you are coming from sunshine and i wasnt having a dig at you or anything and believe me i wish D every success cause i know he will be HUGE and i will always support him in anyway possible just i want shan to be right behind D in the charts and stuff thats all hahaha what can i say i am a sucker for a sexy man

[sunshine]

lissa said:

i see where you are coming from sunshine and i wasnt having a dig at you or anything and believe me i wish D every success cause i know he will be HUGE and i will always support him in anyway possible just i want shan to be right behind D in the charts and stuff thats all hahaha what can i say i am a sucker for a sexy man

I've got to say, I really liked Shannon's most recent CD, certainly superior to anything Guy has done lately.
However, Damien is No 1 for me, by a long way.

[lissa]

well i have dual #1's now i cant separate them ;D

[Mi chiamano Kami]

Personally, I think Guy, Shannon, Anthony and Damien are four of the biggest talents we've had in Australia in a long time, and I'd love to see all of them doing well in the future. I have a feeling Damien is set to be the most successful out of them - he is already strides ahead of the others in the way that he is taking control of the direction he wants his career to go in, and is so obviously ready for the opportunities coming his way and seems to be winning over the critics. But I love all of them, and I hope they're all still making music in ten or twenty years time, if they're not sick of it!

[dleitful]

sunshine said:

Maybe the difference is Damien has more capability(I think) for international chart success, particularly because he has a base in Ireland and potentially the U.K.

Interestingly, Shannon's first single, the Moving Pictures cover, wetn to #2 on the Irish charts! Does anyone know why this would have happened?

[winterlong]

dleitful said:

sunshine said:

Maybe the difference is Damien has more capability(I think) for international chart success, particularly because he has a base in Ireland and potentially the U.K.

Interestingly, Shannon's first single, the Moving Pictures cover, wetn to #2 on the Irish charts! Does anyone know why this would have happened?

Let me enlighten you ;D

From wikipedia:


Following several plays on Irish radio by a former Australian DJ, requests for "What About Me" in Ireland skyrocketed, and due to public demand, the Australian pressing of the single was shipped to Ireland and the initial shipment sold out within the first week of sale, prompting a further larger shipment to be made soon after. "What About Me" spent almost 6-months on the Ireland Top 50 singles chart and peaked at #2 for two weeks.


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_About_Me

[asphirty]

i guess its only your opinions but im going to disagree.

if you are going to compare guy and shannon to damien, or even callea, then im going to say that damien still has a fair way to go to catch up to them. yeah they have been around abit longer than damo but are you forgetting that when guy and shannon (and callea) all first came out... they ALL had number ones, just like damien. in a few years time, lets see where damien is and what he ranks on the charts. if he still getting number ones, then you can brag and say that people like him better than the rest.

hmm lets see, so what if guy doesnt have a number 1 single... does that make him any less of a star. what if damien debuted at no.60, would you say he was? no of course you wouldnt so dont go baggin out others just cos they came at #11 or whatever. i am a little suprised that guy debuted at a whoppin no.11 considering he hasnt had the best advertising like damien and shannon.... lousy promoters!!!!

as for shannon and callea, ill let someone who also disagrees step in and make their point.

anyway, im not angry, nor am i baggin you out. yes i think damien has a lot of potential and he is a really great guy but i am not going to automatically say he is better than anybody else in the music industry just because he came number 1.

my opinion... carry on

[winterlong]

I do agree that D's current chart success proves he has just as much potential as the other winners do/ did in these early days... he is doing just fine in comparison! (contrary to many opinions on other forums )


I must say though that I dont see chart success as the be all and end all of musical achievement.

Dont get me wrong, I love the fact that D is selling so well, and the little competitive streak in me left over from all the Idol campaigning is thrilled that D is also doing so well comparitively to other Idols


But the Idol phenomena is just that...its hard to compare their chart success to non-Idol artists, as contestants get the benefits of mass media saturation which is ten times the amount that most musicians ever get or dream about!
I think that Guy and Anthony are doing just fine in the big pond at the moment... there are so many musicians out there competing for the same small market, and doing it without a current TV show behind them!


Most of my favourite artists rarely have singles in the charts, and the albums are lucky to ever make Top 10, if not Top 40...the music even struggles to get airplay, as it is not seen as 'radio friendly'.
But to me they are heroes, musical freakin geniuses who expand my mind, and I couldnt imagine a world without their music... Thom Yorke, Elliot Smith, Arcade Fire, The Pixies....I could go on!
They dont chart well, they dont make music with chart success in mind, but does it make them any less brilliant?


In all honesty, listening to D's beautiful originals, he seems like the least 'Top 40' Idol we have ever had. 'Come to Me' is the most awesome song, but its not written for radio...and I'm not sure how well it would chart as a release. But I adore it
I wouldnt be suprised if we never see this sort of chart success ever repeated by D, but I really couldnt give a rats...as long as he is making music that HE loves, not music for the charts or radio or expectation, I will be 'over the moon'...and I'm sure his fans will be too

[hyperrune]

I can see your point Asphirty, but to be honest I'm a one-Idol girl, I couldn't care less about any other Idols past or present; I'm just really glad our boy is doing well. He was worried no one would buy the single! I'm glad he was so wrong! And irrespective of anything anyone else has achieved in comparison, what he has achieved in a few short months is still bloody brilliant! The poor guy has been trying almost half his life to get a record deal, and in the space of 6 months he has a deal, a manager, #1 album and single, ringtones of his song, public appearences, a new car, a new bub, and an international fan base!
I'm like Winter, my fav bands are usually obscure. I was sure hardly anyone except me would like Damien when he was on Idol - I'm the kind of person whose fav tv shows are cancelled cos they aren't popular - so I was amazed he made it past the semis, let alone hung around long enough to contend for Idol!
What I'm trying to say is, it's early days yet, but the prospects are fantastic and even if he disappears from the radar in a few years, I'm gonna be loving him for the long haul! He's barely shown any of what he can do with songwriting and playing his own instruments, he has so much left to give, both things saved up over the years and stuff he has just been inspired to write recently, so I think it's safe to say he'll be around for a while yet!

[Neski]

Ok its Neski's opinion now

I can understand where everyone is coming from, but I do have my own thoughts. Damien is a fantastic singer, and it is early days now (having only been out in store for like a month or so) and he is doing so well for himself and making us proud. I am proud that he has done this well, Number 1 for how long now as well as the album going 4x platinum however this is not a reason to cast the others aside.

Guy, Shannon, Anthony and many other Idol stars such as the Young Divas are successful in their own way. Just because they aren't number one on the charts doesn't mean anything - they all have big support bases as well as every other artist in this world. Thier efforts with all their CD's are to be appreciated. They've all had number ones and they have also earned millions.

D is right up there with them - well his potential is. Give it a year or two and we will see whether all this is true, he is bound to be around for a long time (well if we have anything to say about it). If I remember correctly Guy, Shannon and Anthony all skyrocketed after their Idol shows, when they were the 'new' talent. Damien is having his turn at that now and I for one could not be more pleased.

I don't know if you guys can see the point in my post but here it is. They are ALL successful, just because they haven't reached the number one position with their current CD doesn't mean a thing. It just means that D and other recording artists are having their glory - the song is not worthless because of this. There shouldn't be any real rivalry between these guys, I am sure that the artists are proud of their songs because people have gone out and bought them and contributed to sales etc.

I don't like the fact that Idol stars are competing with each other on here and other forums, what over chart position and sales, come on - they are all fantastic singers, that is why they are successful and have big support. They don't do it for these positions and figures - they sing because it is their passion and what they want to do with their lives, they want to bring joy to people too - their fans.

D, Guy, Shannon, Anothony and the Young Divas as well as every person to come out of Idol are fantastic! Let that be known!!

Over and out.

[hyperrune]

Well said Neski! ;D

[Neski]

Thank you Hyp!

But seriously if any one doesn't agree with my post - feel free to tell me about it