Idol Chatter

Posted Wed. Jan 9, 4:17 PM ET by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

The season premiere of American Idol is this week, and while there's little doubt that it'll once again be a ratings bonanza, music-biz pundits are starting to speculate as to whether the show's finalists can create record-sales bonanzas once they go off the air and into a recording studio.

Obviously some Idol alumni have become massive stars (Carrie Underwood is simply unstoppable; Chris Daughtry had one of the top-selling albums of 2007; Jennifer Hudson managed to even upstage BEYONCE and win an Oscar in the process). But many have had a tougher time lately. Some have been arrested (Corey Clark, Jessica Sierra); some have been dropped from their labels (Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice); and some have released albums that've been considered commercial disappointments (Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Fantasia, Clay Aiken). And yet countless others have just flat-out vanished (Nikki McKibbin, anyone?) quicker than Randy Jackson's post-lapband-surgery excess pounds or Paula Abdul's sanity.

So anyway, I'm a member of an online community for female music-industry types, and this week the dominating topic of messageboard conversation has been American Idol...and, specifically, whether or not the show is still a relevant superstar-launcher, or if it has finally, officially been reduced to a shark-jumping, rubbernecking outlet for viewers to gawk at a never-ending freakshow of Wikipedia-footnoted also-rans and wannabe William Hungs.

I thought it was an intelligent discussion, so I'm reposting in its entirety here. (Names and emails have been omitted to protect the innocent. And the not-so-innocent.) Scroll down to read the thread, then feel free to continue the discussion on our own messageboard below...