Mid-year hits and misses
The project:
The build-down: After a season in which American Idol experienced a slight dip in ratings, would audiences care for
Hit or miss: Music purists may cringe, but this was a hit.
Idols two-hour finale was the third most-watched season wrap-up in the shows history. The following week, the two Davids flooded the U.S. pop charts, with Sir Cook scoring a whopping 14 songs on Billboards digital songs chart. All told, Cook’s 14 digital tracks sold a total of 888,000 downloads in one week. (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)
The project:
The buildup: Redefining the live hip-hop experience, the rap superstar lined-up a solid list of supporting acts -- Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco -- and created a hip-hop space opera.
Hit or miss: Hit.
While West recently agitated crowds at Bonnaroo for showing up late (try after 4 a.m.), the controversial rapper proved more entertaining than not. Wrote The Times Ann Powers in her review of the concert, This was pure comic-book adventure, obvious at times. But the real message came through those unstoppable images. Glow in the Dark raises the bar for arena tours as no show has since U2’s 1992 Zoo TV breakthrough. It’s that innovative and galvanizing. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The project: The winter and spring of the diva.
The buildup: New albums were released from
Hit or miss: Jacksons Discipline seems to have came and went, with critics not crazy about the albums blatant sexual content. Meanwhile, as of mid-June, both Madonna and Mariah are still in the top 20 on the U.S. pop charts. Madonnas Hard Candy spawned radio and iTunes hit 4 Minutes to Save the World, and Mariah racked up another No. 1 with Touch My Body.
While Hard Candy may not be the blockbuster smash some hoped for, its proving a consistent seller and a strong promotional tool for an upcoming tour. A miss for Jackson, and a hit for Mariah and Madonna. (Jacques Brinon / Associated Press)
The project: Gnarls Barkleys sophomore effort, The Odd Couple
The buildup: Could the act spawn another Crazy, one of the runaway hits of 2006?
Hit or miss: Hit.
While nothing off The Odd Couple has come close to matching the insane crossover success of Crazy, the album has proved to be one of 2008s strongest efforts. After 12 weeks, its still on the U.S. pop charts, peaking at No. 12. , The duo of producer Danger Mouse and rapper-singer Cee-Lo craftied an album of psychedelic soul. The massive success of Crazy perhaps somewhat obscured the fact that St. Elsewhere was a spooked record, full of nightmare imagery that was dressed with Danger Mouses lush production. The Odd Couple seems to take this vision even further, full of vintage and haunting sounds that make for a rewarding listen. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
The project: A second season of Lifetimes hit military drama Army Wives
The buildup: Think Desperate Housewives without the comedy. Lifetimes top-rated drama closed out its first season with a bomb, literally. Would it be a jump-the-shark kinda moment, killing the momentum earned by its game-changing steal of Bravos Project Runway, or would the characters deaths amount to more in the new season?
Hit or miss: Hit.
Army Wives kicked off its second season with 4.5 million viewers and a satisfying -- if surprising -- resolution to last years cliffhanger. What will Claudia Joy do with her teenage daughter Amanda gone? (Fred Norris / Associated Press)
