Country radio not crazy for 'Idol' singers
Chances are, your local country radio programmer isn't thrilled with the prospects of the two teen singers from American Idol headed his or her way this summer. Especially with one of them being Scotty McCreery.
"I'm calling in sick the day they bring Scotty by on radio tour," Toni-Marie, music director for Bakersfield, Calif., station KUZZ, tells Radio-Info.com's Phyllis Stark in her latest Stark Country newsletter. "I wish people would quit comparing this kid to Josh Turner. He attempts to sound like him, but the only thing he is successful at is looking like the kid on MAD magazines ... Maybe Scotty does have some potential. I don't see it, but he needs someone to teach him to be who Scotty is. Quit doing JT covers and doing that weird eye thing that only Queen Reba can get away with."
I've known all along that many people who spend a lot of time listening to country don't think Scotty's a particularly good singer -- yet. And it's hard to remember now, but there was a lot of skepticism surrounding Carrie Underwood when she came off the show. Still, I was surprised at the level of vitriol programmers aimed at the 17-year-old in Stark's column.
Like the following:
"Scotty has't demonstrated that he can be anything but creepy." says Buzz Jackson, program director for KIIM in Tucson, Ariz.
Jess Wright, PD for WFRE in Frederick, Md., tells Stark, "If Scotty McCreery gets signed, I'm gonna need to change my phone number."
Lauren Alaina gets a better reaction from the radio mavens, though they still have their reservations about the young Georgia native. Sentiments seem to run along the lines of that expressed by Tony Randall of the syndicated Tony and Kris morning show. He says, "Lauren is a doll and very talented, [but] needs some more experience. [She's] young and fragile, and it shows."
Eddie Hatfield music director for KJJY in Des Moines, Iowa, says, "Lauren has a shot if she's handled correctly."
Gregg Swedberg of Minneapolis, Minn., station KEEY, takes an opposing view on the situation, however, noting that a launch pad of 25 million viewers is a pretty good starting point for a career.
"Just a reminder: Scotty's 17, and he's a pretty good showman at that age," the KEEY PD tells Stark. "How can he not get even better? ... I just think it's silly to unconditionally reject him.
"It's all about the songs. If they get him the songs, if he can do a good job choosing them, if he learns to write them himself, if he gets the music, he'll make it. And I figue that rather than shooting holes in it before it starts, let's see what the kid can do."
And that's why I always like to call Swedberg when I'm looking for thoughtful opinions about what's going on in country music.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-LifeTopStories/~3/VxlmOEEg-do/1
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