"American Idol" Diana DeGarmo’s Receives Consolation Prize
Losing doesn’t suck so bad, after all.
Just ask American Idol also-ran Diana DeGarmo, who is on the verge of releasing her debut single.
According to RCA Records’ Website, DeGarmo’s first track will drop June 22, a week after Idol champ Fantasia Barrino makes her big-label bow.
While we know Barrino, the 19-year-old single mom from North Carolina, got a record deal as part of her TV victory, there’s still no word on DeGarmo’s musical fate. On rcarecords.com, DeGarmo is listed as having an unnamed track available on the 22nd, but there is no word on any future album.
RCA did not return calls seeking comment on DeGarmo.
Backstage following last week’s Idol finale, in which Barrino beat DeGarmo by just 1.3 million votes out of 65 million cast, the ever perky 16-year-old Georgia native made the mock plea, “Please sign me,” before joking, “Fantasia, you better watch out, sister, because I’m coming.”
In any case, let’s hope DeGarmo adheres to the Clay Aiken school of runner-updom. Aiken finished a scant 130,000 votes behind Ruben Studdard in last year’s Idol showdown, but has gone on to sell more than 2 million copies of his Measure of a Man album. DeGarmo would best avoid the example of first season second-placer Justin Guarini, who was dropped from the RCA label after dismal album sales of his debut album and is currently trying to reinvent himself in hopes of salvaging his career.
While we’re waiting for further details on DeGarmo’s deal, we do know is that Barrino’s inaugural single will a newly recorded rendition of the tune “I Believe,” which she performed during the penultimate Idol telecast. The song was cowritten by first season Idol contestant Tamyra Gray.
We also know that Barrino and DeGarmo will team up with the rest of the top 10 finalists for a summer tour kicking off July 14 in Salt Lake City.
E!Online – Marcus Errico