Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ouch.

Remember back in Season 12, when American Idol adopted the slogan: “We make stars,” or something of the sort.

That doesn’t appear to be the case with Season 13 winner Caleb Johnson. At least not yet.

His album debuted on the Billboard 200 last week, and set new lows for an Idol winner, both in terms of sales and chart position.

“Testify,” released earlier this month, landed at number 24 on the Billboard 200. Five new albums landed higher, including offerings from SOJA, Porter Johnson, Tank, Troye Sivan and The Gaslight Anthem.

“Testify” sold 11,000 copies, according to Billboard, which means Caleb needs to move only 489,000 more albums to achieve gold status as the winner from a show on which platinum debuts (1 million in sales) used to be the norm.

For comparison purposes, Idol’s previous low for a debut chart position was Lee DeWyze at number 19 on the Billboard 200 after Season 9. The previous low for first week sales: Candice Glover’s “Music Speaks,” released earlier this year, with 19,000.

The long wait for Candice’s album and its chart performance was likely a factor in Idol’s decision to rush Caleb’s album, which hit stores less than three months after his triumph, a record fast turn-around.

In truth, the album is pretty impressive given the time span in which it was made. My guess is that a lackluster first single hurt Caleb’s cause. “As Long as You Love Me” certainly wasn’t the second coming of Phillip Phillps’ “Home.”

You also have to wonder what Caleb’s chart performance will mean for the likelihood of label deals for the other Season 13 finalists.

At one point, we were assured of getting a debut studio album at least from the runner-up each season. That streak ended with Kree Harrison after Season 12.