Posted on 04/05/2011 6:02:17 AM PDT by silent_jonny
Its kind of sad to see the series end.
4th judge cleared path for McCreery ‘Idol’ payout
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/122705159.html
LOS ANGELES >> Scotty McCreery can thank a fourth judge for clearing his path to becoming the latest “American Idol” — one who didn’t have to critique his singing.
A Los Angeles judge approved a minor’s contract establishing financial protections both McCreery and Lauren Alaina on Monday, two days before fan votes gave the country crooner the show’s top award. The draft contracts give the first-place winner — McCreery — at least $250,000 in advances for winning the show and recording the first album.
The 17-year-old will earn tens of thousands of dollars more for granting “Idol” partners likeness, merchandise and endorsement rights, and will also receive royalties on any music he releases.
Runner-up Alaina is also set to receive a major payday; the contact approved by Superior Court Judge Marjorie Steinberg calls for the 16-year-old to receive $87,500 for finishing second. The amount would be doubled if Alaina records an album.
Despite the payouts that would be the dream of many high-schoolers, the newly-minted stars are receiving less than another “Idol” phenom who needed her mom’s permission to perform. Season Six winner Jordin Sparks received a contract that guaranteed her a $180,000 advance after the show and another $180,000 after delivering her first album.
Also, in some past seasons, winners were paid a minimum of $100,000 for merchandise rights, records show. Draft merchandise agreements for McCreery and Alaina give him $50,000 and her $40,000.
Their face-off this week was the first time in “Idol” history that both top contestants were under the age of 18. An estimated 29.3 million people tuned in, which The Nielsen Co. said Thursday was 21 percent more than last year’s finale.
“It felt like a dream,” McCreery said backstage in his dressing room after Wednesday’s show. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet, and I don’t think it will for a while. I’m on top of the world right now.”
Judges must sign off on entertainment contracts for minors and ensure that appropriate financial safeguards remain in place until the teens reach adulthood.
Numerous other underage contestants have been featured on the show and advanced to its late stages, including Season Seven runner-up David Archuleta. Draft contracts filed in his minor’s contract petition indicated the payout for winning “Idol” that year was $360,000 total if an album was recorded, and Archuleta was slated to receive an advance of $155,000 for placing second — double that once he produced an album.
The contracts can be extended multiple times to allow “Idol” partners to release multiple albums, and the advance payouts increase each time the contract is renewed.
The teens’ “Idol” contracts and recording deals require the show’s producers and partners to place 15 percent of their gross earnings in a trust account that cannot be touched until after they turn 18 years old.
Neither McCreery nor Alaina was present Monday when Steinberg approved their “Idol” agreements.
Their advances will be placed in a Coogan Account, which is named after Jackie Coogan, an early-Hollywood child actor who was forced to sue his mother and former manager to recoup his earnings.
Thanks, RK! I hope there will still be some time to Freep! You have a great summer.
Wow. I am happy to have contributed. I am sure this coming week will be crazy for him, but life should settle down and his future (if he stays on the straight and narrow, which I think he will) is assured! He has one more year of high school, but he will probably have to homeschool it.
Yeah, she will be their little princess, that’s for sure. You know, everyone tells me how much harder girls are, but being a girl, I do feel lucky to get to raise someone with my own gender too. :) We aren’t all that bad. Are we??? Lol.
I actually looked up their tour dates for here, just to see Scotty, Lauren, and James live. I really have no desire to see the other ones or experience the Brady Bunch routines live. But it would be cool to see the solos by those three.
Sadly they are in LA on a Friday night in July and that is our sabbath so I couldn’t go if I wanted to.
I am sure most of the tour is cheesy, and some of those characters probably phone it in each night...
I truly enjoyed this Idol ping Jonny.....THANK YOU!!!
LOL! I’m just an old woman who remembers all this music from elementary school days.
Congrats on the baby girl! I don’t think girls are harder to raise than boys initially but then they start to get that attitude...you know what I mean...once they get to be college age they turn civil again and are once again a joy to be around. :)
” What I Plan To Do Over My Summer Vacation is have a baby girl after 3 boys!”
Congrats and best wishes for a easy delivery.
Our daughter is expecting our first grandchild in July.
Baby boy.
Someday you will have the joy of your daughter giving you her first child
Enjoyed exchanging posts with you throughout the contest.
” Several hallucinations and I.V. treatments later, DioGuardi recovered. “
Or did she? She did seem quite spacy at times....
When are you due?
Yep and it would explain Pauler’s behavior, too. ;)
I would have thought you were a boy, Ralph! I think I used to think a lot of you on this thread were guys, until after a while I could kind of tell a lot of you with “butch” names were really females! :)
My due date is August 31, but it will be a planned c section so hopefully a week before then. Hopefully not any sooner!
You’ll have to keep us informed.
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your first grand baby as much as my parents enjoyed my oldest when he made them gramma and grandpa! Nothing like that first precious grandchild. Keep us posted.
I am finding that even young teen boys get some “attitude...”
But I agree that girls seem more moody in their teens.
I confess to being a little, just a little satisfied that Paula accidentally got back at Kara for all those snubs she used to give her, and for kind of driving her off the show. 6 pot brownies...
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