Honestly, I haven't given American Idol a whole lot of thought since the second season ended, but it would appear I am in the minority among Idol fans - check out the reception Clay's new album received:

Clay Aiken's RCA debut, Measure of a Man is just plain huge - a whopper, a honker, a giant, beefy burrito of love. Uh, we didn't actually measure it ourselves ... that's just what we hear. Be that as it may, after one day on sale Measure is on track to sell 650k in its first week, according to early reports from national accounts.

That number could rise as high as 700k before it's all said and done, because the upper demo to which Aiken appeals makes it hard to tell how the album will trend. They're inscrutable, those upper-demo consumers. Hard to tell what's behind those beady little eyes.

In any event, with 1.5 million units already in the streets, stock should not be an issue with this one. [HITS Daily Double]

It would never occur to me to buy a record by any American Idol veteran (although I did dig the Kelly Clarkson "Miss Independent" single), but I think of them as TV entertainers, singers, not musical artists. I wish them well and am glad America likes them - I like them too - but I view their recordings as disposable. I put in my time with the TV show, which is just the right setting - it would seem like some kind of violation to listen them on record and judge them that way.