The American Idol ball and chain

[Miguel]

That's true Tusk, but it's also true the American Idol connection is limiting her recognition by music fans in their twenties and thirties. Many people in that group pride themselves on having developed an appreciation for music outside the mainstream. To them, the American-Idol label is synonymous with someone of average talent singing formulaic pop; even if they have a good voice, they're not true artists doing something original. Haley has to win them over because the boost from American Idol isn't as great as it was when Kelly and Carrie appeared. They won their seasons at a time when Idol had higher viewership. Today, the average Idol viewer is ten years older and overall album sales for the music industry are down substantially.