I just wanted to take a minute to clarify – and apologize – if my Phil Stacey post came off as critical. I got a comment from CFPhilfan made me go back and reread the post, and he/she is right: I was the one who jumped the gun.
I had been talking to someone recently about American Idol, because this music fan was saying that singers who got on American Idol got the fame without all of the work. I was arguing that many of the singers had been involved in the music business before getting on the show, and that winning doesn’t necessarily equal success.
That conversation was fresh in my head when I saw the news that Phil had left Lyric Street and signed with Reunion, which was just a couple of hours after I saw an ad with Taylor Hicks in a touring production of “Grease.” It kind of reinforced what I’d been telling this friend, that being on American Idol doesn’t mean a free ride to the top.
I went to MySpace.com/PhilStaceyMusic, but there wasn’t any note about the signing. It wouldn’t be the first time that an artist posted news on their MySpace and had to take it down because they jumped the gun. (The labels like to be the ones to make the announcements.) There wasn’t anything on his website either, and I really did search for that blog post, so I just figured that’s what happened. I learn now that apparently Phil doesn’t use that MySpace as his official page; he uses MySpace.com/joelphilip. I would have never found that.
But basically, I was just continuing the Idol conversation on the blog without better explaining what I was musing about. When I got a press release later in the afternoon which confirmed the signing, I did an update, but I guess it still came off as a critique at Phil, rather than a more pointed American Idol/success post I was writing in my head. So Phil Stacey fans, I apologize for that.
The one thing that I totally stand behind is what I said about Reunion in my comment to Meliss. The label is a great fit for him, and I think he’ll grow musically and spiritually at his new home.