The most recent winner of American Idol (at least until Season 14 wraps up soon), Caleb Johnson, has announced plans for a new album and, more interestingly, a new record label. The performer made it clear during an interview with Billboard that he would be cutting ties with Interscope after releasing his debut Testify, the record required as part of the winning the television vocal competition. He didn't exactly mince words when describing his time at the major label.
"[I want to] "get a deal with a new label that's actually going to support me," he said. "I want to find the right home and the right team of people that are going to get behind my music and really do something. What's the point of doing it if the [label] isn't going to do anything?"
Johnson is known as more of a rocker, which isn't a genre that big labels necessarily want to get behind. Unless, you know, the performer proves that the product can sell, as was the case with Chris Daughtry, a fourth-place contestant from Season 5 of Idol.
Alas, Johnson's sales record hasn't been as hot as Daughtry's. Testify debuted during August of 2014 and peaked at no. 24 on the Billboard 200 and has sold a mere 21,000 albums up to this point. Of course the issue could be with the show and not just the performers: Idol's winners have struggled, unlike earlier winners, to gain sales traction. Season 12's Candice Glover peaked at no. 14 on the albums chart, although Season 12's Phillip Phillips debuted at no. 4 and his follow-up album went to no. 7.
For the time being, Johnson seems to have his heart set in Nashville, a city that has plenty of options for rockers as well as country up-and-comers. The performer is currently headlining his first solo tour, in support of Testify.
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