You know that meme of Dave Grohl’s solemn face next to a quote about how the next generation of musicians will think the only way to become successful is by going on a reality singing contest like The X Factor or The Voice?
Well, he’s half right. Sure, the next generation of musos might believe that TV singing contests are the only surefire route to fortune and fame, but if the numbers are anything to go by, those shows rarely lead to either.
As The Daily Telegraph reports, while over a million people tuned in to watch Central coast teenager Ellie Drennan win this year’s season of The Voice, the show’s mammoth ratings have not translated into stellar record sales.
Drennan’s performance of her debut single, ‘Ghost’, was viewed by over 1.5 million people during The Voice’s grand final, but Drennan’s single only managed to move 5,907 copies of the song once it was released to the public.
The single managed to just barely crawl into the Top 25 of the ARIA chart after selling just under 6,000 copies. By contrast, this week’s Number 1 single, Justin Bieber’s ‘What Do You Mean?’, sold 31,155 copies.
What’s worse is that Drennan’s low sales are actually a leg up on those of last year’s winner, Anja Nissen, who only managed to shift 3,023 units of her first single. Nissen’s debut single, ‘I’m So Excited’, peaked at Number 42 last November.
Drennan is set to unveil her debut album, Close Your Eyes, on Friday, featuring covers of songs by Sia, Adele, Katy Perry, and Lorde performed on The Voice, plus new recordings of Elton John and Lana Del Rey hits.
Meanwhile, Universal, who have reportedly signed several runners up from this year’s season of the popular singing contest, are hoping Drennan’s video for ‘Ghost’ will give the song a second wind as it has already slipped to Number 33 on iTunes.
Interestingly, one artist who did get a sales boost from a appearing on The Voice is judge Deltra Goodrem. As Pedestrian.tv reports, her single ‘Wings’ shot to the number one spot back in August, achieving a gold certification after selling more than 35,000 units.
