Runners-up find their way after "American Idol"

Her voice was one of the best of any second-place finisher in any "American Idol" year. Better still, she continues to improve. But moving on after finishing as the "Idol" runner-up may be one of the hardest tasks in show business -- accept your defeat, head out on a grueling tour, and then quickly record an album.

Winners can coast. It's up to the executives at 19 Entertainment and Sony Music to surround them with a team that will deliver a best-seller within a few months of the show's conclusion. Being No. 2 is similar, yet tougher: Should an artist reveal his or her true self, or try to fit the persona created by the competition?

Crystal Bowersox will record for 19/Jive after finishing the "American idols Live" tour that runs through 31 in Indianapolis, IN. That album is expected to be released this year. Bowersox, whose throaty vocal style and aggressive guitar playing became her signature, follows another runner-up who was also able to crack the "AI" mold, Adam Lambert. Like Lambert, she may be No. 2 but there will be more anticipation for her album than that of the winner, Lee Dewyze.

Lambert proved he had a plan when he auditioned. His show, on tour through Sept. 21 in Puyallup, WA, has been likened to a three-act musical theater piece. It's received positive reviews and has been selling out most of its dates.

Lambert succeeds because he delivers the image. He's performing songs that don't appear on his album, including covers and originals, but he has created an over-the-top glam show to surround his music. Unlike other artists, he's pulling in fans and holding their attention with spectacle rather than a hit single, a model that worked wonders in the 1970s and clearly still works in the '10s.

Contrast that with the two No. 2's who proceeded Lambert, David Archuleta and Blake Lewis.

Archuleta is still going the teen idol route, offering his new single "Something 'Bout Love" as a download on July 20 along with the opportunity to pre-order his next album, which does not yet have a release date. It will be an interesting trick to see if he can work his next release the way he did his first, connecting with an early teen fanbase and their mothers.

Like McPhee and Season Four runner-up Bo Bice, human beat-boxer Lewis was cut from his record deal after a single release that attempted to shoe-horn the singer in a pop idol mold. His follow-up, "Heartbreak on Vinyl," produced a dance club hit and sufficient demand to warrant printing the album on limited-edition vinyl that will be released Aug. 3. Now an indie artist, Lewis is embracing the concept of giving away music -- purchasers of the album get to download a digital copy, an unreleased track, 13 remixes of the single "Heartbreak on Vinyl" and free membership to his VIP Opendisc site. Releasing it on vinyl is Lewis' way to support independent record stores, not the most common cause among "Idol" contestants.

While Season Three runner-up Diana DeGarmo is doing musical theater, Bice is selling official bootlegs of his concert recordings and Season One runner-up Justin Guarini is playing gigs such as the West Virginia Italian Festival, many "Idol" trackers will be focused on the July 23 start of the Ruben Studdard- Clay Aiken tour in Asheville, NC.

It will be the first attempt by former "Idol" finalists to recapture a relationship built by television.
The duo, who battled in 2003, have 17 dates together and will perform some numbers as a duo. Aiken's last album was a collection of pop standards; Studdard's last was a collection of PG-rated slow jams. It sounds perfect for the casinos that have booked them. Their itinerary is at right.