Does American Idol Produce More Pop & Rock Stars Or Broadway Stars?

[Brian Damage]

Another day, another American Idol alum performs on the Great White Way. It was announced today that Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo will star in Hair on Broadway beginning March 9. And the two former reality show stars are certainly familiar with being on stage — Young starred in the Broadway production of Grease, while DeGarmo headlined Hairspray.

But they aren’t the only ones. It’s no secret that Broadway has become the ultimate destination for most ex-Idols who couldn’t quite find their footing in the recording industry. First we had Frenchie Davis in Rent. Then Fantasia starred in The Color Purple. Even Taylor Hicks landed a gig in Grease. And those are only three examples. (There was also Clay Aiken, Constantine Maroulis, Tamyra Gray…)

No doubt Broadway is happy to slap the names of these former Idol stars on their marquees. (As for the stars themselves? DeGarmo, for one, doesn’t seem want to be associated with the show — her cast bio neglects to even mention Idol.) But my question is: Do these ex-Idols attract you to Broadway? Or send your purest sensibilities running for the hills? I’ll admit that I attended The Wedding Singer a few years back purely to see Constantine. But if, say, Jon Peter Lewis ends up starring in Chicago, well, I’d leave New York and become a pen saleswoman just to avoid seeing that.


http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/16/idol-broadway-hair/