American Idol Singers like Philadelphia auditioner Kristy Lee Cook, who back in 2001, was signed to Arista Nashville and repped by LeAnn Rimes' former manager, or Australian import Michael Johns (formerly Michael Lee), who fronted a band called The Rising and was set to release a debut on Maverick Records in 2003 (back when Madonna still ran the label). And there's another hopeful from across the pond, Irish-born Carly Hennessy, who in 1999, signed a six-album deal with MCA Records. She was the focus of a Wall Street Journal article detailing the high risk — and cost — of breaking a new pop artist. In the piece, it was estimated that the label spent around $2.2 million on Hennessy, pairing her up with proven songwriters and producers (like Gregg Alexander, who's worked extensively with Simon Fuller clients the Spice Girls) only to see her debut album sell less than 400 copies.
Should they still get a chance at Idol even though she had her chance with real singers?