Idol still waiting in the wings

NZ Idol winner Rosita Vai is still on top of the singles charts but her debut long-player, Golden, failed to make the top 40 album charts this week.

The album, which includes an original song written by Rosita called, Knowing, only managed No 2 on the Heatseekers chart. Admittedly, the placing is only after two days on sale, but that short time on shop shelves may not be an excuse for slow demand.

Often the album charts are skewed because first week sales figures are calculated not only by actual sales, but also by how many copies of the album retailers buy in.

For example, an album in its first week can reach gold sales status (7500 copies), and sometimes reach No 1, but it may not necessarily have sold that many copies.

That is why the second week sales of an album is a fairer indication of how well the album is doing.

In Rosita's case it could be a result of caution and lack of confidence from retailers about the quality and longevity of the album.

But let's wait for next week's sales. Rosita could prove us wrong.

Golden contains the No 1 single, All I Ask, four songs she performed on the show, including Jill Scott's Golden and Aretha Franklin's You're All I Need, and seven originals.