Justin Guarini: The Troubles He's Seen

An old axiom warns us to “be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.” On the night Kelly Clarkson was named the first American Idol, Justin Guarini seemed almost as happy as she was. And, why shouldn’t he have been? His future looked impossibly bright! He was plucked from his hum-drum day job into a world where absolutely anything was possible.

Then things started to spiral. Justin was getting visibly annoyed and snappish with the speculation that he and Clarkson were actually an item. Then came the myriad of problems with From Justin To Kelly (from Day One, I called that woefully ill-advised project From Disaster to Catastrophe). The movie released to worldwide yawns and became the fodder for haters of Idol to take some lethal target practice. How bad was it? So bad, E! Online reports that From Justin to Kelly grossed a paltry $5 million. That’s Jim Carrey’s mad money! Through it all, Justin and Kelly kept smiling, even good-naturedly joking about the flop themselves. You’d hope that better things would come for the brave duo. It was not to be… for one them.

Kelly Clarkson has pioneered the way for future Idols with two number one singles under her belt, a critically well-received album, and a voice that even doubting program directors had to eventually acknowledge. She is now a viable recording artist, with her Idol run almost a footnote. Kelly’s set to take a shot at world domination as she competes on World Idol, airing December 25, 2003, 8 PM Eastern Time.

For Justin, things went in an almost polar-opposite direction. Last summer, Guarini was fined after he nearly hit a 5-year-old girl while stopping his watercraft on the shore. Witness accounts say he stopped within a few feet of the little girl, favored her with one of his patented smiles, and ran off giggling. It is possible (but unlikely) that if Guarini is found guilty of unsafe boat operation, he could be sentenced to up to 180 days in prison and be fined up to $2,000. Those being maximums, and Guarini not having any criminal record that we are aware of, that scenario is definitely a worst-case.

Then, just last month, a lawsuit was filed against Justin by Louis A. and Adrienne Maiatico seeking $100,000 in damages for injuries to Louis’ back, neck and side. The story is Justin was reading some papers while driving, taking his eyes off the road, and rear-ending Maiatico’s vehicle which was stopped at a red light.

This week, Billboard.com reported that Justin has been officially dropped from his record label, just after Justin mysteriously was a no-show on the American Idol Christmas broadcast. Idol management seemed to have no answers for this. They were given no explanation for Justin’s absence, though they suspect some sort of scheduling conflict; Guarini was expected to appear and was advertised to be there.

Fox and 19 Management are reported to be surprised to hear of RCA’s dropping of Guarini from its roster – the same RCA that is trumpeting Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken from every rooftop! As yet, Fox and 19 Management have no comment. RCA has made no statement confirming or denying a decision to drop Guarini, but the evidence is a bit hard to ignore. There is no sign of him on the RCA website. Even a link to a contest, "Win the Jacket Off Justin Guarini's Back," redirects to an unrelated page.

When Guarini's self-titled album from RCA was released in June, the album got off to a strong start, debuting at number 20 on Billboard’s Album Chart, but quickly fizzled. To date, Justin Guarini has sold around 134,000 copies.

Similarly, another season one sure-shot, Tamyra Gray, has been rumored to be dropped from her label. Rumors abound whether this actually happened, or did happen and she was quickly snapped up by another label. More on Tamyra to come.

Depending on who you want to listen to, it may get worse for Justin. In Simon Cowell's new book, I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But..., he says of Justin: "Justin was one of those people who was good at everything but not fantastic at anything. He iss a good dancer but not a great dancer, a good singer but not a great singer, a good actor but not a great actor. He’s just good. He could end up as a huge star, or he could end up singing at weddings. He was borderline." Cowell also noted that Justin may have done better in the U.K., since British radio “supports a different kind of recording artist.”

Speaking personally, there is no reason why Justin Guarini shouldn’t be a force in the industry. The music industry is desperate for male pop artists! It looks like Clay Aiken may be sitting next to Justin Timberlake as principal forces. There is room for Guarini; it could have happened if his album was promoted, and better choices were made with his material. “Sorry,” in my opinion, was a sorry choice for first single. Well-performed to be sure, but the song itself was too dark and foreboding for radio airplay. When I heard the album, I thought “this is okay. Just okay.” The production seemed to have no idea who he was and how to accent Justin’s “warm brandy on a cold night” voice. Justin doesn’t have Clay’s vocal power (and some songs, like “Sorry,” seemed to demand that), and he doesn’t have Ruben effortless soul (a few seemed to expect that). Guarini’s voice is a constant simmer and the songs have to be tailored to that, not the other way around.

The good news is, like it or not (and there are so many who don't like it all!), the Idols are hot! Kelly Clarkson has two million sold, Clay Aiken is well over a million, Ruben Studdard is guaranteed to sell at least a million; from a business standpoint, signing an Idol is too smart and low-risk for an Idol of Justin’s stature, talent, and upside to be unsigned for too long (if the rumors are true). Fear not, Justin fans, he will be just fine.

Sting7 has been a respected published writer for 16 years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He also has a curious love for pro-wrestling! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com.

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