Hot on the heels of American Idol Season 9 champ Lee DeWyze being dropped by RCA, runner-up Crystal Bowersox has also split with the RCA/Jive label, her manager confirmed exclusively to TVLine.
Speaking today about her role on next Tuesday’s episode of Body of Proof (ABC, 10/9c), Bowersox told TVLine that she expects her sophomore album to be an independent release, especially in light of the fact that RCA announced earlier this month plans to shutter its Jive, J, and Arista labels, and bring only some of those label’s artists into the RCA fold. (Furthermore, American Idol producer 19 Entertainment ended its relationship with Sony/RCA and began distributing its winners’ and runners’up’s albums via Universal Records beginning with Season 10.)
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“I’m not worried about where I’m gonna be,” said Bowersox. “I’m gonna be making music if it’s on my own label or if it’s with somebody else. I’d love to work with ATO, Dave Matthews’ label. We’ll see what happens.”
Despite the new direction for her career, Bowersox said she remains philosophical about her time at Jive, where her album Farmer’s Daughter sold 58,000 copies in its first week of release (in December 2010), and has now gone on to total sales of 210,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (By comparison, DeWyze moved 146,000 copies of Live It Up.) “For not having any radio play and any great promotion, I think I’ve done pretty well on sales,” Bowersox said. “I’m able to provide a good, comfortable life for my family, and that’s what I wanted out of it.”
Bowersox said she had to make some compromises in the recording process for Farmer’s Daughter, but so did her label. “Jive was great working with me. I’m a little hot-headed sometimes, but all in all, they’ve been really good to me,” she said with a laugh. “And I continue to do this for a living. There’s nothing better.”
Bowersox confirmed she’s in the writing process for her second album. “I’ve got a bunch of songs on a list, and I’m gonna sit and sift through them and see what I think is right for the next album,” she said. “I’m hoping for a late spring or early summer [2012] release. I’ll start recording over the winter and we’ll go from there.”
Just don’t expect Bowersox to unleash her inner Ke$ha for her sophomore set. “It’s not my concern to make a commercial pop record,” she said. “I want to make a record of music that I would listen to, that is lyrically rich and has songs that people can relate to — more along the Jakob Dylan route, people who create for the art of it and not necessarily the monetary rewards of it. What becomes pop is popular, so if it happens to be popular, great. And if not there are music appreciators out there who will like it and who will buy it and comes to my shows.” The recently married mother of one said she’s never dreamed of being “a mega pop star. I enjoy having my privacy, and not seeing my face on the cover of everything, y’know? I want my son to have a normal life.”
Check back at TVLine.com on Tuesday morning for more scoop on Bowersox’s Body of Proof acting debut, and sound off below on this new chapter of her music career. And for all my Idol news, interviews, and commentary, follow me on Twitter @MichaelSlezakTV!
