"Idol" Winners Face Off In Record Stores

When "Pop Idol" -- the original "American Idol" in the UK -- let the runner-up release his single a week or two after the winner, everyone complained it was a rude slap in the face to the guy who actually won the competition, Will Young. But with more and more Idol runners-up putting out albums, trying to space out their releases became impossible. (The one absolute is that no one can put out an album before the winner.) Besides, when runner-up Clay Aiken trounced Ruben in record sales, the lable realized fans would keep voting -- this time with their credit cards. So it's no surprise that November 14 will be the release date for Idol winner Taylor Hicks AND runner-up Katharine McPhee AND dumb blonde Kellie Pickler. (The one album that might actually be good -- Chris Daughtry's -- will come out at the end of the year, but no release date has been set yet. Meanwhile, Mario Vasquez saw his first single flop and his album has been pushed back to September 12 instead of the summer. Elliot is still waiting for a record deal and Paris Bennett surely will get one but nothing has been announced yet.