It's really useful to hear all these honest opinions. We care enough to speculate, worry, second guess, hope. We are still wholly engaged but we are only a handful. Sadly, the original fans have disappeared and the majority of his followers are not serious fans. If they were they would have bought his records.

However, this discussion has made me feel that RCA may have a long term view about where Andrea will fit into the market, slowly, slowly. It took Ed Sheeran years to build a fan base. He said that record companies only really want people who are already commercially successful but I hope RCA will give Andrea a little financial help to survive the long haul. `Living in London and travelling to gigs will leave him with very little financial security. Andrea is on a huge learning curve. Thank God he comes from a loving family who will always be there for him.

I would hope that RCA would have advised Andrea against moving here unless they had a plan for him. He wouldn’t have the funds to do it unless they gave him an advance, surely? So I do have hope that they will continue working with him. If X Factor comes and goes without Andrea having a performance and 2nd single then I will be inclined to think that thats it for RCA and him. But for now, I think it’s still just the beginnings of his career.

Btw, whatever happened to the US promo tour? It was mentioned way back... Was that ever actually in the pipeline or just a rumour?

Hmm...This is disappointing. At the moment I would try to remain positive. If Andrea is definitely moving here (and we know he is) then we have to trust he thinks there's a future for him in the UK. I remember reading an interview a while back where he said he wouldn't move here until he knew how it was gonna go with the album. Andrea's a sensible man and he's not naive (even though he seems to be at times). I think there's a plan and he will keep going, it may not be massive success overnight but that's ok. I have faith he'll remain in the public eye, and the album has been well received which is important. Andrea's not your standard X Factor act so don't worry about him going down the standard X Factor route of fading into obscurity.

The US tour was definitely not just a rumour. It was mentioned in several magazine articles, including the initial one announcing his contract. Plus, when I was at the O2 concert in March, I was chatting to his Mum about it and she told me that he would shortly be leaving for America and would be there for several weeks.

I have a pet theory... I wonder if Simon was convinced that Fleur was going to win, and the LA time was put aside for her and Andrea. When Ben won, I wonder if he got Andrea's LA slots instead. Both Fleur and Ben were in LA when Andrea was supposed to be and I am guessing that they worked with the people that Andrea was going to work with.... Just a theory... Andrea's album went from 'working with top LA producers and song writers' to 'working with young British talent'...

They did block the US from seeing all of the You Tube videos and Kelly wasn't available on iTunes USA, so I think that they have kept their options open there, with the possibility of launching in the US at some time in the future, if the album were popular here....

If Andrea doesn't have any gigs or appearances lined up, I can't believe that he will be moving here? His Mum and Dad aren't rich - his Dad works in a bank and his Mum is a housewife. They can't finance a flat in London for him? Or at least, not for long they can't... If RCA are prepared to finance a flat, that would be a positive sign at least....

On the other hand, if Andrea is going to have to work his way up and build a career here, it's hard to see how he can do that from Rome? I wonder how his Italian sales went? I know that he was relatively high in the Italian iTunes chart, but the CD wasn't even available in shops over there...

Give a Little Love was played on Metro Radio 2 (used to be Magic) earlier.

Wow the America thing is really strange… How can they just scrap something huge like that? I think Simon would have known Ben was going to win from quite early on though, he knows all the voting stats I’m certain, so I don’t think he would have taken his slot. If a promo tour was ever planned in the US, then surely that suggests Andrea’s contract was in fact international as we initially thought? In which case, if that’s the contract he signed, aren’t they still obliged to go ahead with plans there? Unless those plans were always subject to success in the UK…

I almost feel like they’re purposely keeping the album low key so that they can build hype at a certain moment or something… But that’s probably just my wishful thinking. Something’s just not sitting quite right with me. I guess we just have to wait it out and see what happens!

That's positive

I agree completely. Ben was the stand out in the voting stats from I think about week 5? After that he built huge momentum and couldn't be touched. They knew this hence the extreme bigging up of Fleur and unnecessary criticism and tactics used with Andrea, Andrea was the only one they knew they could get rid of to make way for the apple of Simon's eye, Fleur. . I'm actually quite sure if (out of the three) it had been a fairly even vote they would have attempted to throw Ben under the bus (literally) and had Andrea as the usual runner up success story and Fleur as benign dictator of the free world...No I'm kidding around here! I don't mind Fleur. Anyway, since that couldn't happen because the generic rugged handsome man is always a big vote winner on X Factor. It had to be Andrea that got the boot.

I personally think Ben won't be a success, and this may sound mean and maybe even bitchy but I just can't see it. I don't think he'll have an album produced to anywhere near the level of Kelly. I think he will be completely overshadowed by Fleur's launch . Unfortunately the male winners of X Factor have a terrible history. From my experience at the tour I really felt they were already downplaying him. Something I remember is a massive countdown clock and Peter Dickson shouting 'here is your star' as Fleur walked out. I don't remember that with Ben. Take a look at the tour program cover and you'll see everybody positioned in the square according to where they came in the show with the exception of Ben and Fleur who have been switched to make it appear Ben came second and Fleur first. I don't think there are big plans for him I'm sorry to say.

I really hope things are going to pan out well for Andrea and I still believe they will. None of us wanted 5 seconds of chart success and then just disappearing, it is better to build these things up. It's a solid album, not the usual cheap album full of covers cash in. It may have been a mistake to get involved with SYCO and that may have caused issues. (I'm sure we've all read how they kept Shane Ward and Leona Lewis hanging on and then never actually doing anything with them.) But it may be a licensing issue with 'IDKMOS' or something, that's the thing, we just don't know how involved they are? Is he with Modest Management as SYCO signed people usually are? again that's a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. I'm repeating myself here but I really believe Andrea is in it for the long haul. We'll be chatting on here for a long time to come! We'd better be!!

The problem for us is that we don't know anything about the contracts that exist between the different companies. I do know that RCA were obligated to sign the American Idol winner at one time and now that Sony and Scowell have mutual interests in the same company, who knows the score.
Regarding Fleur, she tweeted that she now has her own clothing line. Her partner is a designer. Who's backing that enterprise? I read that she had dire financial problems early on in the contest. It takes serious money to set up a new clothing line.
There's no doubt that she was the favourite. We all noticed that she was always in the centre of publicity shots but she's a lovely girl and none of us wish her anything but the best. Our concern is and always has been Andrea. The nation was astounded by his early performances. He brought tears to our eyes and captured .our hearts. Then the campaign started. and the X Factor audience started to lose interest in him. However that's a fickle audience and they have not always been loyal to their winners. You people who believe in the slow build give us some hope but he needs the right backing in publicity, music and finance. It could be a long, hard road. I have read numerous articles stating that it takes quite a few successful chart toppers before the artist is out of debt as he is responsible for an outstanding amount of expense to cover clothing, backing artists etc. I have been shocked by what I have read. Record labels are not fairy godmothers by any means.

Ben, Fleur and Andrea are managed by the James Grant Management , as is SCowell! The question is 'What is management, these days?' Does anyone really care about these kids or is it about a fast buck?

Well, it's the official chart at around 5pm today... Let's hope he's still in the top 20... Or even 40...

I think Simon will pour a lot of money into promoting both Ben and Fleur (Fleur more so) just for the sake of proving that his acts are the breakout stars. This is what makes me question whether Simon will want to promote Andrea by giving him an X Factor performance - Would he risk him outshining Ben and Fleur? Sadly, It may suit him better to not remind the X Factor audience of Andrea at all.

Success-wise I think Ben will do okay and probably get a Top 5 single and album, following in similar footsteps to Matt Cardle. Fleur will have a lot more money spent on her and will be SYCOs main priority for the year. I reckon she’ll definitely have a no.1 debut single. Promo largely dictates success these days, that’s just a fact. If Andrea’s first single had its debut on X Factor, as Ben and Fleurs will, it would have probably gone top 5. If he does get a shot with a second single performed on there, I’d put money on it going top 10 (especially if its The River )

If he was 31 in the midweeks chances are he's dropped out of the top 40 sadly. There's been absolutely no promo this week at all.

Have you spoken to him or his parents recently, Jessika?

Number 40 in the album charts.

Not the best but could have been worse...

Is it good enough for RCA to give him some real support? That's the question.

<Group hug> They are on holiday. I think they will be disappointed with this

RCA will have made a huge loss. Even with the low budget, minimal promo... I hope they give him another chance

Actually, scrap that, I almost hope RCA drop him now and let him go with someone else who might invest in him... He could be stuck with them, unable to record with anyone else for ages now

I think it's doubtful any label makes money out of new artists initially, we've seen how very little in the way of sales is required to actually be successful in the charts... Although promotion would easily make that happen for pretty much any artist, it appears there is no way they would recoup their money out of sales?

On the other hand, apart from TV appearances on some of the bigger shows how do you popularize an artist without keeping them relevant (in the charts)?

The music industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years or so with album sales plummeting, it seems the money these days comes from touring/concerts which will themselves popularize an artist increasing sales. But, how does a new artist successfully tour without being popularized first.

The odd thing for me about Andrea and my only real concern is that I don't really see him as a concert artist, I see him as one of those artists you listen too rather than go and watch though of course for all |I know he could be brilliant in concert...

Regardless somehow RCA need to popularize him...
We still don't know the ins and outs and are speculating about RCA so we'll just have to see how it plays out over the next 12 months or so...

With regards Ben and Fleur, they are both very likely to have instant success simply because Simon will use xfactor to promote them on the cheap and because as we've seen to actually have a number one single/album very little in the way of sales is actually required these days.

I personally don't see Ben having any success whatsoever beyond the initial promo push and can see him being dropped very quickly.

Fleur I'm not sure about, she is not my cup of tea, I think she's a poor singer in the grand scheme of things but she is a performer which means she's perfect for concerts...

Now `i'm sad. Poor boy. He was so excited.
Regarding the loss, Jessika. Sometimes, they write the artist's debt off in exchange for no further investment from them. It would require real faith in him for them to invest further and they have not shown that since Christmas really.
Andrea needs real patronage now. Where are all his wealthy former admirers? People on this site who have been buying far more records than they need for personal use are his real and only patrons.
Ed Sheehan has his own label now. Sam and he could even invite him to tour ???????

The chart position doesn’t surprise me. The little promo that was there last week was completely gone this week. Albums stay in the charts by either constant promotion or regular radio play. Andrea has had neither. Although I’m sure RCA hoped for bigger sales, they can’t be that surprised. They’ve been in the game long enough to know what is needed to make an album be heard.

On a positive note, There isn't a time limit on when an album has to peak in success. The album could fade completely but then be rediscovered with a second single. You just never know. If RCA do give it a go with a second single, then we know they're serious about making it work.

I don’t really know how I feel about RCA. Although I’m disappointed with the promotion side of things, my happiness with the album itself kind of outweighs it. The album gives me the impression that they really get Andrea musically. They found songs that suit his style perfectly, whilst remaining current. The overall sound of the album is a perfect debut. There is such a gap in the market for this twist on pop. If they’re a label that cares about making great music with talented artists, then they’ll hang on to him.

In regards to touring, Andrea has said multiple times that it's his favourite part of the job, so I hope he gets to do it. He also said he'd prefer to play small venues. The video of him performing Kelly live with an audience is the kind of atmosphere I'd imagine his shows to have. Just his voice and a few live instruments - perfection. The problem with those kind of gigs of course is that they won't make big sums of money and they will only appeal for current fans - not attract new ones. So as far as attracting a new fanbase goes, supporting another act on tour is the best way to achieve that.