It's the best of times and the worst of times for American Idol. The new series debut this week was the most-watched TV show of the season thus far — garnering more viewers than those who tuned into competing fare on ABC, CBS, NBC and the CW combined — but was still down 11% percent from last year's bow. Season 5 fave Chris Daughtry has found massive success with his rock outfit Daughtry — four million albums sold and a few Grammy nominations, for good measure — but previous finalists Katherine McPhee, Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard all found themselves dropped after falling short of expectations. It is into this tenuous situation that 2007 runner-up Blake Lewis unleahses his debut video "Break Anotha." Odds are stacked against him: He's known for his human DJ "skills" and the choice of "Anotha" over "Another" in the song title is a potential red flag. On the other hand, the video is directed by creative, yet underappreciated Sanji — check his Lauryn Hill "Everything Is Everything" and Maxwell "This Woman's Work" videos for a reminder — and there's a likable lo-fi, '70s vibe to the whole effort. Beat Box Blake performs in front of the tried and true simple effect of floating ink explosions — see Bright Eyes "Hot Knives" for a recent example — while surveillance style shots capture a couple on the verge of a break-up due to his unceasing desire for strange. --> watch "Break Anotha"
Blake Lewis "Break Anotha" (19/Arista/J)
Sanji, director | Gina Leonard, producer | Siblings, production co | Yell Productions, rep | Eric Whycoff , DP | Sanji & Jason Dopko, editors | Ariana Nakata, production designer
