Song of 'Idol' winner to be in stores three weeks after winner picked

Variety reports that viewers of Fox's summer megahit "American Idol" won't have to wait long to hear the first single from whomever wins the competition.


Simon Cowell, the snarly Brit judge-recording exec who'll be producing the track, said he'll have the song in stores within three weeks of "Idol's" Sept. 4 finale. He'll achieve that feat by asking all of the three remaining finalists to record the song -- an original composition Cowell describes as a "big power ballad" similar to Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time."

RCA Records has already committed to giving the "Idol" winner a $1 million recording contract that covers both the winning single and a full-length album from the winner that's set to be released by December. The label will also release a single from the runner-up, and plans are in the works for a compilation CD from the 10 finalists to be released in October.