Some random thoughts after last night’s “American Idol” final about the chart prospects of this year’s idols.

For starters, “American Idol” as a springboard to a hit is no longer guaranteed. Programmers have eight years of Idols to wade through. Recent years' winners and contestants (Kris Allen, Jordin Sparks, Adam Lambert) have had modest hits. Labels have found plenty of their own acts to fill the pure-pop void that Kelly Clarkson briefly had to herself. And, as you might have heard, the ratings are down although even Idol’s “smaller” 2010 audience is still a much better springboard for a new artist than nine spins a week, half of them in overnights.

It’s not a bad time for a winner and runner-up whose musical leanings tend toward the Triple-A/singer-songwriter side. There’s more of that on Top 40 than there has been in more than a decade. Now it depends on how Lee and Crystal’s label bosses want to deploy that. But it’s not inconceivable that either of them could do for singer/songwriter music what Kelly Clarkson did for power pop.

Having sparked “Falling Slowly” and acquitted himself well-enough on “Hallelujah,” Lee DeWyze has an excellent chance of being the guy who can get songs like those on the charts. His A&R people ought to be looking through the last five years of Triple-A for quality songs that would be hits in a better world.

That wouldn’t be a bad strategy for Crystal, either. It’s going to be curious to see what happens now—particularly since she doesn’t have a winner’s leverage (if there is such a thing). Will a label allow her a steady stream of “Up To The Mountain” type songs? Will they try to turn her into Pink? (A very good thing to be, if you’re Pink.) Will the increasingly feisty Crystal that we've seen in recent weeks allow herself to be A&R'ed at all? And, if not, how interested will a label be? Labels in this day and age no longer do “whatever it takes” to get somebody a hit—particularly if there’s any inkling that they don’t appreciate it.

One other thought—having dispensed with the coronation song, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to deploy an actual first single on Lee or Crystal as quickly as possible. For better or worse, there’s been some mold-breaking this year and the usual template of waiting until fall, then having both challenger and champion’s singles to deal with hasn’t worked so well in recent years.

So what record do you want to hear (if any) from Crystal or Lee?