TONY BENNETT - BENNETT: 'CLOONEY AND I WERE THE FIRST AMERICAN IDOLS'

BENNETT: 'CLOONEY AND I WERE THE FIRST AMERICAN IDOLS'

Veteran singer TONY BENNETT insists that he and singer ROSEMARY CLOONEY were the first AMERICAN IDOL winners, because they were the first to launch their singing careers on TV. The 80-year-old claims it's harder sustain a career in the music business now because it's all about record sales. He explains, "You watch American Idol and see the talent these kids have now, the potential. "Rosemary Clooney and I were the first American Idols; we got started on a show. But that era was different. "Now you've got to make money right away. If the first record makes it, the artist has to spend a lot of money on promotion, accountants, lawyers, managers, agents. "Then if the second album doesn't make it, they just set the artist down and go with the next overdog. To me, that's very cruel."