Post by admin on Aug 16, 2007 23:12:20 GMT 8
This summer was supposed to be a “three-peat” for Kelly Clarkson and 50 Cent.
Much the way Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End were titles slated to keep this season’s movie box office afloat, pop star Clarkson’s third CD, My December, and rapper 50 Cent’s third disc, Curtis, were titles considered to be surefire summer saviors.
A few undeniable summer hits were certainly needed. During the first half of the year, sales of digital tracks rose almost 50 percent from the same period last year.
But CD sales fell 15 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry’s Daughtry is the bestselling CD of the year so far, and that’s actually a 2006 release.
Clarkson’s and 50 Cent’s track records looked like the right remedies, or at least Band-Aids, for an ailing music industry. Then things fell apart for both artists.
Clarkson, coming off a blockbuster, hits-laden CD in 2004 ’s Breakaway and a couple of Grammy Awards, had this summer’s most troubled CD.
She fought with label head Clive Davis over songwriting control, parted with her management, her tour crumbled and her single “Never Again” nearly tanked.
Still, Clarkson’s CD sold well its first week but was topped by Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. Clarkson has since fallen from the Top 10 after a mere month.
And 50 Cent, who had the second-best-selling CD of 2005 with The Massacre, released two singles this spring, “Amusement Park” and “Straight to the Bank.” Both flopped, as did his performance on the BET Awards.
His Curtis CD was moved to Sept. 4 from June 26, then to Sept. 11. The official spin has something to do with synchronizing his worldwide release, but who’s buying that ?
Now, the industry finds itself looking for other summer CD champions, another Daughtry, another Carrie Underwood, another High School Musical (the latter two are on the way ). Hits and misses are popping up in unexpected places:
Now Vol. 25 isn’t selling like other installments of the long-running series, but it sat atop the Billboard 200 for two weeks as fans continue to show their transition to standalone hit singles over albums. Say what you will about the state of rock today, but Linkin Park’s new Minutes to Midnight holds the record for the biggest debut week of the year. Other new rock albums — Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway, Maroon 5 ’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, White Stripes ’ Icky Thump and Smashing Pumpkins’ Zeitgeist — aren’t looking too shabby.
Most impressive is the continued Top 10 status of Nickelback’s All the Right Reasons, released in 2005.
In need of real help are Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky, Nine Inch Nails ’ Year Zero, Marilyn Manson’s Eat Me, Drink Me and Enrique Iglesias’ Insomniac.
Nickelback’s not the only one with legs extending into this summer. Consider: Fergie’s debut solo CD, The Dutchess. Buoyed by the single “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” it is closing in on nearly a year on the chart. T. I. never got the memo on rap music’s down spin. His T. I. vs. T. I. P. this summer had the year’s secondbiggest opening. T. I. is faring much better than Shop Boyz’s Rock Star Mentality, Timbaland’s Timbaland Presents Shock Value, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Strength & Loyalty and Young Jeezy Presents U. S. D. A. ’s Cold Summer: The Authorized Mixtape. Amy Winehouse may be a mess with her highly publicized drinking and carrying on, but she’s delivering the soulful goods musically on her consistently selling summer sleeper Back to Black. But new albums by fellow soulful young Brits — Joss Stone’s Introducing Joss Stone and Lily Allen’s Alright, Still — aren’t doing as well.
R&B stars R. Kelly and T-Pain are doing respectably with their Double Up and Epiphany CDs, respectively. But other R&B CDs, such as Ne-Yo’s Because of You, Tank’s Sex, Love & Pain and Bobby Valentino’s Special Occasion, could use a push if they’re going to last past summer.
Former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland shares a lot in common with her onetime group-mate Beyonce — except when it comes to CD sales. Rowland’s second solo CD, Ms. Kelly is sliding out of the Top 40 after only a few weeks. Country has encountered a few bumps. Brad Paisley’s 5 th Gear, Toby Keith’s Big Dog Daddy and Big & Rich’s Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace debuted well but failed to generate much momentum. Gretchen Wilson’s third CD, One of the Boys, is posting her worst numbers yet.
Much the way Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End were titles slated to keep this season’s movie box office afloat, pop star Clarkson’s third CD, My December, and rapper 50 Cent’s third disc, Curtis, were titles considered to be surefire summer saviors.
A few undeniable summer hits were certainly needed. During the first half of the year, sales of digital tracks rose almost 50 percent from the same period last year.
But CD sales fell 15 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry’s Daughtry is the bestselling CD of the year so far, and that’s actually a 2006 release.
Clarkson’s and 50 Cent’s track records looked like the right remedies, or at least Band-Aids, for an ailing music industry. Then things fell apart for both artists.
Clarkson, coming off a blockbuster, hits-laden CD in 2004 ’s Breakaway and a couple of Grammy Awards, had this summer’s most troubled CD.
She fought with label head Clive Davis over songwriting control, parted with her management, her tour crumbled and her single “Never Again” nearly tanked.
Still, Clarkson’s CD sold well its first week but was topped by Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. Clarkson has since fallen from the Top 10 after a mere month.
And 50 Cent, who had the second-best-selling CD of 2005 with The Massacre, released two singles this spring, “Amusement Park” and “Straight to the Bank.” Both flopped, as did his performance on the BET Awards.
His Curtis CD was moved to Sept. 4 from June 26, then to Sept. 11. The official spin has something to do with synchronizing his worldwide release, but who’s buying that ?
Now, the industry finds itself looking for other summer CD champions, another Daughtry, another Carrie Underwood, another High School Musical (the latter two are on the way ). Hits and misses are popping up in unexpected places:
Now Vol. 25 isn’t selling like other installments of the long-running series, but it sat atop the Billboard 200 for two weeks as fans continue to show their transition to standalone hit singles over albums. Say what you will about the state of rock today, but Linkin Park’s new Minutes to Midnight holds the record for the biggest debut week of the year. Other new rock albums — Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway, Maroon 5 ’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, White Stripes ’ Icky Thump and Smashing Pumpkins’ Zeitgeist — aren’t looking too shabby.
Most impressive is the continued Top 10 status of Nickelback’s All the Right Reasons, released in 2005.
In need of real help are Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky, Nine Inch Nails ’ Year Zero, Marilyn Manson’s Eat Me, Drink Me and Enrique Iglesias’ Insomniac.
Nickelback’s not the only one with legs extending into this summer. Consider: Fergie’s debut solo CD, The Dutchess. Buoyed by the single “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” it is closing in on nearly a year on the chart. T. I. never got the memo on rap music’s down spin. His T. I. vs. T. I. P. this summer had the year’s secondbiggest opening. T. I. is faring much better than Shop Boyz’s Rock Star Mentality, Timbaland’s Timbaland Presents Shock Value, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Strength & Loyalty and Young Jeezy Presents U. S. D. A. ’s Cold Summer: The Authorized Mixtape. Amy Winehouse may be a mess with her highly publicized drinking and carrying on, but she’s delivering the soulful goods musically on her consistently selling summer sleeper Back to Black. But new albums by fellow soulful young Brits — Joss Stone’s Introducing Joss Stone and Lily Allen’s Alright, Still — aren’t doing as well.
R&B stars R. Kelly and T-Pain are doing respectably with their Double Up and Epiphany CDs, respectively. But other R&B CDs, such as Ne-Yo’s Because of You, Tank’s Sex, Love & Pain and Bobby Valentino’s Special Occasion, could use a push if they’re going to last past summer.
Former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland shares a lot in common with her onetime group-mate Beyonce — except when it comes to CD sales. Rowland’s second solo CD, Ms. Kelly is sliding out of the Top 40 after only a few weeks. Country has encountered a few bumps. Brad Paisley’s 5 th Gear, Toby Keith’s Big Dog Daddy and Big & Rich’s Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace debuted well but failed to generate much momentum. Gretchen Wilson’s third CD, One of the Boys, is posting her worst numbers yet.
