 |
It’s hard to imagine an artist as accomplished and beloved as Neil Diamond (trust us — your mom digs him) has never, over the course of his more than forty-year career, known the feeling of having an album hit the chart at #1. Hard to imagine, but true.
That’s why this week is so sweet for the Solitary Man, because according to the latest SoundScan figures, Diamond’s Rick Rubin-produced Home Before Dark has broken that bad-luck streak, selling close to 146,000 copies to top next week’s chart. This was no doubt made possible by the tremendous boost of having some of his classic tunes featured (and, you know, mostly murdered) on that popular singing contest “American Idol.”
Check out some other twists and turns in the chart, after the jump.
Other mad, mad business in this coming Top 200 include Clay Aiken’s On My Way Here, which bows at #4. The Claymates predictably snatched up the former Idol’s latest, placing Aiken just 100 fewer copies behind Madonna’s Hard Candy at #3 (94,000). (Um, how does Madge feel coming in just behind Clay in only her second week on the chart…?)
Hipster-cred acts the Last Shadow Puppets (see: Arctic Monkeys) and No Age (see: LA lo-fi punk scene) did kinda fine: LSP’s Age of the Understatement debuted at #111 (7,000), while No Age’s Nouns just made the cut at #196 (4,000).
But what the heck happened to tween-beloved emo-pop sensation Tokio Hotel?? All evidence — freaked-out, shrieking fans packing shows before the little Germans’ CD even dropped Stateside — pointed to a stellar debut. But their debut, Scream, enters the chart at #39, with sales reported at 15,800. We say, “Meh.” Perhaps it’ll be a slower build for these kleine pop-punks after all.
Filed Under: Charts
Peace!
re: your comments about Clay Aiken landing at #4--maybe he's not "cool" enough to get any real credit from the MTV crowd, but his 1st 4 albums have all landed in the top 4 on the charts. Coincidence? I don't think so! There aren't that many Claymates to be doing all that alone. This album has an interesting mix of styles, and the guy can pull off just about anything he tries. Funny how his "15 minutes" just keep going & going. Can you say TALENT?
I was very surprised at how good Clay Aiken's cd is. Now that he is doing his own thing he has added some really cool upbeat numbers, his voice has matured and I really like Ashes, Everythig I don't need and Falling. In fact there isn't really a song I dont like. The ballad that he and David Foster wrote is outstanding - Lover All Alone.
As for Madonna personally I dont care for her cds but I do like to watch her shows. I think she is more an entertainer than a singer.
He so deserves all his success including this #1 spot on the charts.
Considering the much smaller amount of promotion Clay got, his CD did great getting into the top five. I listened to the snippets and was quite hopeful that I would like his album.
I bought it and it is awesome!! I especially am blown away by the uptempo songs, Ashes and Falling.
I think Tokio Hotel fans are happy about the debut at #39!!! Especially after Bill's surgery and all the uncertainty surrounding that. I'm impressed with first week's sales and think they'll get more and more popular.
All things considered, for the American market, I think this IS a stellar debut- from a FOREIGN band, no less.
This is only the beginning, MTV. Just wait and see what our kleine pop-punkers will do.
If you complain about that, it means you're complaining about your own impact you have as TV channel on popular youth culture today, as it is MTV who has given the band 99% of its its exposure to date in uS. So if you happen to be disappointed that a up and comong band "only" entered at #39 on Billboard, it might be worth to rethink that.
I'm not the first one to say this here, but there is nothing "meh" about Tokio Hotel's chart placement. As others have said, the band has had almost NO promotion here in the US. MTV has been amazing with promoting the band within their network and online, but outside of that, Tokio Hotel have had exactly one other TV appearance, which was on Conan O'Brien on May 9th. They have played only a few shows, mostly filled with existing fans. There has been one article in Blender magazine, and a handful of other small mentions and album reviews in magazines.
The U.S. market is incredibly difficult to break into, since the charts and music stations are mostly dominated by huge artists who are either long-time stars or backed by a powerful company (such as Disney) or come out of a reality show, and bring with them those viewers who turn into CD buyers. Even smaller artists who do make it big are often helped along the way by successful acts who take them on tour, talk them up, and make the connections.
Tokio Hotel have entered the Billboard Top 40 in the first week of release, selling 15811 units. That is impressive in any case, especially for a German band with very little promotion pre-release. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the potential album purchasers are members of the download generation who think nothing of downloading the entire CD without spending a dime. Scream has also been in release in Europe for almost a year now, and was released in Canada last month. Many fans had already purchased a copy of the album from either Europe or Canada.
Yes, Tokio Hotel did not beat out Neil Diamond for the top spot. Nor did they beat such giants as Mariah Carey or Madonna. But entering at 39 in an impressive feat and will only be followed by more impressive moves by this band. Don't write them off, MTV.