U2 up to #3 on Billboard

[WHYWHY]

Whew... had me really concerned that All Because of You had already peaked. Lets hope it can make a substantial impact on Radio in the USA.

 

[fitz]

I hope, that "All because of you" will enter the top ten next week
(Modern Rock)

 

[jick]

Remember, the video for All Because Of You isn't out yet, so we could expect it to shoot up once there is a video.

Cheers,

J

 

[jick]

Wow, I just realized after just 5 weeks, HTDAAB has outsold POP's 8 years in the USA. Impressive considering POP was a $1 album and the POPMart Tour was big. I guess U2 have picked up a second wind, sort of a "life begins at 40" kinda thing. It is also a testament to HTDAAB's superior quality over POP.

Cheers,

J

 

[doctorwho]

Wow, I just realized after just 5 weeks, HTDAAB has outsold POP's 8 years in the USA. Impressive considering POP was a $1 album and the POPMart Tour was big. I guess U2 have picked up a second wind, sort of a "life begins at 40" kinda thing. It is also a testament to HTDAAB's superior quality over POP.

Cheers,

J

Jick - back in '97, I recall you really liking "Pop", so much so that your e-mail at the time was "pop4ever@yahoo.com".

"Pop" clearly didn't click with U.S. audiences. Larry feels that this is because the album wasn't finished. However, if the "Pop" songs on 90's "Best Of" represent finished tracks, I highly doubt there'd be any change in overall sales. Yes, the songs do sound more complete, but it's not this huge metamorphises that would suddenly increase sales.

I believe that U.S. audiences welcomed U2's change in the early 90's because, while we all appreciated U2's sentiment in the late 80's, it was getting old. With AB, U2 showed another side - both musically and physically - and it was welcomed. However, this tongue-in-cheek attitude started to wear thin. "Zooropa" sold 2.3M copies in the U.S. Not a bad sum, especially for an album that wasn't really promoted in the U.S., but still a far cry from AB. The few people that heard OS1 also were discouraged by U2's continued experimentation. I guess they wanted real U2 songs, not these ambient experimental tracks with guest signers. As such, by the time "Pop" was released, I think U.S. audiences had had enough of the "irony". They got it - and it was once again time for a change.

Had U2 stuck with their late 80's image in the early 90's, I think they would have flopped. And by the late 90's, the early 90's ironic image was starting to flop as well (even though 1.5M in sales is still pretty strong).

The image U2 has enjoyed since 2000 is probably the closest to the "real" U2 we've ever seen. It's a nice mix of ironic U2 with "heart on the sleeve" U2. It's U2 exploring U2. It works. It's sincere, yet not over the top. It's emotional, yet still finds time for humor. And I think this is why U2 are enjoying this new resurgence.

But let's not forget the most important thing - these are good songs. It's not to say that "Pop" was full of bad songs, just songs that didn't connect emotionally. With ATYCLB and HTDAAB, U2 returned to emotional good song-writing, the very thing that made JT and AB such successful albums.

Now that the holidays are over, I have no idea how well HTDAAB will perform. It's already certified as 3x Platinum and will most likely complete the holidays (meaning this week) with 2.2M albums sold to actual consumers. How it does from here on depends on the strength of subsequent singles and the tour. ATYCLB hit 4.2M in actual consumer sales. Despite its very strong start, HTDAAB still has quite a way to go to reach that lofty total.

 

[jick]

Whoops! Typo!

I didn't mean $1 album. I meant #1 album in the USA.

I still have my pop4ever email.

Cheers,

J

 

[WHYWHY]

Whoops! Typo!

I didn't mean $1 album. I meant #1 album in the USA.

I still have my pop4ever email.

Cheers,

J

Lol, I was gonna say... we pay $30 in Oz!

Then I realized it was too unfair to be true .

WHYWHY.