U2's Week 2 Chart Position?

[doctorwho]

This Tuesday (Nov. 30th), U2 continues to face some big challenges.

American Idol strikes again.

Clay Aiken's Christmas album is in its second week. Ruben Studdard and Fantasia, Seasons 2 and 3 winners respectively, have albums that will debut on the charts this week. However, none of them appear to be a threat to U2's HTDAAB this week.

However, Kelly Clarkson whose last album debuted with 297,000 copies sold (selling 2.02M total - the second best selling Idol behind Aiken - who didn't even win!) has an album coming out tomorrow (which will chart next week). Clarkson also has a Top 10 hit and was just on the FOX special last week.

Could this be Idol overload or will Clarkson's second release have even more success than the first? Could she threaten U2's second week?

(Side Note: As if having 4 Idols on the album charts at once isn't enough, Diana DeGarmo, Season 3's runner-up (losing to Fantasia) has her debut album released next week. We could see 5 Idols on the charts at once! )

Far more worrisome, though, is Jay-Z. If you recall, Jay-Z's 2000 release prevented ATYCLB from reaching higher in its debut week. Jay-Z's last album debuted with a whopping 810,000 copies sold in March 2003! It went on to sell 4.64M copies.

Unless HTDAAB has some high Week 2 sales, it appears U2's reign at the top will be very short-lived as Jay-Z will most likely them.

Thoughts?

 

[ChangeTheTemperature]

The Jay-Z and Linkin Park album is based on an MTV show where they remixed their existing songs.

I doubt it will sell more than 250K as none of the songs are new.

 

[doctorwho]

The Jay-Z and Linkin Park album is based on an MTV show where they remixed their existing songs.

I doubt it will sell more than 250K as none of the songs are new.

Feelings...

Initial response is for not knowing.

Second respons is


If this is right, then U2's HTDAAB might - just might - see two weeks at #1 (if not more)! In the SoundScan era, only "Zooropa" has been able to reach #1 for longer than a week (holding it for its first two weeks of release).

It would be great to see U2 #1!

It'll be even better seeing U2 at #1 for more than a week!

 

[womanfish]

yeah, this is tough. I don't think that Kelly Clarkson will pull it off. And the Jay-Z / Linkin Park thing is such a wildcard. Both groups have a solid fanbase, but this pairing is pretty lame. Can't believe Jay-Z lowered himself. Although after hitching his perfectly popular and untarnished star to R. Kelly on his last paired up release, I guess we can't expect to much. That one dropped like a stone after they all sprayed eachother with mace and the lawsuits started flying. I could see it selling 3 to 400k in this busy buying season. But hopefully U2 can hold fairly steady and fend off the rest of the pack for a SECOND WEEK!! That would be cool.

 

[STING2]

Unless Jay-Z repeats his 2000 success, U2 will be #1 for a second week assuming the album sales 750,000+ this week.

 

[Teta040]

Clay Aiken? Fantasia? American Idol? WTF??? The tragedy is, in 5 yrs nobody will even remember these lamebrains anymore. They'll be like Milli Vanilli and Hanson and New Kids on the Block (who were the top sellers of 1992 BTW. 10 million copies. How many epople even remember this fact? They sold more than Achtung Baby, more than Nirvana and Pearl Jam. But where are they now? Didn't even last as long as the Beastie Boys, who actually were really good artists.)Talk about the power of "power" TV ad campains. Ice cream fluff, that is immediately jumped on by MTV and retail and pushed at the masses just b/c it's perdctable and safe. A sure thing. How much money is being spent on THIER ad campaigns? And people bitch and moan about U2, who spend their OWN money?

When I consider this crap (and yes, there's GREAT music out there, but far too much shelf and airwave space is still being filled by this junk)--people harp on the ipOd commercial??? U2 should not feel one drop of guilt.

 

[Axver]

Teta, my thoughts exactly. The state of the music and entertainment industry makes me think of Porcupine Tree's The Sound Of Muzak.

Hear the sound of music drifting in the aisles
Elevator prozac stretching on for miles
The music of the future will not entertain
It's only meant to repress and neutralise your brain

Soul gets squeezed out
Edges get blunt
Demographic gives what you want

Now the sound of music comes in silver pills
Engineered to suit you building cheaper thrills ...

 

[david]

Is Jay Z teaming up with Linkin Park as bad as Nelly teaming up with Tim McGraw?

 

[strannix]

Is Jay Z teaming up with Linkin Park as bad as Nelly teaming up with Tim McGraw?

No.

(end of discussion)

 

[U2@NYC]

Wasn't Jay-Z retiring after the so-called Black Album or something????

 

[barrett]

I don't see any competition for a second week at #1.

 

[ChangeTheTemperature]

Looks like U2 will be #1 next week also, as none of the new releases are expected to go over 300K.

I think 400K will be #1 next week and I think HTDAAB will around there next week.

MASHING UP THE CHARTS: This week's chart isn't quite complete, but next week's picture is already coming into focus. Early snapshot reports from retailers show WB's Linkin Park/Jay-Z Collision Course mash-up collab leading Atlantic's new T.I. release by a slim margin for the largest debut on next Tuesday's chart. Both are currently trending to pass the 250k mark. Is 300k a possibility? Also strong showings are being reported on Columbia's Nas and J Records' Kelly Clarkson, who both look to be headed for a sales week surpassing the 200k mark. (11/30p)

 

[STING2]

Clay Aiken? Fantasia? American Idol? WTF??? The tragedy is, in 5 yrs nobody will even remember these lamebrains anymore. They'll be like Milli Vanilli and Hanson and New Kids on the Block (who were the top sellers of 1992 BTW. 10 million copies. How many epople even remember this fact? They sold more than Achtung Baby, more than Nirvana and Pearl Jam. But where are they now? Didn't even last as long as the Beastie Boys, who actually were really good artists.)Talk about the power of "power" TV ad campains. Ice cream fluff, that is immediately jumped on by MTV and retail and pushed at the masses just b/c it's perdctable and safe. A sure thing. How much money is being spent on THIER ad campaigns? And people bitch and moan about U2, who spend their OWN money?

When I consider this crap (and yes, there's GREAT music out there, but far too much shelf and airwave space is still being filled by this junk)--people harp on the ipOd commercial??? U2 should not feel one drop of guilt.

The top seller in 1992 was Garth Brooks, not New Kids On the Block. New Kids were not even in the Top 20 that year. U2 had the 5th biggest selling album of 1992 in the USA with Achtung Baby. It was the biggest selling album by a group in America that year. I have the year end issue of Billboard for 1992 with all the statistics. The cover of that Issue is Bono doing his kick on ZOO station in front of one of the huge TV screens.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

The Jay Z/Linkin Park thing is a mixed release.....people who are fans of one but not the other won't be going out to buy it I think....it's just a gimmick.....the rest of this Tuesday's releases are hilarious in my opinion.....I really think the band will have no problem staying out in front next week......they might even manage it all the way through Christmas.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

That new Kelly Clarkson, Breakaway, is pretty good... maybe she will hit big.

 

[Popmartijn]

Here's an early estimate from Hits. U2 could stay #1, especially when the second-week drop isn't too steep:

ONE-DAY SALES: JAY-Z, LINKIN PARK COLLABORATION ROCKS
Collision Course on Track for Top Debut, Followed by Nas, Kelly Clarkson, T.I.

December 1, 2004

You throw some hottt superstar rhymes in a bowl. Grind in a liberal amount of nu-metal aggression and go at it with that potato-ricer thing you’ve had in the drawer for years but never knew what to do with.

That’s a recipe for a mash-up, and according to early reports from national accounts, there’s a big ol' healthy appetite for it across the country. Indeed, Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s new collaboration, Collision Course (Warner Bros.), is on track to be next week’s top debut, with early data indicating first-week sales of up to 350k.

That figure barely gets you into the Top Five on this week's turkey-bloated chart, but depending on how U2 fares in the coming days, it could mean a shot at #1 next week—though it would take a steeper than usual second-week drop for U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Interscope). With nearly 839k of the iPod ad-driven album moved this week, most at this point are giving the edge to U2. Get it? The edge? U2?

Anyway, Collision Course will lead a pack of newcomers on next week’s chart that will also include the new double CD from Nas, Street Disciple (Columbia), which is also off to a very strong start. Early reports point to a first week of 225k-250k.

And then there’s Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway (RCA), the latest American Idol release from the J/RCA juggernaut, and T.I.’s slyly titled Urban Legend (Atlantic). Both appear headed for first weeks around the 200k mark.
That should give all of the above at least a spot in next week’s Top 10, but things could look even better by the end of the week, depending how bad the post-turkey week hangover is for those already on the chart.

Gotta love those puns.

C ya!

Marty

 

[Tip Top Prince]

I was just talking to a BIG Jay-Z fan and she says she LOVES his new album. Whatever that is worth....

 

[doctorwho]

It wouldn't stun me to see U2 slip to #2. They aren't like Eminem where they can carry the huge sales for several weeks. Plus, for some reason Jay-Z can produce just about anything and have it go at least Double Platinum.

While I'm surprised a "remix" album of sorts could top the charts, given what's "hot" in this country now, it's not surprising. Still, I'd love to see U2 top the charts for at least one more week.

 

[U2@NYC]

Well, Jay-Z, despite saying that he will retire every two years and figuring out that he can still sell albums and rip-off fans with crappy remixes and re-engineerings of olf songs, can still sell.

If he makes it to #1, I will be really disappointed, as he sucks... like 99.9% of the hip-hop world.