Oct 29 2008
P!nk To See Solid, If Unspectacular, Album Debut
P!nk- seen performing on NBC’s Today show- may have hit No. 1 on the singles chart recently, but she won’t be achieving that feat on the albums chart. (picture courtesy of Associated Press/Richard Drew)
Even a No. 1 single can’t put P!nk into contention for No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The pop star’s fifth album Funhouse hit stores yesterday, and based on first-day sales reports, the title is projected to sell in the neighborhood of 160,000-170,000 units by week’s end. While P!nk isn’t expected to challenge AC/DC or High School Musical 3 for the top two slots, it should be good enough to give the Pennsylvania native her highest-charting album yet (none of her previous releases have peaked in the top five).
But why isn’t P!nk selling enough to get to No. 1? Her current hit, “So What,” topped the Billboard Hot 100, and is a top five airplay hit. Shouldn’t that be a catalyst to send her album to the top of the charts? Not necessarily. None of P!nk’s albums have had huge opening numbers; 2001’s M!ssundaztood- which remains her biggest seller, at 5.2 million units to date- yielded her biggest opening, at 220,175 in debut sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Her last effort- 2006’s I’m Not Dead- scanned 126,000 in its first week, but went on to sell nearly 1.3 million units, on the strength of radio staples like “U + Ur Hand” and “Who Knew.”
However, unlike Funhouse, I’m Not Dead didn’t have the luxury of having a big radio hit out of the gate. And that may not bode well for the new album’s long-term potential. If a bonafide radio smash can’t propel Funhouse to big debut numbers, then what can help keep it going for the long term? I’m Not Dead- which followed the commercially disappointing Try This- fizzled fast when lead single “Stupid Girls” failed to make much impact on the airplay charts; the album then made an impressive chart comeback when follow-up singles became top 10 airplay hits.
Maybe P!nk isn’t all that concerned with how the new album performs compared to her last effort. It would be in line with her no-nonsense, who-gives-a-damn attitude. Unlike some others who throw a party to celebrate chart achievements and No. 1 hits, it wouldn’t be surprising if when told that she hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, P!nk shrugged and replied, “so what?”
On a side note, AC/DC’s debut numbers for its Wal-Mart exclusive Black Ice ended up being sightly less than the projected 800,000-plus some had anticipated. But, it’s unlikely the Aussie rockers will complain abut 784,000 copies sold in seven days. That total ranks second to Lil’ Wayne’s 1 million as the second-largest debut numbers this year. So much for rock being dead.
