Hard Candy SoundScan/Billboard 200 Discussion

[Guest danielal]

I think Madonna is doing really good in US...300 k in the first week is actually pretty good...

Considering that Mooriah crazey is predicted to do 90 k in her 3rd week well it means that the albumsales in US r pretty much finished

Except for the time when of course a highly conservative republican gives a secret phone to the soundscan ceo and tells him to adjust mooriah crazey's first week's sales. hell ye if they do it for the eagles or garth brooks of course they'll do it for mooriah crazey...tthey also did it with teom etc

you keep on bitchin about madonna's sales in us cause u compare it with mooriah crazey's but all her numbers are inflated corrupted

[franxisco66]

Eagles are republican? Anyway, I was glad the Eagles reached number 1 instead of Britney. lol

300 000 is low, Madonna crafted this album thinking of the American public, when she and everyone knows that it is Europe who gives her the bulk of her sales, prob over 60% of her global sales.

So it is a dissapointment for me, but maybe this is a way for her to learn what she has to do next time.

Having said that, I hope she can sell well throughout the year.

[Guest missy bi_tch]

Eagles are republican? Anyway, I was glad the Eagles reached number 1 instead of Britney. lol

300 000 is low, Madonna crafted this album thinking of the American public, when she and everyone knows that it is Europe who gives her the bulk of her sales, prob over 60% of her global sales.

So it is a dissapointment for me, but maybe this is a way for her to learn what she has to do next time.

Having said that, I hope she can sell well throughout the year.

Well I don't think she really did this all for the american market.

Madonn ahs always liked black culture and music, one way or another.

If you expected her to sell more than Mariah with this album, it's clearly not the case. Mariah would be the one who does albums with the Americans in mind. It would be unrealistic if she / her fans think she can ship much more outside of US even with a 20-week US #1, which is also not happening.

[franxisco66]

^ i wasnt thinking of Mariah... Im prob one of the few here that try to avoid taking about her...lol They cover different markets.

I think everyone knows Madonna wated to recover her American public, this isnt about black culture.... and if it were.... why choosing the producers almost everyone is working with....

She wanted to be on top of the charts... Justin, Timaberland Pharell... I think it is pretty clear. This is the first time in her career that she has chosen the most mainstreem producers.

[Brisy_Boy]

Let's see how will the album sales hold on...

We saw that the single had really steady sales and no spectacular one week sales... though is "killing" almost all competition released at the same time

[Guest danielal]

Hard Candy is nr 1 on US iTunes, nr 1 on Amazon and also nr 1 on Amazon's digital albums chart (if u combined HC's places there 2 and 3rd place)

Now I'll say that's huge. And on Amazon HC is top 10 for 2-3 months.

Don't forget she's 49.

[Brisy_Boy]

Selling 300k in one week is FANTASTIC. Most of her album didn't start this high. As a matter of fact this is going to be her 4th Best Selling First Week!!!

[Guest Danny86]

She wanted to be on top of the charts... Justin, Timaberland Pharell... I think it is pretty clear. This is the first time in her career that she has chosen the most mainstreem producers.

No, it's not the first time.

Not to mention that songs like "She's Not Me", "Incredible", "Spanish Lesson" or "Voices" have NOTHING to do with the supposed "American sound" anyway. There are only like 3 songs on the album that sound very contemporary, the rest is typical Madonna pop/dance. No need to dismiss her as "want to get back to America" just because you read familiar names in the booklet. It's the sound of the album that matters.

[notsomuch]

I agree, the 4 Minutes track, while great, stands out and by itself. It's one of the weaker tracks on the album even though I love it. The album has influences from RnB but they are done very well and just give it even more of an edge. Regarding numbers for first week, I'd love to see her break the 300,000 mark, that's what I'm pushing for.

[mtzlplk]

I agree, the 4 Minutes track, while great, stands out and by itself. It's one of the weaker tracks on the album even though I love it. The album has influences from RnB but they are done very well and just give it even more of an edge. Regarding numbers for first week, I'd love to see her break the 300,000 mark, that's what I'm pushing for.

yeah... 300k please... that's what I am hoping for...

I still can't believe how low BDS' expectations are...

they said 100k from pre-orders alone... then they stop at a 225k-250k projection... only an additional 125k and 150k purchase for digital and physical copies for the rest of the 6 days? That's like 20k-25k copies a day in all formats... that's quite low...

[Guest danielal]

Hard Candy is nr 1 on US iTunes, nr 1 on Amazon and also nr 1 on Amazon's digital albums chart (if u combined HC's places there 2 and 3rd place)

Now I'll say that's huge. And on Amazon HC is top 10 for 2-3 months

[notsomuch]

yeah... 300k please... that's what I am hoping for...

I still can't believe how low BDS' expectations are...

they said 100k from pre-orders alone... then they stop at a 225k-250k projection... only an additional 125k and 150k purchase for digital and physical copies for the rest of the 6 days? That's like 20k-25k copies a day in all formats... that's quite low...

Don't forget projections are just that.

[Guest moboy]

Why isn't anyone taking certain things into consideration. 1st day sales are very subjective. I know that these projections are usually pretty close, it can go both ways, to high or to low.

However, Madonna fans are well, a bit older than Mariahs's (in general). Hardcore, those of us on these websites rush out and buy 10 copies each. The average M fan will wait until the weekend when they go shopping or just when they have time.

I was a radio winner for Roseland and when I met the representative at the hotel, there was about 70 of us radio winners. I can guarantee you that probably half did not even have the album yet and that was last Wednesday. Some may not even own Madonna album's as they just won tickets to NYC and a concert. If they liked what they hear, hopefully they will buy it.

My point is that Madonna's TV push came on Friday and Saturday. BET and FUSE. So I think she will have that weekend push, but not much. I'm hoping for 300K or just under 295K, but I think her second week may not drop as much as Mariah, what was that 68% drop. I think it's fine, also, it's April 2008. American Life was April 2003, album sales are lower overall. This album can hang on the BB200 for quite some time. Less than 3,000 copies can still have you around #200. I'm here to watch the longetivity ride, not bust out of the gate and crash. I hope I'm right.

Edited May 4, 2008 by moboy

[Guest marsha]

Don't forget projections are just that.

yep. they're not clairvoyant ! ;-)

[Candylipsgirl]

Suck my ass you dumb bitch. You sound like a moron cause you take everything so damn seriously. LIGHTEN UP slut. No one is being "negative" you douche bag. If you werent such a fucking newbie maybe you would know that I am one of the few that is never negative. Facts are facts though. Idiot.

I love Skins Banner!

Mariah is a whatever you want to call her. But in my book, she is a no-name outside of America, inspiring as a tooth canal and as FORGETABLE as yesterdays news!

I cant stand that ho!

[Skin]

I love Skins Banner!

Mariah is a whatever you want to call her. But in my book, she is a no-name outside of America, inspiring as a tooth canal and as FORGETABLE as yesterdays news!

I cant stand that ho!

Thank you. I swear some people act like its meant to be taken SOOO seriously. Like snobs with their noses up in the air. "I don't know how to let go. I am too cool for petty stuff like the Madonna vs Mariah feud."

[Guest socalboy1984]

Thank you. I swear some people act like its meant to be taken SOOO seriously. Like snobs with their noses up in the air. "I don't know how to let go. I am too cool for petty stuff like the Madonna vs Mariah feud."

At least you're funny about it. Some people are really lame and un-funny about it.

Touch My Gastric Bypass Scars is the best. Anal warts is second in my book. :-)

[HolidayGuy]

Farber incorrectly states that she ties the #1 albums tally of Mimi and Janet Jackson. He probably meant to write "breaks the tie."

---------------------------------------------

Sweet! Madonna hits No. 1

BY JIM FARBER

DAILY NEWS MUSIC CRITIC

Wednesday, May 7th 2008, 4:00 AM

"Hard Candy" has put Madonna in the sweet spot, earning the singer her seventh No. 1 album.

The singer's CD tops the latest Billboard Top 200 Album chart, based on sales of more than 283,000. That puts the CD more than 200,000 copies ahead of the No. 2 and 3 chart stars, Mariah Carey's "E=MC Squared" and Leona Lewis' "Spirit." Madonna's latest top album gives her the most No. 1 CDs by any female star in history except for Barbra Streisand, who has had eight. Yet Streisand has had two decades longer in the marketplace.

Madonna's string of No. 1s also ties the figure of fellow divas Carey and Janet Jackson.

[thebigham]

Madonna #1 with 280k according to Billboard Chart Alert:

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_dis...ffd2054f7eb252e

[scrapple]

from billboard...

• Madonna's "Hard Candy" takes its expected bow atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, giving the queen of pop her seventh No. 1 -- the second-most among all female artists. Only Barbra Streisand, with eight, has more. "Candy" earns the third biggest sales week of the year as well, with 280,000 sold in its first week. That's a bigger number than the 225,000-250,000 range that Billboard projected last week based on the set's first-day sales figures. (Digital downloads accounted for a whopping 26% -- 73,000 -- of the album's overall first-week, easily making it No. 1 the Top Digital Albums chart.)

• Madonna's last studio effort, 2005's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" started with 350,000 when it bowed at No. 1. However, that discofied album was released on Nov. 15, just as the Christmas shopping season was kicking into high gear, which partially explains its bigger opening. Each of the top seven albums that week on the Billboard 200 sold more than 100,000. Even the No. 2 album, the debuting "Some Hearts" by Carrie Underwood, started with more than 300,000.

• So far in 2008, there has yet to be a week that busy. The last time the chart housed seven or more albums that each sold at least 100,000 was -- no surprise -- the sales week ending Dec. 23, 2007, when the top 23 all did more than 100,000. Ho, ho, ho!

• For those chart watchers (and diva enthusiasts) who are trying to draw comparisons between "Hard Candy's" 280,000 bow and Mariah Carey's 463,000 start with her new "E=MC2," hold your horses. During "E=MC2's" release week, Carey pulled out all the stops and performed on "American Idol," "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Good Morning America." During "Hard Candy's" release week, Madonna did not perform on TV. In fact, she has yet to perform on American TV to promote this album. Last week, the only chat show she visited was BET's "106 and Park" (May 2).

• Madonna did, however, stage a well-publicized club show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on April 30, which was streamed online via MSN. But a club show -- no matter how hot -- can't compare with the impact "American Idol" and Oprah Winfrey has. And, keep in mind that Carey was returning with her first album since her comeback set, "The Emancipation of Mimi," which also happens to be the biggest selling album of 2005.

• Besides, with an album loaded with singles that seem ripe for American radio, "Hard Candy" may have a healthy shelf life. The set was led by the unqualified hit single "4 Minutes" (featuring Justin Timberlake). It's her biggest radio hit since 2001's "Don't Tell Me" and it spent multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. Madonna's had a tough time getting her new music heard on U.S. radio in the past six or so years, so securing American airplay with "4 Minutes" was key in the promotion of "Hard Candy." The diva is in Europe now, focusing on the promotion of the album there. Last night (May 6) she staged her second club show supporting the album, this time at the Olympia Hall in Paris.

[afrolito]

^All the loons proceed to the nearest window and get ready to JUMP

Congrats to M

*edited*

[thebigham]

Solitaire at Pulse:

* Digital Album Debut Week

01 Jack Johnson / Sleep Through the Static - 139,000

02 Kanye West / Graduation - 133,000

03 Maroon 5 / It Won't Be Soon Before Long - 102,000

04 Linkin Park / Minutes to Midnight - 84,000

05 Madonna / Hard Candy - 73,000

06 Justin Timberlake / Futuresex/Lovesounds - 67,000

[thebigham]

Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart:

TIC re-enters at #15, 421 weeks on.

Billboard's Comprehensive Albums chart:

TIC debuts at #143.

[Guest nothingfails0603]

awesome, any figures? It's been so long since HolidayGuy has posted sales. I'd love to see what TIC and COADF sold this week with all the sales

[thebigham]

^We lost our weekly SoundScan source last year.

[thebigham]

Nest week...

HITS:

YOUR WEAKEND TOP 10 CHART PREVIEW: Good news, kiddies—there will be five debuts in next week’s Top 10, and one of them will actually break 100k! That would be Neil Diamond, whose second Rick Rubin-produced Columbia album is headed toward the top of the chart, with a projected 125-130k. Behind the old-timer will be RCA/RMG’s debuting Clay Aiken, who should come tantalizingly close to six figures, with 90-95k. Madonna’s Hard Candy (WB) appears to be melting toward 85-90k in its second week, probably good enough for #3 in this age of diminished expectations, though she probably can’t wait to get her act to Live Nation.

Another diva, Mariah Carey (Island/IDJ), will likely be next with 80-85k, while the sophomore album of J/RMG’s Gavin DeGraw is headed for a bow in the neighborhood of 70-75k, which would probably get him to #5. The rest of the Top 10 should go something like this: Toby Keith (Show Dog/Mercury Nashville), 70-75k: Leona Lewis (Syco/J/RMG), 65-70k; Josh Groban (143/WB), 50-55k; and Dierks Bentley (Capitol Nashville), 28-32k; with #10 up for grabs between Reprise’s Michael Buble Wal-Mart exclusive EP at 28-32k and Taylor Swift (Big Machine/Universal Republic) 28-30k. You are now free to get back to going through your Facebook notifications. (5/9a)

[Skin]

I was hoping Hard Candy wouldnt take such a huge hit in its 2nd week but oh well. I hope there is a nice stable period coming.

[Supernatural]

Mother's Day and the tour news may shift a couple more copies than expected.

[Matt]

Mother's Day and the tour news may shift a couple more copies than expected.

You could be right, thats what I'm hoping for. I don't understand how Hits can predict so early in the week. Lots can happen till Sunday.

[HolidayGuy]

Its predictions are based on trends and such- you'll notice there often are slight differences with the projections on Wednesday and Tuesday (like what happened with Mimi's album).