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How many smash singles can a major pop artist have during an album cycle? Is the prevalent strategy that says you need to go away after three or four hit singles outmoded?

I.B. BAD SPECIAL EDITION:
SINGLES GOING STEADY

Scroll Down for a Comparative Sampling of Singles From Recent and Upcoming Albums
With its eight #1 singles, is Katy Perry’s 2010 album Teenage Dream changing the business model for big-time pop acts? How many smash singles can a major pop artist have during an album cycle? Is the prevalent strategy that says you need to go away after three or four hit singles outmoded? Perry’s remarkable run proves that audience fatigue is no longer an issue, provided the consumer appetite for the artist’s music remains voracious.

Perry isn’t the only pop star to successfully buck the conventional wisdom; look at the number of pop smashes Lady Gaga, Rihanna and David Guetta have had over a short period of time as well.

Maroon 5’s come-from-behind second act has raised the band’s profile and clout higher than ever, with a huge assist from The Voice. Is the group on the verge of joining the above artists’ exclusive club? And could Fun. be next in line? The New York-based trio didn’t merely hit the pop-culture radar this year, it became one of the handful of rock bands able to penetrate the mainstream. Observers have marveled at the rapid rise up the sales and airplay charts of Fun.’s second straight smash single, “Some Nights.”

Fun. and Maroon 5 aren’t the only acts to double down in the singles sector: One Direction and Carly Rae Jepsen have also accomplished this feat, while Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend has spawned a pair of chart singles so far. Pink’s upcoming LP is expected to kick out a string of singles as well, and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” has moved enough units by itself to outsell the combined totals of most of his competitors.

The enormous buzz surrounding Taylor Swift following her live YouTube chat last week, during which she revealed details of the upcoming Red and introduced the single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” cements the multitalented 22-year-old’s rarefied status as a genre-transcending superstar who also commands the respect of her fellow artists. That single, by the way, hasn’t budged from the #1 slot at iTunes since it became available immediately after Swift’s chat. The track debuted with about 625k in first-week sales, breaking Ke$ha’s female artist one-week record of 610k for “Tik Tok,” set in Jan., 2010, and topped only by Flo Rida’s “Right Round” (636k, Feb. 2009).

As for upcoming albums in the rock arena, Reprise’s Green Day and Interscope’s No Doubt, both streeting Sept. 25, are expected to bow with 125-150k each, while their lead singles are doing just OK thus far in terms of sales and Top 40 airplay. Although the sales ceiling tends to be lower for albums from acts like these two and Linkin Park, the bigger bands make up for their limitations at retail via massive tour revenues.

Also hitting Sept. 25 is Mumford & SonsBabel (Glassnote), which is projected to have a robust first week in the 400-450k range, while lead single “I Will Wait” has yet to go to Top 40... Mumford’s improbable mainstream success has opened the door for fellow acoustic groups The Civil Wars, Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers, who are on the brink of a major breakthrough—the band’s self-titled debut album (Dualtone) has been steadily climbing the charts all summer behind the still-growing hit “Ho Hey,” and has hit #2 at iTunes—with Of Monsters and Men’s My Head Is an Animal (Republic) rising to #4.

The new look American Idol was all but set on bringing in Nicki Minaj as a judge, but now the producers and Fox are said to be getting cold feet because of Minaj’s recent run of last-minute cancellations, while Mariah Carey reportedly doesn’t want her on the show.

The longer UMG’s negotiations with the EC drag on, the more likely it becomes that Parlophone and its roster may have to be divested on a worldwide basis. If this scenario comes to pass, it will undermine the entire reason for the merger, resulting in what many believe is a bad outcome for both Universal and EMI.

The prospect of losing Coldplay, David Guetta, Gorillaz and the other Parlophone-signed acts has resulted in another morale hit for EMI’s U.S. staffers, who have gotten up off the canvas as often as Rocky Balboa in recent years. Meanwhile, those successful acts can’t be too thrilled about the possibility of being separated from the label in their biggest market. And what about teenpop newcomer Conor Maynard, the latest prospective star to emerge from the Parlophone U.K. roster, who is now breaking in the U.S.?

Names in the rumor mill: Bradford Cobb, Troy Carter, Jay Brown, Dave Holmes, Jordan Feldstein, Scooter Braun and Jim Guerinot.

PERFORMANCE OF SINGLES FROM SELECTED ALBUMS

ARTISTTITLESALES

RADIO AUDIENCE

Adele21 9.7m
Rolling in the Deep 7.4m 4.87b
Someone Like You 5.2m 3.79b
Set Fire to the Rain 4.1m 3.42b
Katy PerryTeenage Dream 2.47m
Firework 5.81m 4.75b
California Gurls 5.35m 3.97b
E.T. 5.33m 3.70b
Teenage Dream 4.35m 4.12b
Last Friday Night 3.24m 2.96b
The One That Got Away 2.4m 2.80b
Part of Me 2.3m 1.90b
Wide Awake 2.13m 1.42b
One DirectionUp All Night1.13m
What Makes You Beautiful3.3m 1.87b
One Thing 910k 322m
RihannaTalk That Talk 980k
We Found Love 4.6m 4.46b
Where Have You Been 1.65m 1.83b
Birthday Cake 935k 984m
Justin BieberBelieve 780k
Boyfriend 2.9m 1.14b
As Long as You Love Me 770k 230m
Gotye Making Mirrors 645k
Somebody That I Used to Know 6.2m 3.45b
Fun.Some Nights 515k
We Are Young 5.9m 3.01b
Some Nights 1.5m 332m
Maroon 5Overexposed 465k
Payphone 3.87m 2.47b
One More Night 480k 149m
Linkin ParkLiving Things 415k
Burn It Down 680k 351m
Flo RidaWild Ones 80k
Good Feeling 3.46m 3.23b
Wild Ones 3.3m 2.29b
Whistle 1.9m 489m
Carly Rae JepsenKissRelease 9/18
Call Me Maybe 5.3m 2.39b
Good Time 950k 324m
PinkThe Truth About Love Release 9/18
Blow Me (One Last Kiss) 703k 494m
No DoubtPush and Shove Release 9/25
Settle Down 195k 187m
Green DayiUno! Release 9/25
Oh Love 50k 95m

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