Quantcast

HALSEY: UNDER THE RADAR, UP TO THE STRATOSPHERE

Had Astralwerks/Capitol’s Halsey debuted in a different week, she might well be a lock for a #1 chart bow. The Weeknd will take the top spot, but Halsey’s #2 debut is nonetheless remarkable.

The blue-haired singer/songwriter's Badlands is on track to move in the neighborhood of 100k on the HITS Album Sales Chart (with an additional 10k or so added to her Sales Plus Streaming tally), and she’ll do so on the strength of genuine grassroots, viral appeal. Her “New Americana,” a virtual anthem among her throng of largely teenage and female fans, is still making its way at Alternative radio.

Most of the top-selling #2 debuts of the last few years have had radio hits. Two examples from 2014 were also on Capitol: Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, which bowed with 166k, behind Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence (Interscope); and 5 Seconds of Summer’s She Looks so Perfect, which came in with 143k, surpassed only by Disney’s Frozen juggernaut. Both albums had ample radio and other mainstream exposure powering their big numbers.

Going back to 2012, we find that indie breakouts Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s The Heist (78k, bested by Adele in her gazillionth week) and KidinaKorner/Interscope’s Alt rockers Imagine Dragons (83k for Night Visions, behind Matchbox 20) both had radio monsters as the wind beneath their wings.

That Halsey will have triple-digit sales out of the box confirms what we’ve suspected for some time: that she has already established herself as a genuine voice with a sizable audience, almost entirely under the mainstream radar. We have a feeling she’s just getting started.

NEAR TRUTHS:
SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/29a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/29a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/27a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)