BOYLE’S DREAM COMES TRUE
And if that dates us, go tell it on Topio Gigio the little Italian mouse.
A story which began with Simon Cowell’s arched eyebrows on Britain’s Got Talent, where she made her unlikely debut singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables climaxes in a chart-topping debut for the album of the same name in the middle of the busiest retail season of the year. The album set a record in the U.K. with more than 130k sales on its first day in stores. It is on track to beat the highest first-week sales of 375,872 for a debut album set by Leona Lewis two years ago.
That’s right, folks, the team of Barnett and Boyle, as in Columbia’s fearless leader Steve, will be #1 next week with a total that right now appears more than 600k and, dare we say it, could go even higher.
That’s based on one-day sales reports from delirious retailers high on Boyle’s version of “Daydream Believer.”
The controversial gender-bending Idol runner-up Adam Lambert proves to be the real people’s choice—at least those who prefer their music a cross between Freddie Mercury and Anthony Newley—with a first-week total in the 210-230k range for his 19/RCA/RMG bow, For Your Entertainment, unfortunately, not named after the retail chain.
Interscope provocateur for all seasons Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster EP, a seven-song addition to the deluxe edition available on its own, will do 180-200k, while the new version (now merged on the charts with the original album) should do another 130-150k.
Def Jam/IDJ’s Rihanna, whose new album Rated R has been getting stellar reviews in the L.A. and N.Y. Times and Rolling Stone, is on line for 180-200k.
Yet another global diva, Epic’s Shakira, will bow with 80-90k of her new She Wolf album.
A couple of Cash Money/Universal Republic acts in Jay Sean and Birdman are the other new releases, both trending in the 30-35k range.
The market was up 13% vs. last week, down 16% vs. same week last year and down 13% year to date.
Now it’s time to suck down some tryptophan, curl up on the couch in a fetal position and watch some football.
