HIS F.A.M.E. IS TRUE
The label group will have the top four debuts on next week’s chart, with Jive/JLG’s Chris Brown album, F.A.M.E., leading the way, boasting a total of in the 250-275k range. That would make it the second-largest of the year after Adele’s 351k. If you didn’t know, the acronym stands for “Forgiving All My Enemies.” Nice.
Arista/RMG’s Jennifer Hudson sophomore album, I Remember Me, bows this week with 150-175k in sales, which is about what she dropped in weight.
RCA/RMG’s The Strokes album, Angles, their first in four years, will do in the 85-100k range, good for a #3 debut.
Gospocentric/JLG’s Kirk Franklin rounds out Jive/RCA’s impressive week with a #4 debut for Hello Fear, his first new studio effort in four years, which will debut with between 80-95k.
Adele’s album, down only about 10-15%, will give Sony Music a clean sweep of the Top 5.
Decaydance/FBR/Atlantic’s Panic at the Disco is next up with a target of 55-65k for Vices & Virtues, their third album.
Capitol/EMI R&B singer Bobby V’s fourth album, Fly on the Wall, should do between 30-45k.
Yellowcard’s indie debut on Hopeless, When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, their first since 2007’s Paper Walls, is looking at between 25-30k, the same amount as Reprise’s Green Day live CD/DVD, the gloriously titled Awesome as Fuck.
Warner Bros. rapper Gucci Mane’s The Return of Mr. Zone 6, should bow with between 20-25k in first-week sales.
For the fifth week in a row, album sales beat the corresponding week from last year. The market was down 8% vs. last week, up 1% vs. same week last year and now down 6% year to date. Next week, the chart will go up against Justin Bieber's My World 2.0, which opened one year ago with 283k.
