Posted May 1, 200817 yr First Day Sales Put Madonna On Track For 7th No. 1 April 30, 2008, 6:40 PM ET "Madonna is on track to net her seventh No. 1 album on next week's Billboard 200 with "Hard Candy," based on first-day sales measured by the Nielsen SoundScan Building Chart released Wednesday afternoon (April 30). Unweighted sales for the Warner Bros. album from the Building Chart's panel of reporters through the close of business Tuesday, April 29, stood at 100,000. Among all female artists, only Barbra Streisand has earned more No. 1s -- with eight. Currently, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson are all tied for the second most, with six apiece. Late last year, Chris Brown's "Exclusive" posted a first day number of 107,000 and finished the week with 294,000. However, sources close to the Madonna project indicate that with much of "Hard Candy's" first-day figure driven by iTunes sales, its full sales week could end up closer to the range of 225,000-250,000. Madonna's last studio effort, 2005's "Confessions on a Dance Floor," started at No. 1 with 350,000. Billboard estimates the merchants who report to Nielsen SoundScan's Building Chart -- Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Circuit City, iTunes, Starbucks,Borders, Target, Anderson Merchandisers, and Handleman Co. -- comprise about 80% of all U.S. Album sales. ..." Billboard News Thanks to Britster
May 1, 200817 yr Hope she sells 400K+, Hard Candy is really good after a few listens, Best Tracks 'Give it 2 me' (best madonna song I've heard in a long time), 'Incredible', Miles Away', The Beat Goes On' & 'Shes Not Me'. Hard Candy is much better than Music & American Life, however Madonna should get an even harder sound.
May 1, 200817 yr ^^ lol do u always cut n' past your reviews? To tell you the truth, i'm not happy! She's obviously gonna sell less than 300k! I wish she had done more promo perhaps earlier! Oh well! :( But yay to a 7th US chart-topping album!! :)
May 1, 200817 yr Madonna's days of selling over 400k are behind her and over 300k is something she can manage in the high selling season of Nov/Dec. 200k+ and a number one position is great.
May 7, 200817 yr From Drowned Madonna : OFFICIAL Billboard Figures for HARD CANDY'S # 1 DEBUT!! Category: . Here's an amazing analysis from BILLBOARD of M's incredible debut in the U.S. ! Madonna's "Hard Candy" album makes a sweet entrance at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 280,000, giving the diva her seventh chart-topper and the third biggest sales week of the year. A whopping 26% of the album's first week sales were downloads sold through digital retailers ... Other high debuts this week come from Lyfe Jennings, the Roots, Def Leppard, Portishead, Mudcrutch and Tim McGraw ... In Progress Reports, we've got news on Coldplay, James Otto and Weezer. FLASH POINTS • 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. ============================================= Excellent read!
