Approx. First Week Sales (taken from SOHH.com)
#1 Danity Kane - 215,733
#2 Outkast - 191.373 (sorry Ms. Jackson)
#6 Paris Hilton - 76,091
#8 Kelis - 61,732
At first this was shocking. Then it was sad. Now it's hilarious! Let's put this in perspective...A group that has gotten MTV exposure for about a year and a half and shown no real signs of being DOPE (just cute/sexy/hot/whatever)...Has outsold the greatest hip-hop group of all time! WTF? LMAO! I just think it's pretty ironic how the music industry (when it comes to hip-hop and R&B) is all about exposure, promotion, affiliation, etc. and not really about talent or creativity.
The MTV exposure most definitely drove Danity Kane's stock up. But why did it work this time for Puff Diddy? This didn't work for the first "BAND", Da Band. I guess Puffy learned from that situation and approached this one a bit differently. For the record, in no way am I shytting on Danity Kane. I like their single "Showstopper". But I don't think that single should have been enough to get them more sales than Kast though. Outkast is the most proven group in hip-hop. Period! There's no way that they should have been outsold by Danity Kane considering their history, their fanbase, the movie that coincides with the album and all the publicity surrounding that. It's hard to believe.
I guess what people are saying is true...It's not about the music or the creativity anymore. It's about the media and the marketing and the exposure. The fact that Paris Hilton even shows up in the top 50 should tell us what's really going on. I haven't bought the last 3 Outkast albums. I'm more of a fan of their earlier work(s). But I respect their willingness to take risks and do something that other people/groups are afraid to do. But it appears (from these sales numbers) that people don't want anything different, they want the same ole' same ole'. What's REALLY different about Danity Kane from other girl groups? What happened to the other girl group Diddy had (I can't even remember the name)? The flavor of the moment *appears* to be Danity Kane. But I hope those girls realize that as soon as those sales numbers drop next week (and Dro or Kast take the #1 spot), it might all be downhill from there. And after their second single comes out - if it flops - it might be all downhill from there. You see what happened to the last girl group on Bad Boy...But for now, congrats and enjoy!
7 comments:
To me its rediculous! Totally...I like their single too...its cute, just that though, cute...nothing of substance, nothing DOPE, nothing FIRE...nothing...ALL of the singles from the Idlewild CD are FIRE...period...
No words...no words on how much of this stuff is just a bunch of BS...I can see why 3000 is done...Chronomentrophobia
Personally, I wouldn't buy Danity Kane's album. But I do recognize why it's popular with a certain demographic so I am not shocked that it sold so many units. I guess I would just like to think that people who have been Kast fans was gonna cop this joint off G-P. But it also goes to show who is really buying these CDs. These kids are out here buying CDs (or their parents at least). And grown-ups are out here burning these joints or waiting to hear it before we buy it. We sit around and wait for a blog review before we buy shyt. I don't think it's necessarily anything wrong with that at all. BUT, just know that kids will go buy these albums just b/c of all the MTV exposure and having the band shoved down their throats for a year.
I still am not sure when or if I will actually buy the Outkast album but I know unless the Danity Kane album comes pre-packaged with the girls in the group for me to keep, I ain't copping that -ish!
word!
and the other group was called "dream" i think :\
I think you hit it on the head, Mike- the fact that DK is number one says more about the changing demographics of people buying albums than the actual overall opinion of music listeners out there.
What's going to be the new way to measure success in the music industry? Some sort of formula mixing download volume, album, and concert sales? It apparently doesn't say much anymore to have the best record sales...
Well, I think measuring success depends on what perspective you're coming from. A record exec is gonna say sales numbers. An artist might say the same. Or he/she might say street credibility. Or he/she might say "fame". Fans might do it based on the actual music (which is how it should be for the fan) or record sales (which I think is BS as a metric nowadays) or whatever else they deem a worth metric.
At the end of the day it'll be some sort of sale. Otherwise there's no gaurantee the audience is "buying" in to the music. Part with something you need (money) for something you want (crappy music).
I'll add another bad policital spin on this: Kast would have to mobilize their fan base. They've strayed so far from where they started and the "new" fans have no idea what ATLiens and the like were all about (no loyalty either) so it makes it a little more difficult. (Read: Snoop, LL, and those dudes aren't picking up their fans the same way either).
"You cross over to the other side of the tracks/Catch you a brick and realize you can't come back" - Scarface
When FACE said this, he was referring to rappers who start street, gain mainstream success, and can't go back and get that street credibility. Outkast reached this point in my mind long long ago (well, after the double disc at the latest). Funny though, I think some artists can do this and regain the "streets". People like Jay-Z, LL, or 50 could drop a street joint like "What We Do" (actually Freeway's song) or Hustler's Ambition and the street cred goes right back up. But I think these artists KNOW they have to do that every once in a while to keep the street credibility. The difference between them and Kast is that Kast obviously don't care about street credibility.
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