The music industry wants what it wants. It really wants One Direction’s Harry Styles to be a hit. And so he is: his self titled album finished it debut week at number 1. Hitsdailydouble says it sold 240,000 copies including streaming, downloads, and CDs. Billboard is going to say something similar.
It’s kind of a Columbo mystery, though. “Harry Styles” was number 1 on iTunes from last Friday though Tuesday. Then it dropped like a rock. None of its singles except “Sign of the Times” made the iTunes top 100. Unlike other recent hit albums that spawned multiple download singles on the charts, “Harry Styles”: produced nothing.
On the hitsdailydouble Song Revenue chart, “Sign of the Times” finished 17th this week, up from 26. It made $78,403 total from streams and downloads. It was Styles’ only song in the top 50. On the Streaming chart, “Sign” is number 21. “Sweet Creature,” an abomination, is number 50. They are not smash hits.
So? What? I like Harry Styles. He’s very engaging. So what if one song, “Ever Since New York,” rips off Badfinger, if another–“Two Ghosts”– recalls the Allman Brothers’ “Melissa”? Harry’s a nice guy! He’s cute, he wears a pink suit! Leave him alone! So what if none of the numbers make sense? He’s number 1. That’s all we need to know.
