It isn’t easy for older artists to sell albums anymore. I hope Justin Timberlake is aware of this.
Timberlake is releasing his new album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” on Thursday night. The track listing is peculiar. “Selfish,” a modest hit, is at the end of the album, not the start. The followup single, “Drown,” has not taken off like “Selfish.” One title, “Liar,” will spark gossip about Britney Spears. But will that be enough to give “Everything” legs?
Justin is at an age — 43 — where having sustained chart success may be impossible. The road to ruin is littered with good intentions.
For example:
Green Day, a big rock group, released “Saviors” two months ago. It has sold just 91,000 copies, two thirds of which were actual CDs and downloads.
And that’s a success story. Jennifer Lopez’s “This is Me…Now” has been out three weeks. CDs and downloads come to just 17,000. Add another 10,000 for streaming equivalent.
A good news story comes from Usher, who dropped his album, “Coming Home” on Super Bowl weekend and performed the half time show. He’s got just 56,000 in CDs and downloads, but enough streaming to him up to 300,000. But all his sales came with the Super Bowl. The album is dead now.
Maybe the best news in the geezer department is from the Rolling Stones. They released the critically acclaimed “Hackney Diamonds” last October. Total sales are reported at 566K, half of which comes from streaming. But the Stones are the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band, and the reviews for “Hackney Diamonds” were off the charts.
The question is, will Timberlake be able to stay on the charts after one week? He’s also facing some compeition on March 15th — Kacey Musgraves, who’s almost a decade younger, a country star, with Grammy Awards.
Stay tuned…this is going to get interesting…
