I’m sorry I was so late today. I had a couple of other things I had to do with the other blog and the print edition. (Yes, I have multiple masters and I’m still recovering from Thanksgiving!)
Kelly Clarkson, in Atlanta on Tuesday, performed “Never Again” at the Cowboys/Jets NFL game Thanksgiving with the cheerleaders dancing along. That’s not the easiest song to choreograph but those Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders would look good dancing to a polka tune. And, hey, Kelly is definitely singing, not lip-synching. I always admire the logistics of creating a full-fledged half time show in a matter of minutes, making it sound good, then dismantling it minutes later.
By the way, a big “Idol” fan named Sammie will be joining me at the concert on Tuesday. I’ll definitely be blogging from Cobb Energy Centre and give everyone a read on how it goes.
Meanwhile, first-day sales of Jordin Sparks’ new CD indicates a likely 125,000 to 150,000 for the first week, according to www.hitsdailydouble.com. That’s pretty close to what I predicted earlier this week. It would also be by far the weakest debut of any “Idol” winner so far and barely half of what Taylor Hicks pulled in last year his first week. This despite the fact she is opening on one of the busiest sales weeks of the year and she’s benefiting from a top 15 single in “Tattoo.” Obviously, the downside is the lack of buzz for her or any of the other Idols this year in terms of fan fervor and the down sales in general for all CDs. She at least is doing okay on the download chart.
According to USA Today’s “Idol Chatter,”, “Tattoo” is now No. 12 on the download chart (50K last week, 295K total) and No. 13 on the Radio & Records top 40 airplay charts. Daughtry’s “Over You” is at No. 32 on the download charts with 30K (and 492K total) while it jumps to No. 5 on the airplay chart, Daughtry’s third top five hit. His CD drops to 49 but he still moved 23K and has sold 3.29 million total.
Carrie’s “So Small” drops to No. 36 on the download chart (26K last week, 350K total) but jumps to No. 1 on the country airplay charts. I think this is at least her fourth No. 1 hit on the country charts after “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Wasted” and “Before He Cheats.” Her sophomore CD “Carnival Ride” sold 113K last week in its fourth week (932K total) and should break 1 million next week. “Some Hearts” is up to 6.03 million.
Blake’s “Break Anotha” debuts at No. 97 on the download chart, selling 11K.
Kellie Pickler is up to 654K on her CD after selling 5,000 last week. She is still within shooting distance of exceeding Taylor Hicks’ CD in sales (he’s at 697K after selling 200 last week.) Her single “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind” holds at No. 33 on the country chart (but is still increasing in airplay.)
Bucky sold 2,000 this week and is up to 295K with his second single “It’s Good To Be Us” stuck at No .30 but also showing modest airplay progress.
Bo Bice sold 2,000 copies in his fourth week and has moved 21K, exclusively at Wal-mart.
Elliott Yamin’s CD, up to 441K in sales, after another 4,000 in sales. His 2nd single “One Word” isn’t showing much momentum on the top 40 charts. He’s ranked at No. 48, according to Mediabase 24/7 with 451 national spins, up from 428 a week earlier. Star 94, which is hosting him at the station’s Jingle Jam Dec. 10, gave the song 22 spins last week.
Clay’s latest total is 519K, Fantasia, 492K, Kat, 360K, Kelly Clarkson’s latest at 698K and 2nd CD at 5.88 mil, Kimberley, 17K, Mandisa 57K, Paris 20K, Ruben 235K.
