Hits Predicts 85K for Kris Allen Debut

LOL. Is that good, bad, or expected?

Top Ten! Not too shabby.

10 KRIS ALLEN ‘“ Kris Allen ‘“ 84,846

Their previous prediction was 85K – 90K, right? So he met the expectation! The final number may be higher? yay for Kris!

LOL. Is that good, bad, or expected

Not great, not awful (for this year,) expected from last week’s first day predictions.
It is the lowest Idol winner album debut, though, in the history of the show.

Are there predictions from Adam’s first day of sales?

Don’t mean to be a Debby Downer, but that is bad… he did worse then Jordin

Yikes, that isn’t great. Sorry Kris.

Yeah Top 10! Not as bad as Leona’s sophomore Echo though

These aren’t great numbers, but I think it has to do more with the AI fan base not being as intense as it has been in previous years. Kris has put out a solid album, so it’s not the quality of the music.

The numbers are way lower than any other Idol winner’s first week. But he still finished in the Top 10 and easily beat out people like Leona Lewis, One Republic and Janet Jackson. So, considering the fact that album sales are down pretty much across the board, this isn’t all that horrible.

amiroamor

Yeah Top 10! Not as bad as Leona’s sophomore Echo though

Do we know Leona’s UK numbers?

Not bad at all. #s have changed. 1 million used to be the barometer for Idol winners, but that shouldn’t be the case anymore. Kelly and Carrie (with their latest albums) probably will struggle to push 2 million. So as long as Kris stays steady, he’ll be OK.

Yay Kris! Top ten!

I really dont think you can compare CD sales to other Idols anymore. It is a different era for sure now. People just do not buy music like they used to.

Not good. But it depends what happens now. IMO Kris had a very small idol fanbase, so it was predictable. I don’t know what his apearences for this week are but hope there are many and with his song climbing the charts it would be really good for him if he could avoid the major 2nd week decline that others usually have.
Does anybody know what the average 2nd week decline is? I kinda remember from last year that it’s around 60% for idols.

Do we know Leona’s UK numbers?

No idea. But I think it went to #1

hope he can continue to grow those numbers. It’s a good album and if he can tour like crazy to support the album and get good radio play, I hope the numbers will increase a lot. Go Kris!

Well it wasn’t 75-80! so hey, not so bad and the economy sucks, so there you go.

So I’m fine for Kris and I fully believe that he will have continuing success going forward and growing over time.

I hope we have the same rational thinking when Adam’s numbers come out and he didn’t break any records. I think it’s great Kris is in the top ten even though it’s a bummer he didn’t break 100K

Dude, people are poor right now! I know I had to hold off buying multiple copies of the record, when I probably would have bought more for the holidays. I think his numbers are perfectly respectable, and I sincerely think Kris’s record will do much better over thanksgiving and the holiday season. Congrats on making the top 10, Kris!

His 2nd week decline won’t be bad because of Black Friday.

And dear God at Taylor Swift having 3 albums on the chart. :X

Don’t mean to be a Debby Downer, but that is bad’ ¦ he did worse then Jordin

In all fairness, these are different times.

LOL. Is that good, bad, or expected?

Its bad. Kris is the lowest debuted Idol winner ever. He took that crown away from Jordin who debuted with 119,000 albums her first week.

People just do not buy music like they used to.

Tell that to Susan Boyle.

Seriously though, IMHO this has more to do with the size of Kris’ devoted fanbase and the lack of hype than it does with the decline of music sales at large… Even if you take the decline percentage into account, his opening would still be weak compared to other Idols.

In all fairness, these are different times.

I don’t think the economy is an excuse. People just didn’t buy Kris’s album in large numbers. They are buying some. the same will be true for all of the Season 8 Idols.

he did worse then Jordin

IIRC, Jordin was released during Black Friday Week.

Not great numbers, but I feared worse.

i know it’s not right to compare numbers from Season 1 to Season 8 because the economy is bad blah blah blah.

but just for fun – if this predictions are indeed correct

WINNERS: debut album – 1st week
1. Ruben – ‘Soulful’  (Dec 9, 2003) – 416,569 (# 1)
2. Carrie – ‘Some Hearts’  (November 15, 2005) – 314,549 (# 2)
3. Taylor – ‘Taylor Hicks’  (Dec 12, 2006) – 298,199 (# 2)
4. Kelly – ‘Thankful’  (April 15, 2003) – 297,000 (# 1)
5. David – ‘David Cook’  (Nov 18, 2008) – 279,578 (#3)
5. Fantasia – ‘Free Yourself’  (November 23, 2004) – 239,389 (#8)
6. Jordin – ‘Jordin Sparks’  (November 20, 2007) – 119,119 (#10)
7. Kris – “Kris Allen” (November 17,2009) – 84,814 (#10)

ALL: debut album – 1st week
01. Clay Aiken – ‘Measure of a Man’ (Oct 14, 2003) – 612,859 (# 1)
02. Ruben Studdard – ‘Soulful’  (Dec 9, 2003) – 416,569 (# 1)
03. Carrie Underwood – ‘Some Hearts’  (November 15, 2005) – 314,549 (# 2)
04. Daughtry – ‘Daughtry’  (November 21, 2006) – 303,677 (#2)
05. Taylor Hicks – ‘Taylor Hicks’  (Dec 12, 2006) – 298,199 (# 2)
06. Kelly Clarkson – ‘Thankful’  (April 15, 2003) – 297,000 (# 1)
07. David – ‘David Cook’  (Nov 18, 2008) – 279,578 (#3)
08. Fantasia Barrino – ‘Free Yourself’  (November 23, 2004) – 239,389 (#8)
09. Bo Bice – ‘The Real Thing’  (December 13, 2005) – 226,976 (# 4)
10. Jennifer Hudson – ‘Jennifer Hudson’  (September 30, 2008) – 217,185 (#2)
11. David Archuleta – ‘David Archuleta’  (November 11, 2008) – 183,000 (#2)
12. Jordin Sparks – ‘Jordin Sparks’  (November 20, 2007) – 119,119 (#10)
13. Katharine McPhee – ‘Katharine McPhee’  (January 30, 2007) – 115,761 (# 2)
14. Blake Lewis – ‘Blake Lewis’  (December 4, 2007) – 98,000 (#10)
15. Elliott Yamin – ‘Elliott Yamin’  (March 20, 2007)- 90,439 (#3)
16. Kris Allen – “Kris Allen” (November 17,2009) – 84,814 (#10)
17. Kellie Pickler – ‘Small Town Girl’  (October 31, 2006) – 79,133 (#9)
18. Bucky Covington – ‘Bucky Covington’  (April 17, 2007) – 60,814 (#4)
19. Josh Gracin – ‘Joshua Gracin’  (June 15, 2004) – 57,048 (#11)
20. Justin Guarini- ‘Justin Guarini’  (June 10, 2003) – 57,000 (# 20)

I would like to know Adam’s numbers too. ……even if we won’t like the news….have to face reality……..if only…….

love you Adam Lambert.

Its bad. Kris is the lowest debuted Idol winner ever. He took that crown away from Jordin who debuted with 119,000 albums her first week.

Yes, but what is the overall decline in music sales? If you adjust for that I think he is on par with Jordin, who, is a similar type winner. What I mean is that she didn’t have a large fan base and Kris’s fan base isn’t large either.

So if he’s #10 on this HDD chart — and that turns out to be correct — does this mean he will debut at #10 on the Billboard Top 200 as well? Or does the Billboard chart use different numbers for their purposes?

So proud to be a Kris Allen. He is just what he seems, a nice guy with a big heart and an even bigger talent. I love the debut album and hope it gets sufficient air time for others to understand why he is this year’s American Idol. There are at least four or five songs that could easily be hits if the radio stations play them. Well done, Mr. Allen.

okay, but that same week of Jordin’s totals:
1. Josh Grobin 405k
2. Alicia Keys 348K
3. Now! 234k
4. Garth 192k
5. Eagles 185k
6. HSM2 183k
7. Carrie Underwood 141k
8. Celine Dion 128k
9. Chris Brown 120k
10. Jordin 119K
So, to by comparison, everything from #7 down wouldn’t have made the top 10 that week.

I don’t think it is bad. We are in a recession. Different times different buying patterns. Most artists out there would give their eye teeth to sell close to 85,000 albums in one week.

Times are bad, but just as bad for the other 9 artists above him. Maybe it can be said that there is a lot of competition right before Christmas? Of course all the Idols in other years had the same situation as far as timing. The economy was bad last year too when DC sold almost 300,000. Honestly, it’s not good, but it’s on a par with Jordan, and she’s doing fine. Kris hasn’t got a hit single. If he gets one, things will probably look up.

I have to say I’m not crazy about the music on the cd. I only bought two songs, and only ended up liking one of them. IN a way the songs are reminiscent of Clay’s first cd. Which I liked at the time but it ended up barely having one hit single. But that’s just me. Good luck to him.

Most artists out there would give their eye teeth to sell close to 85,000 albums in one week.

Let’s not forget that most artists don’t have the advantage of coming off the number one show on tv, American Idol. With that kind of exposure and momentum, one expects to sell a lot. So he’s not just any other artist.

but just for fun ‘“ if this predictions are indeed correct

WINNERS: debut album ‘“ 1st week
1. Ruben ‘“ ‘Soulful’  (Dec 9, 2003) ‘“ 416,569 (# 1)

Which that right there is why opening sales numbes are not indicative of anything over the long run, much less

2. Carrie ‘“ ‘Some Hearts’  (November 15, 2005) ‘“ 314,549 (# 2)
3. Taylor ‘“ ‘Taylor Hicks’  (Dec 12, 2006) ‘“ 298,199 (# 2)
4. Kelly ‘“ ‘Thankful’  (April 15, 2003) ‘“ 297,000 (# 1)

Hmmm Ruben is the best selling opening week idol, Taylor Hicks 3rd, beating out Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson respectively, and yet who are the ones with the long term careers with multi-platinum records? Yeah.

So eh to opening week sales, and heck yes! the economy does too matter.

I think Kris is likely to be able to hold onto sales better than someone like (for example) Eliott or Blake, as Kris is getting a lot of big apperances and radio airplay for his single.

I’d also point out that Ruben has the highest debut ever by an Idol winner and Taylor the 3rd highest– and that didn’t really mean a lot for their future careers.

WOW….those numbers really suck. Especially since he had the ITUNES pass and could get the fans to buy the CD at the height of Idol mania.

Makes me scared for Adam’s numbers.

I love Kris’s album, I really do. I didn’t think I would but it compliments a lazy Sunday morning start, a calming drive to work, I like it, I really do.

Even if no one else gets it, I do, and sometimes being in on an undiscovered secret I like more. While I want success for Kris, if his happiness is small clubs with great crowds I love it even more.

These numbers are fine. I’m putting more stock in radio adds anyway. As long as radio embraces him, he will be fine. So far they are, it’s just a question of how intense that embrace will be and how long it will last.

Expecting crazy numbers for the idol kids this year is just crazy. The economy is bad, the show lost viewers this year, and those viewers that stuck around complained they didn’t like the direction of the show (so they presumably were less invested in it). I expect Adam’s numbers to be higher and respectable (which they should be with all his hype), but not anywhere near chart-topping.

I am crazy about the music on his CD. I think with all the post idol focus on Adam Lambert people have forgotten how good Kris is. He’ll be around for a while, I predict, and eventually people will catch on. He is a talent that is easy to relate to and easy to listen to and he already has a fan base.

Squirrely
11/24/2009 at 6:46 pm
I hope we have the same rational thinking when Adam’s numbers come out and he didn’t break any records. I think it’s great Kris is in the top ten even though it’s a bummer he didn’t break 100K

At least Adam made one record and that he is outselling every other idol in all eight seasons for the most international sales.

So, to by comparison, everything from #7 down wouldn’t have made the top 10 that week.

I’m thinking that both Jordin and Kris came in 10th in their first week. Regardless of the actual numbers sold, their placings were the same. So I see them on a par with each other. Most Idol winners are in the top 5, usually top 1, 2, or 3, in their first week. So even in a recession, you would expect to see that.

I’d also point out that Ruben has the highest debut ever by an Idol winner and Taylor the 3rd highest’“ and that didn’t really mean a lot for their future careers.

I don’t think that Taylor was the 3rd highest. Was he? Maybe I’m wrong. Ruben definitely wasn’t the highest. Clay was.

The itunes pass wasn’t available during the show. It was after, I believe. I know I bought mine during the tour, but not during the show. Idolmania was only going on for those of us who are dedicated to the show to begin with. There is a whole world out there that are not like us.

The numbers may be low by comparison to others but isn’t the top 10 impressive?

Which that right there is why opening sales numbes are not indicative of anything over the long run, much less

this!!

BestAI
11/24/2009 at 6:57 pm
Squirrely
11/24/2009 at 6:46 pm
I hope we have the same rational thinking when Adam’s numbers come out and he didn’t break any records. I think it’s great Kris is in the top ten even though it’s a bummer he didn’t break 100K

At least Adam made one record and that he is outselling every other idol in all eight seasons for the most international sales.

LOL ah, never mind.

I’m happy about Kris’s numbers I think it will only build as the weeks come.

Kris has been getting lots and lots of radio play and has been promoting his album about two months now, so he’ll do fine.

Excellent points, girlygirl, although I have to admit to having bought Ruben Studdard’s debut album. I loved his soulful voice on Idol but have not really cared for his stuff since then.

At least Adam made one record and that he is outselling every other idol in all eight seasons for the most international sales.

Kelly Clarkson would surely be surprised to hear this. I assume you’ve seen the worldwide numbers to support this statement? (Even though the album has only been released yesterday and there ARE no numbers yet)

Yea, it’s going to be real, real tough for any idol to catch Kelly internationally.

that Idol debut list really puts the importance of opening week into perspective. I mean, Ruben Studdard is the current king of pop…

I’m thinking that both Jordin and Kris came in 10th in their first week. Regardless of the actual numbers sold, their placings were the same. So I see them on a par with each other. Most Idol winners are in the top 5, usually top 1, 2, or 3, in their first week. So even in a recession, you would expect to see that.

But Jordin had smash singles with Tattoo and No Air. If Kris doesn’t have something more than moderate hit (which is what LLWY is right now) I don’t think he will be getting a second album. Jive is forgiving of poor sales……to a point.

I don’t think that Taylor was the 3rd highest. Was he? Maybe I’m wrong. Ruben definitely wasn’t the highest. Clay was.

Ruben was the highest of idol WINNERS.

Kris’ album sales are not good. If Adam Lambert’s (the most popular contestant of this year) sales are going to be just as weak, I think it’s time to pull the plug on American Idol.

I know AI is a reality show, but what is the point of following a show of aspiring singers, when after the show is over there is no interest in their music? It’s just like watching Big Brother (witch I hate, but is really big in Brazil) or shows like top chef (witch I love, but is not like I’m ever going to taste their food) or America’s Next Top Model (witch people only watch to see the aspiring models fighting).

If Kris doesn’t have something more than moderate hit (which is what LLWY is right now) I don’t think he will be getting a second album. Jive is forgiving of poor sales’ ¦’ ¦to a point.

Yikes! yet another person who will be dropped by their label sooner than later.

Well given the growth of LLWD with airtime and I think (can’t bother looking) with sales that are at least stable, and potential to have more hits from the album, I think it’s too soon to count Kris off his label!

Which again, look at those numbers of high openings and look at look at their sustained ability to sell *couch Taylor Hicks cough* Kris can do well over the long haul with some steady growth, imho. Which I think he’s doing and can continue to do. And maybe his second single will be better, because LLWD? not a great song.

Not great. Not bad, but not great. I hope he has legs. I’d like him to get at least three singles out of this album. We’ll see…

OFF TOPIC:

with that number of Carrie Underwood (85,501) this week, she’s now the HIGHEST SELLING AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANT surpassing Kelly Clarkson.

01. Carrie Underwood – 10,378,000 (3 albums)
02. Kelly Clarkson – 10,351,000 (4 albums)
03. Chris Daughtry – 5,266,000 (2 albums)
04. Clay Aiken – 4,850,000 (5 albums)
05. Ruben Studdard – 2,543,000 (4 albums)
06. Fantasia Barrino – 2,289,000 (2 albums)
07. David Cook – 1,240,000 (1 album)
08. Kellie Pickler – 1,152,000 (2 albums)
09. Jordin Sparks – 1,143,000 (2 albums)
10. Josh Gracin – 779,000 (2 albums)

oops. my bad.

it should be

10. David Archuleta – 783,000 (2 albums)

In all fairness, these are different times
Not really, other artist are doing well

Brought this over from the headlines thread:

monte
‘Kris fans better hope for more than gold for Kris or there may not be a 2d album. Taylor Hicks almost sold a million and he was dropped. Kris has to be played on the radio and needs a hit. We all know that Jordan is still with Jive doing considerably well because her singles have done well on radio and in sales.’ 

As a kris fan, I’m not concerned about him being dropped or not as I believe he will have a second album with or without 19/Jive. Afterall, Kris is all about making music!

paradox19 do you know where Bo Bice is? I thought he sold over 700,000 of his debut album?

Though the 85K seems low compared to other idol winners’ first week sales, it’s awesome compared to his first 1-2 week LLWD single sales. So I’m happy with the number and still believe Kris will be okay in the long run. 85K is good for me considered all the slam and buses that most medias had ran him over with so far’ ¦ So many even intentionally put out ugly pics of him to go with their negative/forced articles’ ¦ All in all, Kris will be fine’ ¦ time will tell.

Kris can do well over the long haul with some steady growth, imho. Which I think he’s doing and can continue to do. And maybe his second single will be better, because LLWD? not a great song.

That’s what I am saying, he needs steady growth of album sales and to do that he needs bigger hits. I don’t mean to be so negative about it, but I just think this idea that, oh, he’s fine, is naive. Kat Mcphee debuted with 116,000 sold. She ended up only selling 375,000 copies, and this was despite her first single Over It charting at 23 on billboard and selling over 500,000.

I thought Amazon was having a sale. Why is Kris’ electronic download not $3.99 too. Actually… I’m not seeing any of the other artists with a price as low as $3.99. The next lowest Top 25 is still $7.99. Hmmm….. I would consider that a factor when looking at total sales numbers. How much did all the other Idols cds/downloads cost?

Is $3.99 a record low for an Idol album?

Let’s not forget that most artists don’t have the advantage of coming off the number one show on tv, American Idol. With that kind of exposure and momentum, one expects to sell a lot. So he’s not just any other artist.

so if you take this rational and add a rolling stone cover, a details cover, the closing spot on the amas – adam should sell 500,000 the 1st week cause everyone now knows the album is out. but he won’t. cause people buy what they like and not what they are told by the media to like. you can hype all you want but you have to have the great music.

kris allen’s 1st week are what i thought they would be. his sales will be steady because the album is really really good.

maybe some people can only afford one album a week and they chose john mayer (a seasoned artist) over kris allen (a newcomer). and maybe they will buy the album next week.

paradox19 do you know where Bo Bice is? I thought he sold over 700,000 of his debut album?

undercooked. Bo Bice is #14 with 734,000. just behind Taylor Hicks with 745,000.

Kris’ album sales are not good. If Adam Lambert’s (the most popular contestant of this year) sales are going to be just as weak, I think it’s time to pull the plug on American Idol.

Don’t most artists get a bit longer than a week before people pull the plug on them?

The thing about Idol that we tend to forget in the numbers game is that all of these people are still earning livings making music. None of them have had to return to a “real job.” And even the ones dropped by their label have ended up with another label, be they indy or otherwise. Even Taylor Hicks didn’t stop at one CD.

As long as this holds true, American Idol should be fine.

I thought Amazon was having a sale. Why is Kris’ electronic download not $3.99 too. Actually’ ¦ I’m not seeing any of the other artists with a price as low as $3.99. The next lowest Top 25 is still $7.99. Hmmm’ ¦.. I would consider that a factor when looking at total sales numbers. How much did all the other Idols cds/downloads cost?

Is $3.99 a record low for an Idol album?

They are for certain artists like Rhianna and Adam. From my understanding digital downloads are a fraction of the music sales of Amazon. They are just trying to attrack new business so they are discounting popular artists to drive up the traffic to their site.

Well, here’s the thing. Elliott sold a little over 90,000 his first week, and a lot of people said he’d go nowhere. But he got a solid radio hit that very slowly built spins and gradually became a solid hit (and I do mean gradually), and he got *very* little else in the way of good promotion because people weren’t interested in having an indie performer on their tv shows, and whatever, and he ended up with a gold-plus album and a platinum-plus single that gets significant radioplay to this day — and then repeated that by getting a gold album in Japan as well. ….

Like Kris, Elliott’s an unassuming guy with a lot of musical talent. And he didn’t even have major-label bucks or clout behind him. And his hit single started very slowly. But he started with a very similar opening sales number, and did just fine.

*With* major-label support and the winner’s mantle, Kris has a shot at doing better than that, as I’m sure people hope and expect, since gold isn’t considered worth much these days. But he has *more* prospects and more chance at promotion and radioplay than Elliott did, since he’s on a major label, so it’s absolutely within the realm of possibility that he can end up with quite solid sales. It’s still doable.

Kind of where I though Kris would be. I hope the numbers hold up tomorrow because he’s pretty close to the #11 seller. He is similiar to Jordin in many ways but there isn’t a No Air on his album so I don’t see this going platinum.

The good news is radio likes him so this could work itself to gold. If he can spin another two hits off the album, he’ll be fine. Jive hasn’t dropped an Idol contestant yet and seems a very patient label. Jive is smart about profit too and probably will make money with Kris.

Kris’ album sales are not good. If Adam Lambert’s (the most popular contestant of this year) sales are going to be just as weak, I think it’s time to pull the plug on American Idol.

I know AI is a reality show, but what is the point of following a show of aspiring singers, when after the show is over there is no interest in their music?

You know, many many many musicians with very solid careers would be quite alarmed to know that people think anyone with less than platinum album sales isn’t even worth considering in music. I often wonder whether some idol fans know *anything* about the amount of music that’s out there and the number of people who are putting out solid, fine stuff, pleasing fans, and earning their living, yet don’t sell like Britney.

AZIdolFan, I agree that hype isn’t enough, however it is a big part of the battle. People can’t like and decide to purchase what they don’t know about. Hype means people know your name, recognize your face, are familiar with your sound… That’s why this:

kris allen’s 1st week are what i thought they would be. his sales will be steady because the album is really really good.

Isn’t necessarily true. Kris will only continue to sell if new people become aware of his music. For that, he needs radio in his corner. Right now LLWD has just cracked Top 40, it needs to keep moving up to reach more new ears. If it will, the album will keep selling, but it being a “really really good” album won’t make any difference in itself.

Elliott did not have major label behind him. He did fantastic. You can compare that to Kris.

If Adam Lambert’s (the most popular contestant of this year)

I don’t see how Adam is considered the most popular contestant of the year when Kris *won.* Kris either had the most fans or he had the most *committed* fans — because they voted — and it seems to me that that clearly makes *him* the most popular contestant of the year. What’s always been clear is that Idol is a popularity contest and the person who’s most popular with AI watchers wins. I don’t see how it can be otherwise.

And committed fans ought to be the ones that turn into sales when your music comes out, but this year that isn’t quite happening. … So be it.

In essence, both guys are starting pretty from the ground up to win fans, and they have the same opportunity everybody else has to win fans as they go.

sales are going to be just as weak, I think it’s time to pull the plug on American Idol.

It doesn’t matter what either Kris’s or Adam’s sales are for AI itself to do well. 99% of the people that watch it are happy knowing that one that wins gets to make an album. Game over. Done. If they notice in the stores at Christmas, one or two might buy it. Very few people actually care about and follow these guys like us. The show itself is still healthy and is not about making stars.

with that number of Carrie Underwood (85,501) this week, she’s now the HIGHEST SELLING AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANT surpassing Kelly Clarkson.

01. Carrie Underwood ‘“ 10,378,000 (3 albums)
02. Kelly Clarkson ‘“ 10,351,000 (4 albums)
03. Chris Daughtry ‘“ 5,266,000 (2 albums)
04. Clay Aiken ‘“ 4,850,000 (5 albums)
05. Ruben Studdard ‘“ 2,543,000 (4 albums)
06. Fantasia Barrino ‘“ 2,289,000 (2 albums)
07. David Cook ‘“ 1,240,000 (1 album)
08. Kellie Pickler ‘“ 1,152,000 (2 albums)
09. Jordin Sparks ‘“ 1,143,000 (2 albums)
10. Josh Gracin ‘“ 779,000 (2 albums)

You may want to qualify those numbers paradox19.
Carrie is the highest seller in the US.
Kelly has sold double that amount worldwide.

I wonder how much money Kris will see from the album sales. Since he wrote or co-wrote so many, would he get a higher percentage of royalties?

Don’t most artists get a bit longer than a week before people pull the plug on them?

Good point, Isidra. I think there are several things to keep in mind:

1) The mainstream recording industry is an utter mess. They can’t figure out what to do given the whole download/digital revolution. They’re picking up and dropping people all the time, with very high expectations despite the current music economy.

2) I would hope that if Kris left Jive, for any reason, he would go to a strong indy label that is a lot more supportive of its artists over the long run. They exist (I’m really fond of Anti- and a few others), though not many with good marketing staffs. (For anyone interested in a good model of caring for talent, it’s fascinating to read “John Hammond on Record” — he was the famous Columbia Records producer/scout who lovingly nurtured the careers of Count Basie, Billie HOliday, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen…..)

3) Not to keep harping on this, but the AI formula of the top singers making catch-as-catch-can records really needs to be rethought. I realize the calendar dictates it. But to put newbies on a grueling tour of one-nighters, and expect them to produce great music while they’re dashing from studio to studio and scratching out songs with a long list of co-writers, is so short-sighted. I say let them make a couple of singles to whet the appetite, then take their time more carefully crafting their first album in the studio.

hahah…..fat chance…

I guess we all should stop wondering why the music business has changed so much over the last decade. If you don’t break record sales in your first week, you should kiss your record deal goodbye? Tell that to someone like Ben Harper. Despite “only” a few gold records, he’s very active in the business. Same with people like Ryan Adams.

What that means for this thread: Kris is not screwed, he’s ecstatic just to have a record out there and have the opportunity to play for people. Not everyone is looking to be an arena artist and on the covers of tabloids…moderate success seems to be enough for him and I think that’s great. He has plenty of life left in him, his CD will be on the shelves for months to come and he has lots of potential singles to choose from.

I work at Best Buy and as I’m scheduled for both Friday and Saturday this week, I’m very interested to see how many Kris/Adam CDs come through my lane.

jms, that is an excellent point. I have watched Idol since season 2 and last season was the first season I really was invested in anyone and wandered here and followed sales, etc. Up until then, Idol was over… and that was it. My mom and sister have watched Idol religiously since Season 1, and when the season is over, it’s like… any other TV show is over. It’s done until next season. If they see an ad for one of the Idols or hear a song on the radio it’s like they are surprised that there’s life after Idol. I think there are a LOT of Idol watchers who are like that. We just live in our own little world here. Admittedly, I love it

Which that right there is why opening sales numbes are not indicative of anything over the long run, much less

Not really. A bad debut is a bad debut. No one is saying Kris’s career is over. At least I’m not. But compared to other Idol winners he sold the very least and its not good for him. If Adam’s numbers are the same next week, I hope you hold him to the same standard that opening sales numbers are not indicative of anything.

3) Not to keep harping on this, but the AI formula of the top singers making catch-as-catch-can records really needs to be rethought. I realize the calendar dictates it. But to put newbies on a grueling tour of one-nighters, and expect them to produce great music while they’re dashing from studio to studio and scratching out songs with a long list of co-writers, is so short-sighted. I say let them make a couple of singles to whet the appetite, then take their time more carefully crafting their first album in the studio.

I definitely agree with this.

What about Jennifer Hudson? I think she opened with 200K. But I could be wrong.

These numbers for Kris are expected after the single performance, but they’re not exactly good.
I think he can sell less than Taylor and still not get dropped by Jive though.

You may want to qualify those numbers paradox19.
Carrie is the highest seller in the US.
Kelly has sold double that amount worldwide.

Valentin432, sure CARRIE UNDERWOOD IS THE HIGHEST AMERICAN IDOL SELLER IN THE US!

tierbee
11/24/2009 at 7:37 pm
jms, that is an excellent point. I have watched Idol since season 2 and last season was the first season I really was invested in anyone and wandered here and followed sales, etc. Up until then, Idol was over’ ¦ and that was it. My mom and sister have watched Idol religiously since Season 1, and when the season is over, it’s like’ ¦ any other TV show is over. It’s done until next season. If they see an ad for one of the Idols or hear a song on the radio it’s like they are surprised that there’s life after Idol. I think there are a LOT of Idol watchers who are like that. We just live in our own little world here. Admittedly, I love it

You are so right. To most, it’s a tv show. I’ve watched all 8 seasons and most years, I could care less when it’s over. This year I really like Kris and his music, so I follow.

i think it’s just the fact that American Idol is starting to just grow stale. someone mentioned that the public will just be satisfied when their favorite wins. after that, there’s no guaranteeing that they’ll buy the winner’s album. there wasn’t a really strong connection with Kris and the viewers this season. we obviously had standouts in the past (Kelly, Carrie, Chris, David). kris is just one of the winners who didn’t really make that big of an impact.

i believe that kris will do fine. steady sales is what’s really important. and LLWD is slowly gaining popularity.

heh, i honestly think that a lot of kris’ songs could end up on movie soundtracks. seems like he’d be labeled that way. like how effen KT Tunstall and her Suddenly I See or Liz Phair’s Why Can’t I?

Do we know Leona’s UK numbers?

She got about 160k in week one in the UK. That translates to about 650k in the USA given that the UK is a “quarter market” compared with the USA.

Soberba I know AI is a reality show, but what is the point of following a show of aspiring singers, when after the show is over there is no interest in their music?”

No interest? There were AI singers performing on the AMAs (Kelly, Adam, Daughtry, Carrie), and Kris presenting (video is doing well on VH1), Syesha, Fantasia, and Diana getting good reviews in musicals (ugh Constantine too ugh), David Cook, David Archuleta, and Bucky Covington getting good reviews, Daughty (wow!), Carrie receiving many awards and records doing very well, and Jennifer Hudson (too many acclaimed performances to menton). That’s just off the top of my head.

What about Jennifer Hudson? I think she opened with 200K. But I could be wrong.

leome, Jennifer Hudson indeed open with 217K on her first week and ends up selling a good 753K making her the 12th Highest American Idol Seller in the US!

Kris debuted at #10 for his week which is the same place that Jordin Sparks debuted 2 years ago, #10 for her week. Jive was patient with Jordin and I think they will be just as patient with Kris. His song is gettng radio play and has made the Top 40 on CHR and is in the top 20 on HAC. This is amazing considering that there still aren’t even a significantly large number of stations playing his song yet.

A bad debut is a bad debut.

Only because we are in the crazy idolsphere is this debut bad. I’m sad for Kris that he is going to be trashed all over the place with his debut number but I really don’t think it’s bad and am no thinking “OMG, the label is going to drop him!!”

Seriously though, IMHO this has more to do with the size of Kris’ devoted fanbase and the lack of hype than it does with the decline of music sales at large’ ¦ Even if you take the decline percentage into account, his opening would still be weak compared to other Idols.

Agreed.

And IMO pointing out that he beat out Leona and One Republic doesn’t make his numbers appear any better. First of all comparing a debut album to a sophomore album is apples and oranges, and neither are the current Idol winner. Leona’s freshman album sold over 200,000 its first week and One Republic barely sold 80,000 with their first album so they were never good sellers.

Not really. A bad debut is a bad debut. No one is saying Kris’s career is over. At least I’m not. But compared to other Idol winners he sold the very least and its not good for him.

Yeah, I mean – I don’t think there’s any spinning that this isn’t such a fabulous debut of sales. I don’t think it’s the end of the world, and I am hoping that sales can grow for him. I really honestly think that people are reacting to the hype for Adam, and that’s why there seems to be a double standard (Kris is a slow grower, Adam flops if he has these sales). Not saying it’s right and have no intention of starting a fanwar on Kris’ sales thread, that’s just the impression I get when people are talking about sales.

I personally was not invested, at all, this season but Kris has really grown on me – I think he’s adorable and I like his album, it fits the vibe of what I’m listening these days. So I hope he does find success with hit. I’m sure he’s thrilled to get to make music for a living.

You know, I was thinking though – in the real world that is not our beloved Idol bubble… isn’t a top 10 debut pretty good? I have NO clue because like I said, I’ve always just enjoyed music, never cared or had a clue how much someone sold. The Sundays and Indigo Girls are two of my all time favorite bands and I have NO idea how many albums they sold – just that I bought several from each. I only got into the gnash your teeth and bite your nails world of obsessing over Idol sales with Cookie. And eventually I stepped back and thought… dear God, I think I’m more worried about this than he is. How silly

One Republic barely sold 80,000 with their first album so they were never good sellers.

That’s an interesting point, only because it points out how ridiculous all the worrying over one week of sales resulting in an idol being dropped from their label. The ones that have been dropped, I think there were other reasons for it aside from their sales, because no one can take away Taylor Hicks’ ror Clay Aiken’s idiculously high first week sales yet both ended up dropped by their label.

Not unexpected but I really wanted him to sell better. Oh, well.

Not really. A bad debut is a bad debut. No one is saying Kris’s career is over. At least I’m not. But compared to other Idol winners he sold the very least and its not good for him.

Yeah, I mean ‘“ I don’t think there’s any spinning that this isn’t such a fabulous debut of sales. I don’t think it’s the end of the world, and I am hoping that sales can grow for him. I really honestly think that people are reacting to the hype for Adam, and that’s why there seems to be a double standard (Kris is a slow grower, Adam flops if he has these sales). Not saying it’s right and have no intention of starting a fanwar on Kris’ sales thread, that’s just the impression I get when people are talking about sales.

Well I agree, it’s not a great debut for Kris. It’s the same as Jordin’s in terms of placement, number 10 for the opening week, and lacking Jordin’s stronger single sales. Right now he has some moderate single success (and also not to start a flamewar, but that’s much better than Adam has at this point, re; singles).

So yeah I agree about the numbers re; Kris and Adam and opportunity to grow and flop with the same numbers. Eh, but as I am genuinely fine with Kris growing, I would be genuinely fine if Adam’s numbers are consistent with Kris’s and giving him some room to grow. But Adam has a deeper whole because not only would he not have bad album sales, but not even the moderate hit single of Kris’s and no airplay.

But I will be consistent with both Kris and Adam, can’t speak for others, of course.

To those who think Kris will be dropped by Jive — if artists lost their record deal due to low(ish) 1st week sales on their debut albums, then there would be a TON of extremely successful musicians looking for new labels.

Its not great and not bad either.
I’m glad though that he’s in the top 10.
I might be wrong but i think he’s the idol that had the less and also the less flattering coverage from the medias. He has been consistently compared in a non flattering way to You know who. So that creates impression that can or not be changed through his music exposure.
Given that, I think he’s a slow burner. People will more and more heard of him and I think he will have more success than what this first week of sales is announcing.

Kris is gonna need some great singles sales to make up for this bad Idol album debut.

(although “bad” is relative, selling less than 100K AND having the lowest debut of any Idol winner doesn’t help his case)

One Republic barely sold 80,000 with their first album so they were never good sellers

.

Really? Wow, I thought Apologize was a huge hit? I guess it didn’t translate into album sales.

I guess Ryan Tedder makes his money from writing.

Not really. A bad debut is a bad debut.

unique28v, how was this a bad debut? He was top 10 in a tough field. It wasn’t a great debut, but it wasn’t a bad one.

I will absolutely hold Adam, and Allison and any Idol to the same standard in music sales. His week is even more tough, but he also has a few advantages. $3.99 full mp3 album, anyone? He has Black Friday on his side. If he does slightly better, but not huge numbers will you automatically declare him the de facto winner?

This is all so silly. Kris is Kris. Adam is Adam. Allison needs some serious help in the pr department.

Unfortunately I must point out that this number is very bad for an Idol winner’s debut album. Jordan Sparks had higher sales her first week, 119K I believe and that was considered awful 2 years ago. David Cook managed to sell more than double her first week sales last year when his album debuted. He sold 280K and most people considered that to be respectable, The Idol winners debut sales should easily put them in the top 3 on the Billboard chart. So barely making the top 10 with only 85K total is not good at all. Kris Allen has the worst first week sales for an Idol winner. Even Taylor Hicks managed to sell 296K his first week and debut at #2. Considering all the promotional appearances Kris has made over the last week on TV and radio he shouldn’t have done so poorly. Kris is a nice guy, but 85K in first week sales is the pits!!

with that number of Carrie Underwood (85,501) this week, she’s now the HIGHEST SELLING AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANT surpassing Kelly Clarkson.

01. Carrie Underwood ‘“ 10,378,000 (3 albums)
02. Kelly Clarkson ‘“ 10,351,000 (4 albums)

There must be something wrong with the numbers because Kelly Clarkson’s total should be 10,384,000. The last time I calculated this Carrie Underwood needed to sell close to 100K to beat Kelly Clarkson. If the actual number stays the same as current HDD estimate then Carrie Underwood would need another week to overtake Kelly Clarkson.

A bad debut is a bad debut. Good thing Kris and the majority of his fans don’t really give two shits about charts and album sales. I could care less if he goes platinum. It would be nice, but people who are making the best music out there right now aren’t necessarily raking in the cash. And I seriously doubt Jive would drop him if he doesn’t meet sales goals.

That’s an interesting point, only because it points out how ridiculous all the worrying over one week of sales resulting in an idol being dropped from their label

That is good to hear (or read). It’s very good to hear people say on this blog that having #10 sales is good, and that selling under 100k is good for any newbie. I tottaly agree with that. I just expect you people to remember those statements when lambert’s numbers are revealed.

Even Taylor Hicks managed to sell 296K his first week and debut at #2.

I love how people keep acting like Taylor is the scourge of the universe…the guy had a rather large, if select, fanbase, regardless of what happened after the show.

Nope. According to wikipedia: Dreaming Out Loud has sold 822,458 copies in the US as of January 2009

The reason why people focus so much on the first week’s sales is that they often are a large portion of the ultimate sales for an album—it’s not unusual for them to make up 25% or even more of the final sales. If that were to happen for Kris, then Kris would not make gold. Which, without huge singles sales, would be a problem.

Now, if an artist gets really strong airplay or some other strong source of exposure (although, as I recently noted on another thread, it usually is airplay that does this for you), that artist can improve on that percentage. Jordin did—with big singles, she not only sold a lot of singles, but she managed to sell more than 9 times her first week number for that first album. Breakaway, Some Hearts, and Daughtry’s first albums are other Idol examples of how airplay can help you to improve a lot on that first week’s sales. Outside of Idol, obviously, there are some great examples—Lady Gaga and OneRepublic are two.

Kris has room to grow, but yeah, he’s in a bit of a hole, to the extent that this estimate holds up.

If he does slightly better, but not huge numbers will you automatically declare him the de facto winner?

*raises hand* I won’t and I’m still an Adam fan. Yes, even after my wanting to kick his ass 12 ways to Sunday this week at various times. You can hold me to it. But again, I can’t speak for others.

Anyhew, so thinking about what will sustain Kris’s sales over the long term, because that is what I want, where is he right now on iTunes and Amazon with his album?

Who cares what Taylor did? Where is he now? No where. His insane fanbase fizzled out over time and could not sustain him. What Kris has that Taylor did not is staying power and the mainstream appeal to grow and gain new fans over time. That is how it went for Kris on Idol, consistently defying odds and expectations and I would imagine that is what he’ll keep on doing over time. Debuts only show how fanatic the current fanbase is not how many new fans the artist will gain over time. The promo has been good, but it doesn’t always translate to instant sales. It usually takes time for that be a factor.

Allison needs some serious help in the pr department.

Oh man, I agree with this. Allison is AWSOME and a great singer. The problem is she’s just a kid and if she doesn’t live up to the unrealistc standards of sales that are set up for Idol alumns, she will be dropped by her label. And she has an even smaller fan base than kris allen. And if she is dropped I’m affraid all the labels will think of her as that american idol girl that was dropped. She deserves a better path than that. She deserves longevity.

Starr
11/24/2009 at 8:16 pm
And I seriously doubt Jive would drop him if he doesn’t meet sales goals.

Jive is a business, they aren’t going to keep someone on the roster who doesn’t make money for them. That said, Kris is doing pretty well on the radio, a slow start on album sales is too bad but he’s certainly not down for the count at this point.

If he does slightly better, but not huge numbers will you automatically declare him the de facto winner?

Apply this to the Jordin-Blake scenario. She debuted with weak sales, did slightly better, but I think there is a consensus that Blake still shouldn’t have won. Of course, that’s just my take on it.

When does HDD configure in international sales? Because people have been saying Adam is supposed to blow everyone out the water internationally on album sales. Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

progression
11/24/2009 at 8:36 pm
Starr
11/24/2009 at 8:16 pm
And I seriously doubt Jive would drop him if he doesn’t meet sales goals.

Jive is a business, they aren’t going to keep someone on the roster who doesn’t make money for them. That said, Kris is doing pretty well on the radio, a slow start on album sales is too bad but he’s certainly not down for the count at this point.

I’m well aware that Jive is a business. And a business also considers the fact that they don’t have someone like Kris on their roster. I’ve checked Jive’s roster and they have a lot of R&B and pop artists but not a whole lot of pop/rock that can appeal to the Fray or John Mayer crowd. It would make sense for them to invest in Kris for the long haul. If they were willing to give Jordin a chance when she was debuting with weak sales, why not Kris, especially since IMO he offers more market-wise than Jordin. I feel like there are a lot of people on Jive’s list who already fit Jordin’s target market, but the same cannot be said of Kris. JMO.

If he does slightly better, but not huge numbers will you automatically declare him the de facto winner?

Taylor is still the season 5 winner. Kris will always be the season 8 winner. The show is one thing, what they do outside is another one.

Allison needs some serious help in the pr department.

I’m worried about her. Adam has a ton of media hype around him. Kris has been getting some major radio play and his single is doing well on the radio and getting great adds, expeically this week. Allison hasn’t had much hype and her single hasn’t been picked up in any of the big markets.

Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

Jives… that sucks for Kris and his fans

btw this number .. is it only for US sales? I guess it doesn’t include Canada … just want to make sure

When does HDD configure in international sales?

They don’t. It is very hard to find reliable data on international sales.

Well, all I keep thinking is that a whole lot of people are missing out on an amazing album.

What didn’t we hear detractors say whenKris’ single sold 15,000 in 3 days? We heard he was done with Jive and the song was a bad one.
What do we see now? His sales are steady and increasing every week. I prefer that, honestly, big first week sales is good. But if you don’t get it, it’s not the end of your career like idol fans want it to look like.
The impact we see with LLWD is the result of airplay and promos that are putting the song out there. It’s going to be the same with the album. Once he puts out a couple of singles out there, the album will sell. It looks like people are reharshing the same things they said about LLWD.
And Jive is not lame to drop Kris because of his first week sales, at least they see the way it’s going with LLWD. IMO, Kris could be their cash cow if they promote him well. He is a talented singer and performer, can write his own music and has the good looks too going for him. They just have to do their jobs well and it will work.
That said, I’m not worried about Kris at all, he’ll be fine.

Well, all I keep thinking is that a whole lot of people are missing out on an amazing album.

This!!!

When does HDD configure in international sales? Because people have been saying Adam is supposed to blow everyone out the water internationally on album sales. Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

I haven’t been here in a couple of day… so I’m not sure what was written HERE, but on the Adam boards, people are pleasantly surprised that he is selling relatively well overseas. I haven’t heard from anyone that he is “blowing everyone out of the water”.

Kris has been getting some major radio play

Where? I regularly listen to 2 “regular” (top 40? not sure what to call them…just run of the mill radio stations that play regular stuff) and I have NEVER heard Kris (or Adam or anything off John Mayer’s new CD, for that matter). I think all they play is Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift, actually…

Not the debut I hoped for him but as long as Kris is happy, I’m happy.

I love that he doesn’t have expectations of big album sales and is upfront with how this might work out or might not. He’s not off buying huge homes or anything. Very level headed. Best to him and Katy.

With the extreme hyping of the runner up continuously from the show though today, his album should sell 3x Kris’ or more in its debut.

Kris has been getting some major radio play

In NY!!! I’ve heard him on Z100 numerous times

I ever knew chart watching was such serious business. If most of my musical leans had some of you guys standards I wouldn’t have any music to listen too. That would be a sad sad world for me.

Can I just say, good for Josh Gracin and Kellie Pickler. They definitely made the most of their time on idol.

Kris’ numbers are not great for an idol but so what? They are what they are. Kris is happy. I think he can grow those numbers. I hope Jive sticks with him for a while. He is probably a relatively inexpensive performer to support so I’m sure even modest sales can produce some money for Jive. Not Carrie money, but there aren’t many Carrie’s out there.

koshka
11/24/2009 at 8:51 pm
When does HDD configure in international sales? Because people have been saying Adam is supposed to blow everyone out the water internationally on album sales. Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

I haven’t been here in a couple of day’ ¦ so I’m not sure what was written HERE, but on the Adam boards, people are pleasantly surprised that he is selling relatively well overseas. I haven’t heard from anyone that he is ‘blowing everyone out of the water’ .

Someone a few pages back on this post said that Adam was selling more international albums internationally in all 8 seasons of American Idol. I interpreted that to mean he was blowing everyone else out of the water.

Kris has been getting some major radio play

Where?

Here?

I’ll be honest, if I wasn’t an Idol viewer and a random surveyor asked me who won this year? Based on publicity I’d probably say Adam Lambert. I’m not one of those people who thinks Kris was deliberately thrown under the bus…he was actually given quite a bit of creative freedom on his debut record, honestly I think more than Cook was given. But Kris hasn’t exactly had the red carpet rolled out for him. And I don’t blame that on Adam, or even 19. I blame it on the mainstream media who decided who “their” Idol was long before the finale.

For someone who is simply a “new artist” these numbers are actually great. And that’s how I’ve been approaching how Kris’ career will unfold…as a new artist, not an “Idol.”

When does HDD configure in international sales? Because people have been saying Adam is supposed to blow everyone out the water internationally on album sales. Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

I think that people are taking that from the international itunes rankings. Here is the link that somebody already posted …

Edit: I don’t manage to get a link posted and it’s to late for me to play with it. Here is the adress: http://www.apple.com/euro/itunes/charts/top10albums.html

Edit2: The link works when I’m not trying:)

No the numbers are not good, but they will get better when he starts touring.

Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

True, I downloaded Adam ´s album from iTunes Spain. I am getting the CDs from Amazon UK on Thursday.

I am impressed that the prediction from last week (the revised one) was right on the money!!! If Kris is happy and his fans are happy then that leaves nothing for me to add!

They don’t. It is very hard to find reliable data on international sales.

so they could have a gold record in other countries and not know it?

I don’t recall how Jordin was doing with Tattoo (her first single) when her first album dropped, but it seems to me that LLWD is doing better than Tattoo did. At least in my neck of the woods, Tattoo was a very, very slow grower. In fact, it kinda disappeared off the airwaves for a while only to finally reappear again after the New Year. She’s lucky it did well enough that Jive threw another single out there — which as we now know became her salvation in terms of getting a second album.

Despite a sluggish start for Kris’ album (IMO), as adjusted for the economy, he seems to be doing on par or better than Jordin’s debut album. And it bodes well for him that his single seems to be hitting that tipping point in terms of radio adds/airplay which I think positions him well for the N ew Year (as we are about to go into Christmas radio playlist freeze mode very shortly). I think he’s in a good position going into the holidays — not necessarily terms of album sales and buzz during the holidays — but in terms of organically growing his single on the radio during the New Year and giving his album some legs, which it definitely needs in order for him to get to a second album.

With the extreme hyping of the runner up continuously from the show though today, his album should sell 3x Kris’ or more in its debut.

Why do you say that?

Haven’t ya heard, Adam turned many fans and would-be fans off with that AMA performance… And GMA dropped him, so why would we expect the “runner up” to sell well? As we have been told ad infinitum “Adam is all hype” and no substance ….

And Adam’s music seldom is played on radio, so if you are not in the AI bubble, or don’t watch AMA, who would even know Adam has an album for sell ?

3x Kris’s sales is a silly figure (imo) Heck, I have a sister who really liked Adam, but doesnt follow him on the Internet, at all. She had no idea Adam (or any of the idols) had released CDs.

With the extreme hyping of the runner up continuously from the show though today, his album should sell 3x Kris’ or more in its debut.

If Kris gets a pass because of a bad economy why can’t Adam? Here’s the pressure again. People may like Adam just as they like Kris, but spending money is a whole different story. Adam is in the media but he hasn’t done much promoting until now.

so they could have a gold record in other countries and not know it?

No, there would be an announcement if that happened probably, and the record labels know the numbers, but it is very hard for fan groups to try and figure out just how much is being sold overseas. Just ask Cook fans, I know they have tried in vain to piece together all his overseas sales. Also, of note, gold and platinum status in other countries is different than here in America because those markets sell less. I think gold in Canada for example is 50,000.

Kris’ numbers are not great for an idol but so what? They are what they are. Kris is happy. I think he can grow those numbers. I hope Jive sticks with him for a while. He is probably a relatively inexpensive performer to support so I’m sure even modest sales can produce some money for Jive. Not Carrie money, but there aren’t many Carrie’s out there.

I agree, Jersey. I’ve been playing Kris’s CD in my drive mix since I bought it last week, I like most of the songs on his album and Kris is happy with what he’s produced and really that is what matters.

Quantity is no way to judge an artist, but unfortunately it seems to be the way the industry does. I can’t forget season 5 and how the winner was called a failure for not outselling the 4th place finisher by the media and 19E. The comments can be incredibly mean-spirited and Kris is genuinely one of the nicest and most talented guys who has come out of this meat grinder and doesn’t deserve that.

I’m hopeful that Jive seems to be patient and have good success at building talent. Jordin and David A have done steady, gradual sales and that seems to be a strategy that works.

I don’t recall how Jordin was doing with Tattoo (her first single) when her first album dropped, but it seems to me that LLWD is doing better than Tattoo did.

Oh, not at all. Tattoo was top 15 on CHR when the album dropped, and also top 10 on itunes. LOL it was doing really well.

don’t know if it was posted… interview with Kris (the introduction is not accurate — he just release his single NoBo …lol) but there is interesting stuff in the interview.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/25580/

No, there would be an announcement if that happened probably, and the record labels know the numbers, but it is very hard for fan groups to try and figure out just how much is being sold overseas. Just ask Cook fans, I know they have tried in vain to piece together all his overseas sales. Also, of note, gold and platinum status in other countries is different than here in America because those markets sell less. I think gold in Canada for example is 50,000.

Ok. So if 50,000 was sold in Canada and 50,000 in the UK and 900,000 here would that combine and give the artist a gold record in the US?

Keel
11/24/2009 at 9:29 pm
I don’t recall how Jordin was doing with Tattoo (her first single) when her first album dropped, but it seems to me that LLWD is doing better than Tattoo did. At least in my neck of the woods, Tattoo was a very, very slow grower. In fact, it kinda disappeared off the airwaves for a while only to finally reappear again after the New Year. She’s lucky it did well enough that Jive threw another single out there ‘” which as we now know became her salvation in terms of getting a second album.

Despite a sluggish start for Kris’ album (IMO), as adjusted for the economy, he seems to be doing on par or better than Jordin’s debut album. And it bodes well for him that his single seems to be hitting that tipping point in terms of radio adds/airplay which I think positions him well for the N ew Year (as we are about to go into Christmas radio playlist freeze mode very shortly). I think he’s in a good position going into the holidays ‘” not necessarily terms of album sales and buzz during the holidays ‘” but in terms of organically growing his single on the radio during the New Year and giving his album some legs, which it definitely needs in order for him to get to a second album.

Why do you say that Kris’s debut seems to be going on par compared to Jordin’s? (Wasn’t in the Idol bubble until season 8, so kindly just give me a little intro Thanks)

Ok. So if 50,000 was sold in Canada and 50,000 in the UK and 900,000 here would that combine and give the artist a gold record in the US?

Did you mean platinum? Platinum in the US is 1,000,000 and Gold is 500,000. You are certified for sales that were made in that country. In that scenario he would be gold in Canada, nothing in the UK, and Gold in the US.

Kris’s album isn’t even available yet in places like the Philippines, while Adam’s already is, despite Kris having an earlier release date.

I find that a little bizarre. What’s the point of being the American Idol if you’re not being the primo one being promoted? Are they ashamed of Kris?

Ridiculous.

don’t know if it was posted’ ¦ interview with Kris (the introduction is not accurate ‘” he just release his single NoBo ‘ ¦lol) but there is interesting stuff in the interview.

I think the intro is accurate, just badly written.

After winning the 2009 season of American Idol, Kris Allen has recently released his debut album and the single ‘No Boundaries’  hit number one on the iTunes chart.

They’re saying that after winning AI, his single NB hit #1 on iTunes, and he recently released his debut album.

agree with you ross, but it’s badly written. If i didn’t know i would have tought that the single was NoBo

Ouch. Well,lets see what the Soundscan numbers turn out to be. They should leak tomorrow.

I hope he can gain some serious ground before the the new year. Fingers crossed.

I just expect you people to remember those statements when lambert’s numbers are revealed.

Is this the talking point for Adam fans tonight? LOL. You must be the 5th person to say it. It almost sounds like an ultimatum.

Really, nobody can tell us what to say about Adam’s sales next week. People will say what they want to say. Plus, different people are saying different things. Not everyone is saying the same thing this week and we needn’t be told what to say next week. I’ll say next week whatever I think at the time about the sales.

Adam’s case is not identical to Kris’s. There’s been a lot of hype about Adam. People didn’t expect Kris’s sales to be high. People said that Adam was going to be the biggest Idol ever, the biggest thing since Elvis, and so forth.

Of course that’s been tempered down since his single hasn’t gotten radio play and hasn’t sold much. So expectations are not what they were a few weeks ago, seems like. Which is probably good, since it’s hard for anyone to have too-high expectations placed on them.

People expect Adam to sell more than Kris. At least I always assumed he would. Looks like he will too, based on his position on itunes tonight. Kris and Adam are two different people, so no, we aren’t required to say the exact same things about Adam as we say about Kris. It’s not necessary to gear up for a fight in advance. Sigh. Let’s hope it won’t be necessary. The competition is over, they are two different people, their sales will be analyzed based on their own individual situations.

Someone a few pages back on this post said that Adam was selling more international albums internationally in all 8 seasons of American Idol. I interpreted that to mean he was blowing everyone else out of the water.

Yeah I’ve been reading that tonight, and don’t understand it. What does that mean? Kelly’s sold millions internationally, so how is Adam planning to sell more than her? Isn’t it premature to make such predictions?

Someone a few pages back on this post said that Adam was selling more international albums internationally in all 8 seasons of American Idol. I interpreted that to mean he was blowing everyone else out of the water.

That’s absurd. People are just basing that on FYE rank on iTunes. iTunes doesn’t sell a heck of a lot of albums in most countries. So I’m not sure having the #3 album in Finland means all that much. The numbers will be available in a week. Let’s see if anyone bothers to post them. I assume they mean for an opening week because Kelly has sold millions of albums internationally.

Maybe they’re confusing Adam with Susan Boyle.

Bottom line with Kris, the first week sales are low for an Idol winner, but the talk of him being dropped from his label are way, way premature. I can’t even believe that anyone is thinking about that yet. No way is an Idol winner going to be dropped without lots of singles and chances to succeed. Not everyone starts out with a bang. Let him put out 2-3 singles and then see how he’s doing. See if one of his songs connect with listeners before reaching conclusions. At least that’s how I see it.

For those feeling a little disappointed in the HDD totals for Kris, I thought I’d share this weeks radio adds. Only following IDOL since season 7, I was not aware of how IDOL debut sales compared to NEW ARTIST sales. It was astonishing to see the difference. Rueben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, David Cook, Fantasia, et al had phenomenal 1st week sales. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be working out that way this year. Even Kelly Clarkson is fighting for every sale she can get. Daughtry will definitely need to work for it as well. Carrie Underwood is a force unto herself.

Outside the IDOL bubble, John Mayer is well established in the music industry. But, when he started out as a new artist his sales were not all that nor was Lady Gaga’s, etc., etc. So as someone mentioned above, I, too, will be looking at Kris Allen as I would any new artist, but with a bit more name recognition and opportunity than your average new artitst. But then, do I really need to qualify it that way? — look at Justin Beiber. What has he done to have garnered so much hype? As a new artist, his label has had he making the rounds, Chelsea Lately, Ellen, MTVHits … plus his cd was selling for $8.00.

One factor for me that is pretty glaring is Norah Jone’s HDD Total. It certainly is good, but her last release was closer to the 400,000 range. I am also surprised by One Republic’s totals. They certainly have name recognition. Leona Lewis isn’t doing all that well, but she also is selling in the UK so that will up her total sales.

I had hoped for higher sales, but we still have Black Friday to look forward to very soon. Many people might be putting off spending until then. It’s a difficult time, the economic climate is bleak.

So on that somber note, I’ll share some happier news. Kris’ total historical ADDS for both HAC and TOP 40 are damn impressive. He’s up there with the big guns and he’s moving along at a steady pace. This song is just the beginning. I see long-term success with this CD. I think it’s a good thing that people view Kris as a new artist. It might take time, but it’s all good as far as I’m concerned. tl;dr so sorry

http://addboard.mediabase.com/AddsByFormat.asp?Startdate=11%2F18%2F2009&AddFormat=A2

You’ll have to click on add to format TOP 40 to see the total HAC & Top 40 ADD.

If I remember I’ll post Adam’s album sales overseas. It’s pretty easy to get numbers for England, Japan, Canada, etc. that are totally accurate.

I know Kris’ numbers are probably a downer for his fans. The only positive is that with radio play increasing, this album could have legs.
It’s better to sell modesty for weeks on end then to have a huge opening week and end up crashing down the charts in a month.

The last time I calculated this Carrie Underwood needed to sell close to 100K to beat Kelly Clarkson. If the actual number stays the same as current HDD estimate then Carrie Underwood would need another week to overtake Kelly Clarkson.

I think I have to correct myself here. I forgot that Carnival Ride and Some Hearts are still selling well, perhaps 4-5K each a week, so there is a possibility that Carrie Underwood can overtake Kelly Clarkson this week in US sales, although it is going to be close.

Thanks for putting things in perspective, evanjane. This number also does not take into account this week and Black Friday sales, so I think Kris will be able to hit 100k or more by the end of the month, and then steadily increase during the holidays because he’s doing a lot of promo Christmas shows all December.

So, how long do I have to wait to be able to download my I-tune pass ?
I’m sure I’m not the only one that still didn’t get the album.,
What a mess ! And yes, I will still wait and wait to get From the Ashes.

Still love you Kris !! Your album is amazing, hopefully JIVE realizes how great you are .

I truly feel like the media is part of the problem here. They jumped on Adam while the show was still going on and were completely unwilling to give Kris a chance. His reviews on the album have been ridiculously inaccurate, to the point where there was one that claimed NoBo was a highlight which is a)ridiculous and b)not even on the album. So the mainstream media seems to want him to not do as well as he should.

Someone mentioned up thread that possibly AL was blowing everyone from past seasons out of the water internationally. I’m not sure if that’s first week sales or what, but I believe he has been marketed more internationally that possibly any of them in the past. Next to nothing was even made available out of the U.S. (with the exception of Canada) in most cases. It’s hard to sell when it’s not available.

Kris hasn’t been treated like the winner..period..bottomline..whatever..its the truth

@anovich: I agree. But that is to be expected. The media rarely ever changes stances on people they embrace or choose to hate. They were mad when Kris won, so they of course would like to prove that they were right from the get-go by panning Kris’s album. It’s their way of saying “I told you so.”

I’ve never cared how a musician does in sales, and I’m not going to start now. I admire that Kris put out an impressive album and he stayed true to himself. Love that he doesn’t concern himself with charts and album sales. I think this album has growing power and his promo gigs for December will only increase interest in it. The only thing I care about is that Kris continues to have a long career in music.

If Adam’s first week’s sales are twice what Kris’s were,as Billboard is predicting, the press is bound to notice. Adam is a big news story this week and the sales comparisons would make him a big news story next week as well.

I wonder if Idol is thinking of making any changes in its voting system, nothing major, but a tweak or two, so they’d be less likely next season (when most likely they’ll be pushing for a young woman winner) to have such an obvious disparity between the success of their winner and their first runner up.

It’s better to sell modesty for weeks on end then to have a huge opening week and end up crashing down the charts in a month.

This bears repeating.

I agree with those who say one of the causes of Kris’ low numbers is the media almost completely ignoring him. Idol winners don’t get big numbers just because of the built in fanbase. The get the big fanbase and (at least in the past) tons of media exposure. People predisposed to liking you + tons of media = big sales. Kris has never had the latter. Not only is he the Pocket Idol; He is like the Stealth Idol.

But what can you do? Media in this country is ignorant, lazy, and likes to stare at their navel. Kris can’t change that. He just needs to go to the David Cook school of work your butt off, and then work your butt off some more. Kris seems more than willing to do that.

mickeybordentwo
11/24/2009 at 11:15 pm
If Adam’s first week’s sales are twice what Kris’s were,as Billboard is predicting, the press is bound to notice. Adam is a big news story this week and the sales comparisons would make him a big news story next week as well.

I wonder if Idol is thinking of making any changes in its voting system, nothing major, but a tweak or two, so they’d be less likely next season (when most likely they’ll be pushing for a young woman winner) to have such an obvious disparity between the success of their winner and their first runner up.

Oh wow it only took 160 responses before someone came in to compare the “obvious disparity between the success of their winner and their first runner-up”. Hahaha you could’ve just said “i told you so,” and it would’ve had the same effect.

And I agree with you @sunnysider: I think a college tour for Kris would help him tremendously. He seems to be resonating well with the college crowd, from what I’ve read of his interviews.

“someone a few pages back on this post said that Adam was selling more international albums internationally in all 8 seasons of American Idol. ”

I can’t speak for other countries but in Australia Kelly has been really successful & has come here several times!! Neither Adam or Kris’s albums are available here yet & there’s been no buzz about either of them !!
The 2 David’s album are still available here but they took a while to be available & I have no idea how successful they have been!!
Chris Daughtry has also had some success here – so Kris is more the style we go for than Adam .

I just wish people would stop making outlandish statements for Adam & just get on supporting his music whilst Kris fans support him!!
Kris is now getting the recognition on radio play now in the US , so that’s great for his long term viabilty. Long term sales from others who aren’t in the AI bubble is what its all about & Kris is gaining respect & recognition from every performance!!
As has been said- I am glad Kris is with Jive as they are treating him like a new artist & he is doing well in those terms. With RCA you are expected to get huge numbers straight away – so there’s a lot more pressure!!

althought i love LLWD why the hell was that the first single? If Jive had released BWCU or CSA or even alright with me as the first single, i think this may have been a completely different situation for kris.

However, I have hope and I think his album will do well in the long run!

I wonder if Idol is thinking of making any changes in its voting system, nothing major, but a tweak or two, so they’d be less likely next season (when most likely they’ll be pushing for a young woman winner) to have such an obvious disparity between the success of their winner and their first runner up.

I really don’t think they care all that much if the runner up outsells the winner. All they care about is making money. That said, while it looks like Adam will have a better opening week than Kris, it doesn’t necessarily mean that his album will outsell Kris’ in the long run. That remains to be seen.

I wonder if Idol is thinking of making any changes in its voting system, nothing major, but a tweak or two, so they’d be less likely next season (when most likely they’ll be pushing for a young woman winner) to have such an obvious disparity between the success of their winner and their first runner up.

Did they make any big changes after Ruben beat Clay?

No fanfare for Kris. That said his numbers are really good. He also didn’t have his Cd on sale for 3.99, with a 3 dollar credit. So there you have it.

“althought i love LLWD why the hell was that the first single? If Jive had released BWCU or CSA or even alright with me as the first single, i think this may have been a completely different situation for kris.”

Whilst LLWD is not my favourite song on the album- it actually has done quite well on radio , increasing in many spins this past week & also has been steady over the weeks of sales – so i think for a first single it probably has done reasonably well . Now other songs may do better as a 2nd & subsequent single but may not have been right for the first !!

thanks evanjane for the perspective.
I agree with some posters that the belittling/ignoring of Kris in the medias have had an effect on the sales. But I can’t help to be disappointed in the people who voted for him and are not supporting him afterward more than that. I did not vote since i’m not in the U.S. I supposed that there are a lot of people out there who are not closely following all this stuff and I’ll assume positively that his sales will be good as more and more voters and new fans will realized he has a good album out there.
Starr, I agree with you, a college tour would be good for him.

pic of Kris and Kara yesterday:
http://twitpic.com/qtpsl

“I really don’t think they care all that much if the runner up outsells the winner. All they care about is making money. That said, while it looks like Adam will have a better opening week than Kris, it doesn’t necessarily mean that his album will outsell Kris’ in the long run. That remains to be seen.”

Shell – you’ve hit the nail on the head. From what I’ve read over the months since Idol- predictions from fans always were that Adam would sell more in the first few weeks of sales for his album but that Kris would sell more overall!!
I still hold that we should come back in one year & see what happened – whether this becomes the reality- but until then I am happy listening to Kris’s music & great performances! Let’s keep things in perspective- Kris does – so we should be able to as well!!

‘I really don’t think they care all that much if the runner up outsells the winner. All they care about is making money. That said, while it looks like Adam will have a better opening week than Kris, it doesn’t necessarily mean that his album will outsell Kris’ in the long run. That remains to be seen.’ 

Shell, judes, that’s a good viewpoint. And after all, it doesn’t really matter to me, if Adam becomes the next Lady Gaga sales wise. What I do want is to Kris to be very successful

@Mtlfan: I think that the people who supported Kris on Idol are still supporting him now, however I think what helped Kris win (or at least increased his margin in votes) were those people who weren’t really invested in Kris during the show but liked a few of his performances, and these people are the ones who aren’t necessarily buying the album just because it’s out. For instance, some of my friends threw some votes Kris’s way after he performed “Heartless”. It was such a good performance, people who didn’t care about American Idol figured he did awesome and started throwing votes his way. These are the people who Kris needs to get behind him again. They are not going to buy his album just because it’s out there; they may not even like “Live Like We’re Dying”. I think they will be able to get on board after a second single (hopefully something more appealing than LLWD) or after he does these promo gigs in December. IMO, the AOL sessions gig will help him, and so will all the Jingle Balls he will be doing with all the big name artists like John Mayer and Taylor Swift – both whose demographic Kris might want to get converts from.

so will all the Jingle Balls he will be doing with all the big name artists like John Mayer and Taylor Swift ‘“ both whose demographic Kris might want to get converts from.

Maybe in next year’s AMA Kris can sweep 4-5 awards too.

I haven’t had a chance to grab his album yet so he’ll get a sale from me anyway over the next week or so

Hell even Taylor Swift, the mega star, did not start out selling well with her first album. Over time, it became huge when the song Tim McGraw came out and blew up all over radio, but that was not her first single. I did not expect mind blowing sales for Kris this early because he’s always been the slow burn type. I’m so not worried about him.

Yay tierbee! I’m picking up a few as well for the Holidays. I’m excited because I thought it would be a pain giving away his CD if it didn’t sound good, but since I know that it 100% rocks, then I feel like it makes a wonderful gift after all

I think 85k is a pretty respectable number for Kris, considering that he had less media exposure than Adam and they didn’t exactly drop the price of his album (like what they did with Adam’s).

I won’t be surprised if Adam is able to sell more copies for some of the following reasons:

1. Adam’s album being sold in Amazon at a $3.99 price tag (0.99 cents if you get the $3 off discount coupon) for his first week of sales can entice more people to purchase a copy. Between Adam’s $3.99 tag and Kris’s $10+ price tag, those on a tight budget would probably buy the former. Plus, it seems like a better deal: Get 3 copies of Adam’s album for the price of one of Kris’s.

2. 19E has heavily invested on Adam in promotion and media mileage. He’s also a media darling (who can blame him? ). Naturally, more exposure means more name recognition and retention. Just like in the world of advertising, the more a person is exposed to a certain product, the more s/he may decide to spontaneously purchase and see whether what is being advertised is a great product or not.

Just my two cents

BeckyMD
11/25/2009 at 12:25 am
so will all the Jingle Balls he will be doing with all the big name artists like John Mayer and Taylor Swift ‘“ both whose demographic Kris might want to get converts from.

Maybe in next year’s AMA Kris can sweep 4-5 awards too.

Here’s hoping, right? I actually don’t care if he wins awards; I think he really enjoys performing, so if he gets a chance to perform at any awards show, I think that would be awesome. I’m praying for the Grammys, but that might be a long shot if his album does not skyrocket before they decide who to let perform.

…For instance, some of my friends threw some votes Kris’s way after he performed ‘Heartless’ . It was such a good performance, people who didn’t care about American Idol figured he did awesome and started throwing votes his way. These are the people who Kris needs to get behind him again. They are not going to buy his album just because it’s out there; they may not even like ‘Live Like We’re Dying’ . I think they will be able to get on board after a second single (hopefully something more appealing than LLWD) or after he does these promo gigs in December.

Starr, your comment makes sense to me. I got a bit teary eyed when I saw the number because I think it’s such a good album and I wrote what I wrote out of disappointment. Yes, another single will help. The exposure on the December gigs will be great since he will perform several of his album’s songs

1. Adam’s album being sold in Amazon at a $3.99 price tag (0.99 cents if you get the $3 off discount coupon) for his first week of sales can entice more people to purchase a copy. Between Adam’s $3.99 tag and Kris’s $10+ price tag, those on a tight budget would probably buy the former. Plus, it seems like a better deal: Get 3 copies of Adam’s album for the price of one of Kris’s.

Whether Amazon’s $3.99 sales will be counted is still arguable. Second, that $3 coupon can be used to Kris’ $10.49 album and make it $7.49 too. And finally, I don’t think the price of FYE or the sales of the album will impact Kris’ number in large. It’s not an either-or question. Probably only a small portion of Kradam fans who has a tight pocket will face this problem.

If Kris can get the “boot” song for Idol next season with “Let it Rain” (which I still think would be an excellent choice), that would be huge promotion for him.

That plus a new single in the spring could propel him through his tour.

You can’t beat a downloaded cd for .99 cents. You can buy a 10 cds for $10 dollars, but then again that is how people cheat I guess.

Also why didn’t they release another of Kris’s singles like they did with Adam when his FYE was flopping big time?

Plus they been putting that fame ho Adam on every magazine cover.

People are sheep. They will buy Britney Spears crap over an Indie or musican/singer/songerwriter anyday. Fools go for the glitter and flash over art.

His cd is really good. I like his and Allison music so far. I wonder how Danny’s is going to be?

Whether Amazon’s $3.99 sales will be counted is still arguable. Second, that $3 coupon can be used to Kris’ $10.49 album and make it $7.49 too.

Arguable, yes; hence, my usage of the word SOME to disclaim that it applies to all. I’m merely presenting one facet, no matter how miniscule (or not) the contribution is. At the end of the day, it’s still counted as “copies sold.” I find it interesting and timely that (correct me if I am wrong) on the week of Adam’s debut, they drop the prices. Won’t that favor an influx of copies sold?

And finally, I don’t think the price of FYE or the sales of the album will impact Kris’ number in large. It’s not an either-or question. Probably only a small portion of Kradam fans who has a tight pocket will face this problem.

Yes, I agree, it’s not an either-or question, but in this given economy, pricing MAY have a factor. We’re not really counting dollars right now for comparison–just copies sold–so I’m throwing in a few cents why I think Adam may have an edge in that aspect. Not claiming the gospel truth though I hope you understand where I’m coming from.

If Kris can get the ‘boot’  song for Idol next season with ‘Let it Rain’  (which I still think would be an excellent choice), that would be huge promotion for him.

THIS. I’m really hoping LIR would be the boot song. Love that song to death. The lyrics are apt, too. What’s not to love? <3

That plus a new single in the spring could propel him through his tour.

Yes, and AWM for summer song, please?

..and AWM for summer song, please?

oh! this is a terrific idea!!!

This really astounds me – the dropping of an album price in the first week of sale just to boost numbers & make the first week sales look good!! Gee- the cost of your albums are less than Australia anyway & we don’t get such discounts!![ Only happens after a few weeks , which makes sense to then boost sales but not the 1st week!!]
So even more reason to not take much heed out of the first weeks sales as some have been artificially boosted by the drop in price – where Kris’s album didn’t have that luxury!!

This really astounds me ‘“ the dropping of an album price in the first week of sale just to boost numbers & make the first week sales look good!! Gee- the cost of your albums are less than Australia anyway & we don’t get such discounts!![ Only happens after a few weeks , which makes sense to then boost sales but not the 1st week!!]
So even more reason to not take much heed out of the first weeks sales as some have been artificially boosted by the drop in price ‘“ where Kris’s album didn’t have that luxury!!

IKR? The first few weeks of sales don’t have much bearing–it’s there to cater to the core fanbase. At the end of the day, it’s the staying power of the album that truly matters. Just ask Taylor a.k.a. “Fearlessly Unstoppable” Swift.

If Kris can get the ‘boot’  song for Idol next season with ‘Let it Rain’  (which I still think would be an excellent choice), that would be huge promotion for him.

I’m loving this idea. I adore that song.

No matter how you slice it, it’s not great. And should Adam double him or worse, well…that looks really bad. 2008′s winner and runner-up sold a combined 463K first week out. Looks like Kradam are heading for something like 285K-310K ish.

Kris claims he isn’t worried about this stuff…

http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/459269/does-kris-allen-feel-any-album-sales-pressure.jhtml

1. Adam’s album being sold in Amazon at a $3.99 price tag (0.99 cents if you get the $3 off discount coupon) for his first week of sales can entice more people to purchase a copy. Between Adam’s $3.99 tag and Kris’s $10+ price tag, those on a tight budget would probably buy the former. Plus, it seems like a better deal: Get 3 copies of Adam’s album for the price of one of Kris’s.

It doesn’t count. It is in mp3 form and there are dozens of top 100 mp3s at Amazon for $5.(you can use the $3 coupon on those also) Rihanna’s cd is also $3.99. Last week, the $3.99 specials were Weezer and Bon Jovi.

Last week FYE wasn’t even out! So people didn’t choose to buy FYE over KA. They just didn’t buy KA. You can’t blame Kris’ poor #s on Adam. KA had a whole week to itself-and the album did poorly.

It doesn’t count. It is in mp3 form and there are dozens of top 100 mp3s at Amazon for $5.(you can use the $3 coupon on those also) Rihanna’s cd is also $3.99. Last week, the $3.99 specials were Weezer and Bon Jovi.

How does this differ from iTunes, wherein you don’t get the physical copy, but just the MP3 of the album? Does iTunes sales count?

Last week FYE wasn’t even out! So people didn’t choose to buy FYE over KA. They just didn’t buy KA. You can’t blame Kris’ poor #s on Adam. KA had a whole week to itself-and the album did poorly.

Kindly refer to my comment after that where I corrected myself for the wrong phrasing of ideas (dang, can’t edit comments XD).

Bottomline is, weekly- perfomance-wise, we’re talking about NUMBER of units sold, not VALUE of units sold. Taking this into consideration, temporarily dropping the price can boost the number of copies sold; therefore, artificially boosting the number of units sold.

I posted my comment with a disclaimer about not being too familiar with the backend process on counting the number of units, so hopefully, you take that comment about the album price drop with a grain of salt.

As for performing “poorly,” I beg to disagree. Comparing it with his other competitors, I think he did just fine. Not good, but not bad either. YMMV

Everything I could find about Amazon and sales #s from the other thread:

The Amazon super discounts for this week were offered long before Adam.

·Amazon does this ALL THE TIME, and this year, it’s mega daily deals have included brand new releases during release week. Bon Jovi last week, Rihanna and Adam this week, heck, even the BEP’s new album had that same $3.99 price tag at release and folks were dying to hear what they put together upon reunion. (That doesn’t even scratch the surface, it’s just what I recall. And, more times than not, the price is 1.99 or 2.99.)

·Now, Amazon has all it’s Black Friday sales, which include 500 albums all priced at $5. ALL the big selling recent releases seem to be over there on sale. Just look at the 10 bestsellers, which now include Kelly Clarkson, Weezer, Regina Spektor, the BEPs (again), Jay-Z, Dashboard Confessional, etc, and of course, Adam.
Also, the Amazon $3.99 MP3 do not count as Billboard sales ‘” mus be at least 50% of MSRP to count. They are doing that to promo Amazon MP3 [3% of total music sales and about 1% of album sales}.
The only thing the Amazon $3.99 offer does is reduce Adam’s first week sales.

Amazon is #2 in the US digital music business but has only 9% share of the digital music business ‘” iTunes has 69% ‘” it is in Amazon’s, the artists’ and the labels’ interest to increase Amazon’s share. ANd oddly ‘” it is in iTunes best interest ‘” because if their share stays at 69%, they will eventually face FTC scrutiny for non-competitive practices.
The Amazon super discounts for this week were offered long before Adam.

·The discounted sales do not count on the Billboard album chart ranking.Digital or not. Product that is sold at 50% below manufacturer’s list price at a venue will not be processed.
But it doesn’t matter ‘” the label care about revenue and profits NOT units. You cannot put units in the bank. ANd Adam is apparently selling a lot of $17 deluxe album.
Link to SoundScan procedures: http://ca.nielsen.com/etc/content/nielsen_dotcom/en_ca/home/industries/entertainment_practice.mbt.77438.RelatedLinks.0542.MediaPath.pdf

@tiger92: Learned something new today Thanks for the info, bb

I think I have to correct myself here. I forgot that Carnival Ride and Some Hearts are still selling well, perhaps 4-5K each a week, so there is a possibility that Carrie Underwood can overtake Kelly Clarkson this week in US sales, although it is going to be close.

yup. it’s pretty close.

Kris claims he isn’t worried about this stuff’ ¦

then i guess we shouldn’t either….

..and AWM for summer song, please?

i think thats a great idea!!!

p.s i’m still familiarising myself with the acronyms of kris’s songs….LIR, LLWD, BWCU, INK etc etc so at first i didnt know what AWM was. does that make me a bad kris fan? plus the fact that i dont care how many copies he sold?

I think tiger summarized nicely, those things are very confusing.
I read the thread at once this morning and it looks like a crazy conversation, going back and forth on the amazon 3.99 downloads not counting for total sales purposes.

All numbers are screwed this year, Kris’ number are low but I dont think he would have sold less than Jordin in a regular year. My perception, no data to base it despite my personal experience with idol. He is having great promo and maybe can keep selling reasonably.

Adam is not following many normal idol patterns, so I think its really hard to compare at all.

Re: LIR for boot song, I actually emailed the show suggesting it, including the lyrics in my email, and reminded AI how it benefits the company to use “home-grown” talent such as Daughtry, Carrie, Ruben, etc. for the song. Hope TPTB really consider this. They tend to have the winner back the following year anyway, and Kris could do the song then, too. Although I am a massive Kris fan, I would not have suggested the song unless it was truly a good candidate for backing the goodbye montage, and LIR’s lyrics are fantastic for this purpose. It can’t hurt for Kris fans to contact AI or 19 Entertainment to show support for this idea.

I’m pro ‘Let it Rain’ as AI Boot Song!

85K.. not bad!!!! (considering everything all u KA regs brought up)
I really could care less about these numbers. Because of the kind of artist (& person) Kris is, I knew his sales were not gonna make a big bang in the market. But I think they’ll grow slowly but steadily.
LLWD still has life in it. Plus, second single will bump up sales.

All I want from Kris is that he continues to make music he truely believes in. You’re guaranteed songs that are soul stirring but also have a dash of cheek.

And all I want for Kris is longevity.

tiger92, according the document you linked, the 50% rule only applies to brick and mortar sales. The same rule for not counting units sold below 50% was not mentioned in the digital downloads section of the document. Therefore, it seems that the $3.99 Amazon sales do count.

Surprised that the Twilight Soundtrack only moved 107,000 copies – was that $140 million in box office all people going to see the movie 10 times? Bwah.

I’ve not been keeping any eye on the charts lately, I see by the top 10 figures sales are still sluggish overall in musicland, though they have been more sluggish over the past year.