There may be no second acts in American lives, but there's always another act for an American idol.
âAmerican Idolâsâ first champ, Kelly Clarkson, returned to the top of the U.S. pop charts with her new album "All I Ever Wanted" bowing at No. 1, an encouraging start after disappointing sales of her last 2007 effort, âMy December.â The new album sold 255,000 copies in its first week in stores in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan data released to Billboard.
While the new album falls short of the first-week figures of âDecember,â which bowed with 291,000 copies, âAll I Ever Wantedâ is in line with Clarkson's first-week sales history, suggesting fans werenât permanently put off by the rough publicity surrounding her previous work and canceled 2007 tour dates.
"All I Ever Wantedâ has been positively received by critics, many who noted it represents a return to lighter pop-rock after the harder, more serious âDecember,â an album Clarkson released after a public dispute with her record label, RCA, over its direction.
"As long as someone like Kelly comes back with great material ⦠the storyâs a good story,â said Tom Corson, general manager of Sony BMG's RCA Music Group, the label that's releasing the album. "Sheâs proud of this record and focused on it, and thatâs the news -- not what happened a few years ago.â
The release of âAll I Ever Wantedâ began with a highly targeted online media campaign three months ago. Beginning in December, RCA started posting artwork, song lyrics and audio clips relating to the new album on Clarkson's official website, treating each snippet as a mini event.
Then a bigger, more TV-focused leg of the marketing campaign kicked in last week. Clarkson returned to perform on âAmerican Idolâ and was the music guest on âSaturday Night Live.â This upcoming Friday, sheâll take the couch on âThe Oprah Show,â a promotion that should help to prevent a major dip in second-week sales.
âAll I Ever Wantedâ carried a first-week price of $9.99 at mass retailers such as Best Buy, but will increase to $13.99 for its second week. Unlike many major releases these days, the album was not heavily discounted for online sales. Universal Music Group's Interscope Records, for example, sold âNo Lineâ for $3.99 as a digital download during its first week of release earlier this month at Amazon.com.
âWe donât play that game,â said Corson, declining to elaborate.
Clarkson's fans, at least, were certainly eager for the album's lead single, âMy Life Would Suck Without You,â which sold sold more than 1.15 million digital downloads and hit No. 1 when it was released in January. The song, slightly reminiscent of her 2004 breakout smash, "Since U Been Gone,â helped tee up album sales for "All I Ever Wanted."
So far, it looks as if RCA Music Group's marketing strategy is working, and sales of "All I Ever Wanted" will not be marred by the underperforming 2007 album.
âShe certainly hit our first-week sales expectations,â said Chris Smith, a senior music buyer at Best Buy. âHer second week doesnât look to be going the direction most records go from a trending perspective. Sheâs still maintaining a sales base that is higher than our expectations.â
-- Todd Martens
Photo: Ida Mae Astute / ABC via Getty Images
Last night's 'Lost': Sun rise
The following post discusses last night's episode of "Lost," "Namaste."
I don't have too much to say about last night's episode of "Lost," for a couple of reasons.
First, it was one of those "moving all the parts into place" episodes, and as such, it was perfectly fine. There weren't really any OMG moments, unless you count the reveals of Christian and Young Ben, but because I can't resist reading the cast lists that ABC puts out in advance (I know, bad me), I knew those characters were going to be on the show. Even so, the appearance of Christian was suitably ominous.
Second, I spent much of the day in transit, after a very fun but very exhausting quick jaunt to New York. Nothing caps off a couple busy days of work and travel like sitting on the tarmac at JFK for a long time. I'm pretty tired, so I'll just list the things I liked. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts, as always.
I am really liking Sawyer this season. Josh Holloway is bringing his A-game, and it was great to see him square off with Jack, in a way that shut down Jack's tendency to be kind of annoying. Way to go, Sawyer! I like him as the toughest hombre in Dharma-ville, and I like him as the alpha male keeping Jack in line. The romance stuff, which can be heavy-handed and migraine-inducing on this show, was subtly handled. Through looks alone, Sawyer, Kate, Juliet and Jack acknowledge the rich brew of unacknowledged feelings and resurfacing longings. As I've said in the past, I think Sawyer's tender love for Kate is far more interesting than Kate and Sawyer together, which doesn't really do much for me (Jack and Kate together does even less for me). But as others have been saying, Juliet and Sawyer have really wonderful chemistry together -- two lost, guarded souls who found refuge in each other. I'd much, much rather see them stay together than for the show's writers to peel them apart in order to keep various permutations of the love quandrangle going. I can see spicing up Sawyer-Juliet with complications. But if there's a long round of aggravating breakups and makeups just to "add romance" to the show, I'm going to get cranky (then again, this season the show has really turned on the afterburners. I have the sense that they're not going to waste time with an overabundance of pointless romance melodrama).Share your thoughts on "Namaste" below, if you care to.
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Unlikely Buddies, In Search Of Lasting Bromance
Wedding anxieties take new form when Peter proposes to Zooey, only to realize he lacks a best man. A series of "man dates" — and an awkward budding friendship with a slacker slob — ensue.
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