Week Ending Dec. 19, 2010: Michael Wouldn't Have Liked This
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:16am PST by Paul Grein in Chart Watch
Michael Jackson's MICHAEL enters The Billboard 200 at #3 behind Taylor Swift's Speak Now, which returns to #1 for a third week, and Susan Boyle's The Gift, which dips to #2 after four weeks on top. This is the first time that an album of new Jackson material hasn't debuted at #1 since Thriller opened at #11 in December 1982. More than just about any other artist, Jackson loved being #1. I think he'd be awfully disappointed to debut at #3.
Jackson debuted at #1 with his last four albums of new material: Bad, Dangerous, HIStory: Past Present And Future-Book I (which was half new, half old) and Invincible. Unless MICHAEL moves up to #1 in a subsequent week, this will be Jackson's first collection of new material to fall short of #1 since his 1979 smash Off The Wall, which peaked at #3.
MICHAEL sold 228,000 copies in its first week. Early reports called for the album to sell in the range of 400K in its first week, but those projections were revised downwards last week. I'm surprised that the album didn't do better because it was released at the peak of the Christmas sales season. And the warm single, "Hold My Hand" (featuring Akon), hits the right notes for this time of year.
Of course, it's highly unlikely that MICHAEL would have been released at all if Jackson hadn't died 18 months ago. Some Jackson pals, including will.i.am, have gone on record saying that Jackson, a perfectionist, wouldn't have wanted an album of leftovers to be made public. Other Jackson associates, including his former manager Frank DiLeo, have countered that Jackson loved nothing more than sharing his music with people. Fans who want to take Jackson's feelings on this point into account have to decide for themselves.
Jackson's reaction to this week's chart number wouldn't have been anything personal against Swift. Jackson had a lot in common with the country/pop performer. Both artists achieved stardom at early ages. Swift released her debut album when she was 16. Jackson was 11 when the Jackson 5 exploded.
Swift's current album has sold 2,607,000 copies in eight weeks. The album is off to an even faster start than Swift's 2008 blockbuster Fearless, which sold 2,202,000 copies in its first eight weeks. Speak Now will probably stay on top next week. The album is #3 for the year to date. This will be the third year in a row that Swift has had an album in the year-end top three. That's something that no other artist has accomplished in Nielsen SoundScan history (which dates to 1991).
Incidentally, this is the second time that Akon has backed Jackson on a Hot 100 hit. Akon was featured on a remake of "Wanna Be Startin' Something" from Thriller 25. Paul McCartney is the only other artist who had billing on two charted collaborations with Jackson ("The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say"). Diana Ross ("Ease On Down The Road"), Stevie Wonder ("Get It") and Janet Jackson ("Scream") each had billing on one charted collabo with Jackson.
MICHAEL is Jackson's 15th album to make the top 10. The total combines nine solo albums with six albums he recorded with his brothers in the Jackson 5 and later the Jacksons. The group first cracked the top 10 in February 1970 with Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. This gives Jackson a nearly 41-year span of top 10 albums.
MICHAEL debuts at #4 in the U.K., behind Take That's Progress (which holds at #1 for the fifth week), Rihanna's Loud and Michael Buble's Crazy Love.