Showbiz411

Justin Bieber’s marketing people–who are very smart and really nice guys–must be scratching their heads. Bieber’s “Believe” album sales is dropping like a watermelon from the top floor of the Empire State Building. It failed to make Billboard magazine’s top 10 list of albums sold in the first six months of 2012.

What’s really causing the problem is no hit single. “Boyfriend” sort of peaked before the album hit, and nothing has taken its place. The single sold 2.6 million copies digitally, perhaps satisfying the Bieber fans and maybe taking away from album sales.

The top 10 (see below, thanks to hitsdailydouble.com) is plain to see. Radio has fixed itself on the top songs of the summer. (Just below this list is OneDirection’s “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful.”) Bieber is absent. He doesn’t have a distinctive voice, so he needs a classic pop song. It doesn’t seem to be there this time. Here is the top 10 with sales figures for this week. And look at this guy Gotye (real name: Wally deBacker). He’s so hot he had a death rumor last week. That’s what Bieber needs. Hey, it worked for Paul McCartney.

1. Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe” – 251k
2. Katy Perry, “Wide Awake” – 207k
3. Maroon 5 f/Wiz Khalifa, “Payphone” – 186k
4. Gotye f/Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” – 156k
5. Ellie Goulding, “Lights” – 152k
6. Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen, “Good Time” – 140kWhistle
7. David Guetta f/Sia, “Titanium” – 125k
8. Flo Rida, “Whistle” – 113k
9. Rihanna, “Where Have You Been” – 110k
10. Usher, “Scream” – 102k

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.