Michael Jackson’s “Xscape” album dropped 58% in its second week of sales. After moving 161,000 copies in its debut, “Xscape” moved only 68,000 copies in its second week. The new number 1 is “Ghost Stories” by Coldplay with 385,978 copies sold– more than twice what Jackson sold in his first week. Number 2 is country star Brantley Gilbert with 215, 087– again considerably more than Jackson. “Xscape” fell to number 3 on hitsdailydouble, but it’s already plummeted to number 20 on iTunes.
More competition comes next week with Mariah Carey’s well-reviewed “Me. I am Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse.” Already number 2 on iTunes, “Me. I am Mariah” is a hit out the box with three or four possible singles starting with “You Don’t Know What to Do” featuring Wale.
The album has several more possibilities, and a long life ahead of if played right. After being a year overdue, Carey really pulled it out, as they say, and came home a winner. Even I’m surprised that “Me I am Mariah” is so good. There isn’t a weak track on it. I’ve already raved about her re-working of George Michael’s “One More Try.” But you’ve also got “Thirsty,” “Make it Look Good,” and the opening track, “Cry.” A lot of thought was put into this record. It will be interesting to see how it hits. I think: big time.
