Mariah Carey is a superstar, no doubt about it.
But at 56 years old, she is unappealing to “record” buyers.
Her latest single, “Sugar Sweet,” came and went in a week.
Total sales including streaming were just 1,733 in paid downloads.
Streaming brings the total to 19,941 in sales.
The song was average, a throwaway, and had nothing new to offer anyone. It followed another flop, “Type Dangerous.”
None of this bodes well for Carey’s late September album release.
Mariah is not alone. Former Bon Jovi guitar slinger and singer Richie Sambora just dropped a single called “Born to Rock.” Luminate is reporting almost no sales, really, just 80 equivalent copies.
The video for “Born to Rock” has 12,000 views.
Madonna, once the Queen of Pop, is in a similar bind. A remix album called “Veronica Electronica,” is almost non existent. Madonna has sold 2,576 paid downloads of a total 3,709 including streaming.
It’s a good thing Madge was counting on paying her Con Ed bill with those receipts.
Of course, all these artists are wealthy and settled. So these releases are more like vanity projects. They could be more, I guess, if they made an effort to make an interesting record and market it with some flair. But these records — or whatever we should call them — are empty gestures in the end.
PS I liked Richie Sambora’s single, but no effort was put into it at all.
