"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Amen."
Clay Aiken - Simply The Best .........
C L A Y
WORDS
Monday, March 31, 2003THIS WE SAW COMING...:
Court
TV's The Smoking Gun.com is
having a field day with this season's American
Idol
criminals, er, contestants. Following last week's report
that Trenyce has a rap sheet, Gun has learned that
fellow finalist Corey
Clark faces trial next month on
charges he assaulted his teenage sister
and battled
with cops while resisting arrest. The 22-year-old bad boy —
who
in his Fox.com profile claims to "get along with
everyone" — was arrested
last October
following a disturbance in his family's
Topeka, Kans., home.
It's not known
whether Fox was aware of the incident,
but to me, this seems
a lot worse than
Frenchiegate. Meanwhile, I would like to extend
a
plea to the sleuths at TheSmokingGun.com: If you
guys find any dirt on
personal faves Ruben Studdard
or Clay Aiken , please
bury it. I'll pay you. Better yet,
my grandmother will pay you.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
step closer to launching her career as a
theme park performer.
American Idol
viewers gave the perky 21-year-old
Texan the boot on last
night's results
show, reducing the finalist field to six:
Ruben Studdard,
Clay Aiken, Trenyce, Joshua Gracin,
Carmen Rasmusen
and Kimberley Locke. Who do we
think has this competition in the bag? Click here to
find out. And if you have a question for Ms. Caldwell,
send it to me via the link at the end of this column.
Extra consideration will be given to those folks who correctly
answer the following question: Who's the best online
columnist in the land?
Thursday, May 1, 2003
IDOL SHOCKER: Ruben Studdard
got the scare of his life last night on
American Idol
The 25-year-old crowd
fave — long considered the
frontrunner to snag the
AI 2 title — landed in the bottom two! But it was
23-year-old powerhouse Trenyce who ultimately got
the hook, leaving Studdard, Clay Aiken , Kimberley
Locke and an extremely
lucky Joshua Gracin as the final
four. My advice to Josh: Enroll in an
anger management
class before next Tuesday's show. My advice to readers
of this
column: If you have a question for
Trenyce, send them to me via the link
at the bottom of this page. Extra
consideration will be given to those
folks who correctly name my favorite
Snapple flavor.
Thursday, May 8, 2003
leave from
American Idol . Viewers handed the 22-year-old
Marine his marching
orders on last night's show, freeing up
the Oceanside, Calif., native to
deal with his anger issues full
time. Kimberley Locke, who rounded
out the bottom two, joins
Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard
as the three
remaining finalists. Meanwhile, if you have
a question for Josh, send it to me via the
link at the bottom of this page. Extra
consideration will be given to those
folks who can correctly ID the number
I'm thinking of right now.
IDOL WORSHIP: Clay Aiken is proving
to be the
most successful loser in history. The American Idol
runner-up's
debut CD, Measure of a Man , entered
Billboard 's album chart at No.
1 with sales of 613,000
copies. By comparison, Idol 's inaugural champ,
Kelly Clarkson,
moved 297,000 units during her album's first week in
stores
last April. Now, the pressure's on
Aiken's Idol sidekick Ruben
Studdard,
whose Soulful CD drops Nov. 25.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Kimberley Locke
got the boot on last night's
American Idol
leaving Clay Aiken and Ruben
Studdard to
vie for the championship next week.
Speaking of Idol , this week's
Joshua Gracin interview
has been pushed back due to some scheduling issues.
God willing, we'll have that for you next week, in addition
to a Q&A with Locke.
As always, if you have questions for
Ms. Locke, send them to me via the link at
the
bottom of this page. Extra consideration
will be given to those folks who
give
a shout-out to my trusty copy editor, Sabrina Rojas Weiss.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003IDOL RECAP: If Simon's
prediction holds true, Clay Aiken
will be crowned the next American
Idol this evening
on Fox (8-10 pm/ET). Aiken's rousing rendition of
"Bridge
Over Troubled Water" last night brought
the crowd to its feet, and had Judge Cowell gushing,
"I think that performance could win you the competition."
Ruben Studdard, meanwhile, had what can only be described
as an off night.
Imagine that . (Same goes for
Paula Abdul , whose feedback was more
nonsensical than ususal. "You
really
found the matrix of that song," she
told Clay .) Who do you think will win?
Vote now!
Thursday, May 22, 2003IDOL WORSHIP: The country embraced
American Idol 's velvet teddy bear last night. In an
extremely close
vote, Ruben Studdard defeated
reformed geek Clay Aiken to win the
second Idol
championship. Roughly 130,000 votes (of a record 24 million)
separated the two in the final count. (Host Ryan
Seacrest initially said
the split was 1,335,
but Fox later corrected that.) Studdard's
new single "Flying Without Wings" —
which he performed for the first time
Tuesday night — will be released June 10. Nielsen,
meanwhile, estimates that an average 33.7 million viewers
watched the two-hour climax, giving Fox its best
Wednesday ratings in history. For the lowdown on last
night's grand finale, click here.
Friday, May 23, 2003Clay KNOW?: If Clay Aiken
seemed
a little too pulled
together Wednesday night after learning he had lost
the American Idol crown to Ruben
Studdard, it may be because he
already
knew the outcome! Idol judge Simon
Cowell told Fox's
Good Day Live
Thursday that Aiken peeked over host
Ryan Seacrest's
shoulder and saw Studdard's
name on the card "about five minutes before he was
due to go out [on stage]." Aiken, however, insisted to
Extra that he was "completely in the dark" about who
won. Meanwhile, Nielsen estimates that an average 33.7
million viewers watched the two-hour climax, giving Fox its
best Wednesday ratings in history.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003IDOL ... : For those
folks
wondering when we'll be posting
Q&A's with
American Idol
champ
Ruben Studdard and runners-up Clay Aiken
and Kimberley Locke, well, I'm working on bringing
them to you
ASAP. But don't hold your breath for that
revealing Josh Gracin
interview. According to Fox,
the angry marine has returned to military duty and
is
unavailable to meet the press. How conveeeen ient.
Thursday, June 19, 2003IDOL WORSHIP:
American Idol
champ Ruben Studdard
and runner-up Clay Aiken
may have fought
a close race on the Fox talent show,
but on the singles charts,
it's no contest.
Aiken's
debuted at No. 1 with
sales of 393,000
copies — far ahead of Studdard's "Flying
Without Wings," which opened at No. 2 with 287,000
copies sold.
Friday, June 20, 2003IDOL SHOWDOWN: American Idol
champ Ruben Studdard
and runner-up Clay Aiken are going
head-to-head again —
this time on the album charts. RCA plans to release
both of
their upcoming as-yet-untitled
albums on the same day, Aug. 19,
Billboard.com
reports. If single sales
are any indication, Aiken will likely
come out on top;
his "Bridge Over
Troubled Water" trumped Studdard's "Flying Without
Wings" 393,000 copies to 287,000 copies.
Monday, June 23, 2003IDOL SHOWDOWN : American Idol
champ Ruben
Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken are going
head-to-head
again — this time on the album charts. RCA plans to release
both of
their upcoming as-yet-untitled albums on the same
day, Aug. 19, Billboard.com
reports. If
single sales are any indication, Aiken
will likely come out on top;
his
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" trumped
Studdard's "Flying Without Wings"
393,000 copies to 287,000 copies.
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
showdown between
American Idol
champ Ruben
Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken.
The record
company is reversing an earlier decision to release the
duo's debut albums simultaneously on Aug. 19. "They're
not going to come out on the same day," an
RCA spokesperson tells TV Guide
Online. "They're going to be spaced
apart." For more on this story, click here.
Friday, August 22, 2003Clay'S WAY: It's official! American
Idol runner-up
Clay Aiken's debut album will hit stores Oct. 14 —
nearly a month before the Nov. 11 drop date of AI
winner Ruben
Studdard's CD. "It just don't make no
sense for
Clay to have his album chillin' when he could
just do his thing," Studdard told The Associated
Press ,
explaining that promotional duties have cut into
his own time in
the recording studio.
"I just want to be able to do the best
possible
project I possibly can. I don't
want to just come out with an
American
Idol souvenir album, you know what
I'm saying?"
Monday, August 25, 2003
American Idol
champ Ruben Studdard
is apparently throwing his
weight behind a new cause:
higher taxes. The Velvet Teddy Bear will perform two
free
concerts in his native Alabama on Sept. 2 and 5
to help promote Republican
Gov. Bob
Riley's tax increase proposals. In
related news, AI
runner-up
Clay Aiken will perform his hit single
"This Is the Night" at the Sept. 20 Miss America pageant.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
are out! In the male pop-rock artist category,
American Idol
runner-up Clay Aiken is competing with
the big boys — Kid Rock,
John Mayer and Justin Timberlake.
Meanwhile, Celine Dion
snagged two nods: The one
for favorite adult contemporary artist
puts her up
against Cher and Norah
Jones. The other, for fave female
pop-rock
artist, has her vying with
Avril Lavigne and J.Lo. Eminem
got
nods for favorite male rapper and the
8 Mile soundtrack, while Sean Paul and Missy
Elliott also are up for hip-hop honors.
Monday, October 13, 2003
American Idol fans. Fox will air an American Idol
holiday
special on Nov. 25 featuring
alums Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard
and Clay Aiken singing your favorite
Yuletide hits. Why is the network
scheduling a Christmas special two
days before Thanksgiving , you
ask? Because they
want to get it in before the end of November sweeps,
silly. 'Tis
the season!
HE'S STILL THE MAN:
Speaking of American Idol ,
Clay Aiken 's debut album Measure of a Man held on to
the
top spot on Billboard 's album chart despite
suffering a 64 percent
dip in sales.
Measure sold 225,000 for a two-week
otal of 838,000. Rod Stewart's As
Time Goes By: The Great American
Songbook Part II entered the chart
at No. 2 with sales of 212,000 copies.
Stewart Nabs No. 2, Album Sales Climb Again
Entertainment - Reuters
By Geoff Mayfield
again -- except without Nirvana, the "Titanic"
soundtrack
and all those pesky cassettes -- as album sales beat
those of the
same week of 2002 for the
seventh week in a row.
news )
playing the
role of Pied Piper, enjoying his
biggest-ever Nielsen SoundScan
week,
this is the longest stretch of growth over comparative
prior-year sales
since third-quarter 2001, when an
eight-week run of U.S. album volume gains got
snapped
by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
album sales and
the boom that was 2000 got wider. The lag
continued from the start of 2002
through
the week ending Sept. 7 of this year, a
drought during which only the
fluctuation of holiday dates accounted
for the few occasions when album sales
beat those of the same week of the previous year.
growth Nielsen SoundScan
numbers revealed through
most of the '90s, but the ride comes to a halt next
week,
when music stores compete with the week that the
soundtrack from Eminem (news
-
web sites )'s "8 Mile" arrived.
"8 Mile" start with 702,000 copies,
but new
titles from Christina Aguilera
(news ),
Nirvana, Rascal Flatts and
Tori Amos (news )
also landed within
the Billboard 200's top seven rungs, with
those four titles adding, collectively, another 841,000
units of new business to the mix. Still, even with five
new titles bowing inside the top 10, sales tailed those
of the same week in 2001 by 8.5%, a snapshot of how
tough a year 2002 was.
outing by the Strokes, which should
be
the next Hot Shot Debut with about
105,000, based on first-day reports
from
retailers, while R.E.M
(news
-
web sites ) and Gerald Levert (news )
also are primed to reach the top 10. Even so, this
crop is destined to fall shy
of the "8 Mile" yield.
lighter chart volume
represents a speed bump, and not a wall.
like "Maggie May" or "You Wear
It
Well" or disco-era hits like
"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy," could you
ever have
imagined a day when the
feisty singer would not only record American
standards
but also prosper from doing so?
"It Had to Be You ... The Great American
Songbook," was quite the building block.
Volume II" arrives at No. 2
with an opener of 212,000
copies, handsomely beating his best previous
Nielsen SoundScan week by almost
100,000.
His prior best came when the first
standards package began at No. 4 with
115,000. That title, by the way, earns
Greatest Gainer honors, advancing 95-46
(up 73%) thanks to hoopla over "As Time Goes By,"
including a stop on "The Oprah
Winfrey (news )
Show."
Strategic Marketing
anthology, which more than doubles
its prior-week sales to re-enter at No. 125.
But that
company's big noise this week belongs
to a hits package by another
veteran
act, as the Eagles land at No. 3 with
162,000 copies.
openers than their
first-day numbers seemed to
indicate. The former, in fact, bolstered by a strong
showing at Costco stores, falls less than 13,000
units shy of chart leader Clay
Aiken, who has a
second-week dip of 63%.
almost 17,000 direct-to-consumer sales.
A younger artist also posts a larger
week than her first-day sales had
suggested, as another Winfrey guest,
Mandy Moore (news ),
enters at No. 14.
Although she has had two other SoundScan
weeks larger than
this 53,000-unit start, this is a
higher Billboard 200 peak than her three
earlier
albums saw, beating the No. 21 crest her sophomore
album earned in 2000.
debuts, as hip-hopper Loon, R&B
singer
Marques Houston and rock
band Something Corporate all debut in the top 25.
has bubbled on radio's
radar for a while. He has
appeared on no less than eight singles that reached
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, including cuts
by 3LW, Lyric, Toni Braxton (news ),
LSG and his label's
founder, P. Diddy.
has a radio audience of 16 million at
No.
28 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single
& Tracks.
set (51,000), his solo bow. He previously was
with
the R&B act IMx (formerly Immature).
Houston first charted as a solo artist
earlier this
year with the single "That Girl," through
T.U.G./A&M/Interscope.
Since then, however,
Houston shifted to T.U.G./Elektra. His latest track,
the R.
Kelly-produced "Clubbin," is at No. 12 on Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, with
30
million in audience.
"North" (No. 24, 41,500 units), earns
the
band its best sales week ever.
started with 12,000 copies in May
2002.
MTV2's "New Faces of Rock" and
"Advanced Warning"
programing helped build Something's awareness, as did a
summer tour with 311.
Smokie Norful is two for two on Top Gospel
Albums, earning his second No. 1
there.
Edition" also reaches higher ground
on Top R&B
Hip-Hop Albums (No. 24)
and the Billboard 200 (No. 90) than his first album
achieved. "I Need You Now" peaked at No. 26 on the
former, No. 154 on the
latter.
Stratospheric First Week Sales Send Clay Aiken's Debut
Album to Number One on The Billboard 200
Measure Of A Man' is Double Platinum;
Sells Extraordinary 613,000 Copies the
First Week
Aiken Has Second-Highest
Sales Figure for a Debuting Solo
Artist in the SoundScan Era
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ --
"Measure Of A Man," Clay Aiken's much-anticipated
debut album, is already double platinum and had an
extraordinary first week at retail, with sales of 613,000
copies and a smashing debut at No. 1 on The Billboard
200.
Aiken has the third highest first-week sales figure of
2003, and the second-highest first week total of any
debuting solo artist in the SoundScan era.
"Measure Of A Man" sold more copies
than any other album by a debuting
solo artist since Snoop Dogg's
"Doggystyle" in December 1993.
"Clay Aiken is truly a major talent who will have a
long-lasting music career. He has an extraordinary
voice and very special natural charisma, which have
clearly captivated millions. Clay's debut album's
explosive sales is almost without historical precedent
and we're all over the moon about his album's startling
success." Clive Davis, Chairman and CEO- RCA Music
Group "I am so proud of Clay. He is an
inspiration to everyone around him.
He is immensely talented, hard
working and intelligent, yet still
self-deprecating. Such enormous
and remarkable success could not
be happening to a more deserving person."
Simon Fuller, Clay Aiken manager, creator
and executive producer of American Idol.
Shipping double platinum and debuting at No. 1
were just a part of the most memorable week in
Aiken's life. He also performed the National Anthem
at the first game of the World Series, made
his debut on "The Tonight Show With
Jay Leno," and appeared on
"Good Morning America,"
"The Early Show," "The View,"
and "TRL."
As "Measure Of A Man" continues to fly off the
shelves, there's much more coming up for Aiken.
He will perform live on "The American Music
Awards" on Nov. 16. He has been nominated for
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist as well as the Fan's
Choice Award. Aiken is also scheduled to appear on
"The Billboard Music Awards," live from Las
Vegas on Dec. 10.
On November 25th, he'll sing holiday
favorites from the RCA album
"American Idol: The Holiday Classics"
on "American Idol: Christmas Songs,"
a FOX-TV special airing at 8pm. On Nov. 27th
he will participate in Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade and on Nov. 28th he'll be one of the stars
of Nick At Night Holiday Christmas Special.
Group of Companies was founded by Simon Fuller in
1985 and has achieved over 35 No. 1 singles and 13 No. 1
albums. Fuller also has an impressive tally of over
60 Top 40 albums and 170 Top 40
singles in the UK alone. Fuller created
and managed the Spice Girls, who
became a global phenomenon under
his guidance, selling over 38 million albums.
In 1998, Fuller's 19 launched S Club 7, which has sold
10 million CDs worldwide, while its three television
series to date have consistently topped children's
viewing figures, reaching 104 countries. In 2001,
Simon Fuller's 19TV created and produced the
television phenomenons "Pop Idol" and "American Idol."
"Pop Idol" launched the singing careers of Will
Young and Gareth Gates in the UK, of
whom are managed by Fuller and
signed to his 19 Recordings record
label, while "American Idol" did the
same for Kelly Clarkson in the US
where she has sold over 2million albums
and had a #1 single with Miss Independent.
Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Tamyra Gray,
Christina Christian,
Clay Aiken, and Ruben
Studdard all of whom are managed by 19
Management.
BMG is the global music division of Bertelsmann
AG, one of the world's leading media
companies. BMG owns more than 200
record labels in 42 countries including
Ariola, Arista Records, J Records,
Jive Records, RCA Records and
RCA Label Group - Nashville. In
addition, BMG's music publishing operations
are the third largest in the world.
SOURCE RCA Music Group
CO: RCA Music Group
ST: New York
SU:
Web site: http://www.rcarecords.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
Stratospheric First Week Sales Send
Clay Aiken's Debut Album to Number
One on The Billboard 200
Measure Of A Man' is Double Platinum; Sells
Extraordinary 613,000 Copies the
First Week
Aiken Has Second-Highest Sales Figure for a Debuting
Solo Artist in the
SoundScan Era
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- "Measure Of A Man,"
Clay Aiken's much-anticipated debut album, is already double
platinum and had an extraordinary first week
at retail, with sales of 613,000 copies and
a smashing debut at No. 1 on The
Billboard 200. Aiken has the third highest
first-week sales figure of 2003, and the
second-highest first week total of any
debuting solo artist in the SoundScan era.
"Measure Of A Man" sold more copies than
any other album by a debuting solo artist since
Snoop Dogg's "Doggystyle" in December 1993.
"Clay Aiken is truly a major talent who will have
a long-lasting music career. He has an extraordinary
voice and very special natural charisma,
which have clearly captivated millions.
Clay's debut album's explosive sales
is almost without historical precedent
and we're all over the moon about his
album's startling success." Clive Davis, Chairman and
CEO- RCA
Music Group
The immediate success of the CD is the latest
achievement in an amazing year for the 24-year-old
native of Raleigh, North Carolina. On Oct. 14, 2002,
he auditioned for "American Idol" for the first time.
One year later to the day, his album
"Measure Of A Man"
was released by RCA. In reviewing
Clay's album as
"the best pop album of 2003"
Billboard magazine
went on to say, "Every song, every note
is brimming with glory. Throughout,
the timeless production focuses
squarely on Aiken's immense talent.
In another radio era, this album could
be the 'Thriller' of the day, spawning hit after hit.
'Measure of a Man' is an utter triumph."
The album was recorded in Los Angeles,
Miami, and
London under the close supervision
of album producer
Clive Davis, "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller,
and RCA executive Steve Ferrera. Among the songwriters
and producers who contributed to the album are
Steve Mac, Clif Magness, Desmond
Child, Steve Morales, and Rick
Nowels. In addition to original songs
like "I Will Carry You," "No More
Sad Songs," and "I Survived You,"
the album contains Aiken's current
hit at radio, "Invisible," and his
platinum single,
"This Is The Night." "I am so proud
of Clay.
He is an inspiration to everyone around him. He is
immensely talented, hard working and intelligent, yet
still self-deprecating. Such enormous and remarkable
success could not be happening to a more deserving
person." Simon Fuller, Clay Aiken
manager, creator and executive
producer of American Idol.
Shipping double platinum and debuting a
t No. 1 were just a part of the most
memorable week in Aiken's life. He
also performed the
National Anthem at the first game of
the World Series,
made his debut on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,"
and appeared on "Good Morning America,"
"The Early Show," "The View," and "TRL."
As "Measure Of A Man" continues to fly off the shelves,
there's much more coming up for Aiken. He will perform
live on "The American Music Awards"
on Nov. 16. He has been nominated
for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
as well as the Fan's Choice Award.
Aiken is also scheduled to appear on
"The Billboard Music Awards," live
from Las Vegas on
Dec. 10.
On November 25th, he'll sing holiday favorites from
the RCA album "American Idol: The Holiday Classics"
on "American Idol: Christmas Songs," a FOX-TV
special airing at 8pm. On Nov. 27th he will participate
in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and on Nov. 28th he'll
be one of the stars of Nick At Night Holiday
Christmas Special.
Group of Companies was founded by
Simon Fuller in 1985 and has achieved
over 35 No. 1 singles and 13 No. 1
albums. Fuller also has an impressive tally of over 60 Top 40
albums and 170 Top 40 singles in the UK alone.
Fuller created and managed the Spice Girls, who
became a global phenomenon under his guidance, selling
over 38 million albums. In 1998, Fuller's 19 launched S
Club 7, which has sold 10 million CDs worldwide, while its
three television series to date have consistently topped
children's viewing figures, reaching 104
countries. In 2001, Simon Fuller's 19TV
created and produced the television
phenomenons "Pop Idol" and
"American Idol." "Pop Idol"
launched the singing careers of
Will Young and Gareth Gates in the UK, of whom are
managed by Fuller and signed to his 19 Recordings
record label, while "American Idol" did the same for
Kelly Clarkson in the US where she has sold over
2million albums and had a #1 single with Miss Independent.
Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Tamyra Gray, Christina Christian,
Clay Aiken, and Ruben Studdard all of whom are
managed by 19 Management.
BMG is the global music division of
Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's
leading media companies. BMG
owns more than 200 record labels
in 42 countries including Ariola, Arista Records,
J Records, Jive Records, RCA Records and RCA
Label Group - Nashville. In addition, BMG's music
publishing operations are the third largest in the world.
SOURCE RCA Music Group
CO: RCA Music Group
ST: New York
SU:
Web site: http://www.rcarecords.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
10/24/2003 18:01 EDT
Oldies are still goodies
By Fred Bronson
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Dave Stewart and
Barbara Gaskin once sang, "The '60s never die."
It's a lyric that rings true on the Billboard 200, where
Barbra Streisand, Simon & Garfunkel and Tom Jones
have new entries this week.
Streisand's "The Movie Album" (Columbia) opens
at No. 5, making it her first top 10 album
of the 21st century and her
highest-ranking title since "Higher
Ground" spent a week at No. 1 in
November 1997. With an album-chart
span stretching back 40 years and seven months,
Streisand has had 27 albums reach the top 10.
Of those, 17 have made the top five. Streisand had
nine top 10 albums in the '60s, seven in the '70s, six in
the '80s and four in the '90s.
The excitement of a reunion tour propels "The Essential
Simon & Garfunkel" (Legacy/Columbia) to a No. 27
debut. As a duo, Simon & Garfunkel have
not appeared on the chart since 1982,
when "The Concert in Central Park"
peaked at No. 6.
Simon was on the Billboard 200 as
recently as December 2002 with
"The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't
Know Where I'm Goin'." The "Essential" CD marks
his highest ranking since "You're the One" peaked at
No. 19 in October 2000. For Garfunkel, "Essential"
represents his highest posting since "Watermark" went to
No. 19 in 1978. His last title to chart before "Essential"
was "Lefty" in the spring of 1988.
(Simon's other partner also has an
album debuting this week. His wife,
Edie Brickell, is new at No. 188 with
"Volcano" Universal.)
Despite hitting it big in Europe in 2000 with "Sex Bomb,"
Jones has been away from the Billboard album chart
since 1981, when "Darlin"' peaked at No. 179.
"Reloaded: Greatest Hits" (Decca/UTV) is new at
No. 171 and is Jones' highest-charting set since "Say
You'll Stay Until Tomorrow" went to No. 76 in 1977.
PACK BACK
Clay IT FORWARD
At the opposite end of the spectrum
from the artists who began their
areers in decades gone by, the man
sitting on top of the Billboard 200 is
experiencing his first week on the tally under his own name.
Clay Aiken's "Measure of a Man" (RCA) is the first
album by a debuting male artist to reach pole position
this year. The only other artists to have No. 1 albums
in 2003 with their first releases are Norah Jones and
Aiken's fellow "American Idol" finalist, Kelly Clarkson.
CRY UNCLE
With 22 weeks on top, "Drift Away"
(Lava) by Uncle Kracker Featuring
Dobie Gray is the longest-reigning
No. 1 song in the history of the Adult
Contemporary chart. Kracker and
Gray take the title from the previous champ, Celine Dion,
who occupied the summit for 21 weeks in 2002 with
"A New Day Has Come."
Reuters/Billboard
10/24/03 19:44 ET
Aiken's Debut Measures Up
By Geoff Mayfield
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) -
The measure of Clay Aiken's debut
album "Measure of a Man" is
considerable: At 613,000 copies,
this is the second-largest opening week for an act's first album
in Nielsen SoundScan history.
Aiken's bow is the third-largest opener of 2003,
behind 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin' "
(872,000 copies) and Linkin Park's "Meteora" (810,000).
Overall, "Measure" is the year's fifth-largest sales week.
Aside from the two above-mentioned tallies, 50 Cent's
"Get Rich" moved 822,000 in its second week,
and Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me"
notched 621,000 after her Grammy
Awards sweep.
Since 1991, when the Billboard 200
began using SoundScan data, Snoop Dogg has been the only
irst-time artist to reach a larger first week. He opened at
803,000 copies in 1993 when "Doggy Style" arrived --
back in the day when he went by the moniker Snoop
Doggy Dogg. Aiken bumps from second place another
man who has changed names, Puff Daddy (now P. Diddy).
"No Way Out" by Puff Daddy & the Family, his first album
as a recording artist, began with 561,000 in 1997.
As is the case with almost every album
under the sun, the New York metro
area is Aiken's largest sales market.
But in this case, the market that is
typically the second-largest
contributor, Los Angeles, takes a back seat to Aiken's
hometown, as the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., cluster
gobbles up 37,000 copies. The NYC market sold
38,000 copies, while the L.A. area ranked third in
Aiken's posse, with 28,500.
STAYING POWER
Sometimes stubbornness can be a virtue. A case in
point is the recent OutKast album, which
has proved to be a stubborn kind of
seller, the kind that could hang in the
Billboard 200's top 10 through the
holiday season.
After starting with 510,000, "Speakerboxxx/The Love
Below" had a 54% decline, a typical second-week drop
after a huge start. For example, Ludacris, last week's
chart champ, sees a 55% slide (No. 2, 194,000), and
Clay Aiken might fall by as much as 60% in his sophomore
week.
OutKast's drop in week three slowed to 20%, and the
erosion from prior-week sales is only 10%
this issue (No. 4, 168,000). The album
has sold 1.1 million copies in a mere
four weeks.
Meanwhile, does it surprise you that
the longest-staying album in the top 10 belongs to teen
star Hilary Duff? She has logged eight weeks on the
Billboard 200 (No. 9), all but one of them in the top 10.
New chart king Clay Aiken draws a big chunk of the
30-plus crowd, but his fast start is not the only adult-leaning
album that stands out this week.
Barbra Streisand starts at No. 5 with 162,000, the biggest
week for any of her albums since "Higher
Ground" peaked at 465,000 copies in
1997. The first week for "The Movie
Album" is 11% more than the 1999
start of "A Love Like Ours."
Four other Streisand sets, including two compilations,
have bowed since then. Of those, the biggest week
belonged to the 2001 holiday outing "Christmas
Memories," which moved 136,000 in its fattest week.
Also key for the graying consumer: Simon & Garfunkel,
whose latest anthology coincides with a reunion tour (No. 27);
a CD/DVD combo from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin &
Sammy Davis Jr. (No. 38 and No. 1 on Top
Music Videos); and Will Downing
(No. 92 and No. 2 on Top
Contemporary Jazz).
Downing's 14,000-unit start comes
within a few hundred of matching his biggest Nielsen
SoundScan week, set by "Sensual Journey," which
peaked at No. 90.
Michael McDonald's "Motown" rallies its sixth
consecutive growth week since the album became
the soundtrack of a TV ad for MCI, a spot that ran
frequently during the baseball playoffs (45-39, up 17%).
And Andrea Bocelli's "Sacred Arias,"
reintroduced as a special edition with
an 18-track DVD as its centerpiece,
captures No. 1 on Top Classical
Albums and No. 18 on Top Music
Video. The original CD-only version, released in 1999, led
the classical list for 39 weeks. He will be doing an
eight-city U.S. tour to support this release.
STANDARD PROCEDURE
Another adult fave, Rod Stewart, is on track to be next
week's Hot Shot Debut. "As Time Goes By ... The
Great American Songbook Volume II," his sequel to the
standards album he released last year, is on
track to start with 150,000-160,000
copies, according to retailers' first-day
numbers.
The kick seen this week by Stewart's
first standards set hints at the new album's potential, as it
rises 139-95 with a 41.5% gain over prior-week sales.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, his "It Had to Be
You ... The Great American Songbook" has sold
1.8 million copies to date, including 115,000 in its first
week, his biggest SoundScan frame yet.
Stewart made a release-week visit to "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" Oct. 22.
Another recent Winfrey guest, the
woman who gained notoriety for
wondering on her MTV reality series
if a certain brand of tuna is chicken,
wins Pacesetter honors (127-74, up 73%).
Jessica Simpson was on "Larry King Live"
during the tracking week.
Reuters/Billboard
10/25/03 10:57 ET
Boomers
Buoy the Struggling Record Industry
The New York Times
Beyoncé Knowles and 50 Cent have two
of the best-selling albums so far this
year. Nonetheless, when Borders
Books & Music recently redesigned
the layouts of
the music sections in its more than 420
superstores, the CD's from these and
other young
hit-makers were booted from prime browsing display
space in favor of
albums from the likes of Rod Stewart,
Sting and Barbra Streisand.
Billboard top 200
albums chart demonstrated.
While **********Clay Aiken ,
runner-up in the most
recent "
American Idol" contest and no hipster
himself, took the top spot with
his
debut album, "Measure of a Man,"
Mr. Stewart finished second with "As Time
Goes By:
The Great American Songbook Vol. II."
New releases from Ms. Streisand and the Eagles also
landed in the Top 10. All
told, artists over the age of
40, like Bette Midler, Van Morrison, Michael
McDonald
and Simon and Garfunkel, held 11 of the top 50 spots in the
Billboard
chart. In the same week last year, 7 baby
boomers finished in the Top 50.
older artists and of singers like Norah
Jones,
who appeal to less cutting-edge
tastes offers some solace to an industry
mired
in a three-year sales slump. Record executives
are desperate for any hopeful
sign, even if it comes
from people with more wrinkles than tattoos.
decline on the
file-sharing networks on the Internet, and have
sued or threatened to sue
hundreds of people for
illegally distributing free music online.
more affluent consumers who grew up
buying
their music on vinyl LP's,
seldom uses the free file-sharing sites, according to
Forrester Research. And because they account for a
growing segment of the
record-buying public, labels
are increasingly tailoring their releases and their
marketing, particularly on television, to reach them.
Will Botwin, the
president of Sony Music
Entertainment's Columbia Records,
hich released the
albums by Ms.
Streisand and Ms. Midler. "And
they're starting to get served."
melting away. The
biggest-selling album of the year
is expected to be the rapper 50 Cent's "Get
Rich or
Die Tryin'," according to Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's
director of
charts.
presence known in the industry.
Last
year, shoppers over the age of 40,
who tend to gravitate to graying
artists, bought more than 35 percent
of all units sold, according to the
Recording Industry
Association of America (news
-
web sites ). Ten years
ago, they accounted for 22.6 percent of all sales.
of the music industry: the
never-ending repackaging of golden
oldies. The Eagles have already released two
volumes of
greatest hits, not to mention a boxed set. But
that did not stop Time
Warner's Warner
Strategic Marketing label from
releasing a double CD of "The
Very
Best Of" on Oct. 23. The album sold 162,000 copies, and finished third in
its first week on the charts.
Elvis Presley's "Elvis: 2nd to None" and "The Essential
Simon & Garfunkel" also
made strong showings on
the chart. But shoppers are also buying albums of
vintage stars recording tried-and-true songs.
Mr. Stewart, a long way from his "Da
Ya Think I'm Sexy"
days, now croons classics like "As Time Goes By" and
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" (a duet with
Cher), and sold 212,000 copies
of his new
album in the first week. (His 2002
volume of standards leapt from 95
to 46 on this week's chart and has
sold 1.8 million copies so far.)
Ms. Streisand's "The Movie Album,"
Mr. McDonald's "Motown" and "Bette Midler Sings
the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" also follow the concept.
every song on the album,
they are well-chosen, and there is
a chemistry and magic that is appealing to
the public,"
said Clive Davis, chairman of BMG's
RCA Music Group, whose J
Records
label produced both of Mr. Stewart's
collections.
pay for the music. "We
feel like we're losing less sales
to file sharing" on albums by older artists,
as well as
those by younger artists who appeal to baby boomers,
like Ms. Jones,
John Mayer and Josh Groban,
Mr. Botwin, of Columbia Records, said.
"From Discs to Downloading," an August
report by Josh Bernoff, principal
analyst
for Forrester Research,
bolsters Mr. Botwin's file-sharing
thesis. The report
found that while
one-half of consumers ages 22 and
younger use file-sharing
software, only one in nine
people ages 23 years old and older do so.
campaigns for new albums is
also likely to inspire copycats.
Until recently, the major labels rarely used
television
advertisements to drive music fans to stores, c
ontent to leave the
airwaves to the
direct marketing purveyors of
schlocky compilations like K-Tel.
Group created UTV Records
to sell compilation albums
and single-artist retrospectives through television
advertisements. The new label has issued compilations
from Tom Petty, the Bee
Gees and Kiss.
to," said Kevin
Gore, executive vice president for
sales and marketing at Warner Strategic
Marketing. Aggressive television
advertising campaigns, like the one
for the
Beatles' "1" compilation in
2000, can turn what would have been a modest-selling
album
10 year years ago into a chart-topper today, he said.
Warner Strategic Marketing began airing spots for
the Eagles' "Very Best Of" on
networks like CNN,
MSNBC, MTV and VH1 a month before the album was
released.
of artists labels can push, as
well as the
consumers they can reach.
and MTV to drive music sales, said
Bruce Resnikoff, the president of
Universal Music Enterprises, part of Vivendi
Universal.
But as radio stations narrow their playlists of songs,
fewer artists
can reach fans over the airwaves.
ones, on MTV. General
television advertisements allow
labels to reach older potential buyers, Mr. Resnikoff said.
Label executives hope that when older fans see an ad for
an
Elton John disc on NBC's "Today" s
how, they will pick up the disc while
shopping
in Wal-Mart, Best Buy,
Target, or Barnes & Noble the stores
they frequent more
often than record
stores.
month's arrival of a music
magazine called Tracks.
Leaving the younger set to magazines like Rolling Stone,
Blender and Spin, Tracks plans to cater to the musical
tastes of adults over 30.
feeling of
optimism in the music industry.
The latest Billboard chart represents
the
seventh week in a row that weekly
sales in 2003 have bested sales in the
corresponding week last year.
spurt, sales in 2003
are still off 6.2 percent from the
comparable period in 2002. And if the
record-buying
habit is not passed down to a generation raised on
Napster (news
-
web sites ), the current troubles of the
music business will seem as mild as
Barry Manilow.
away and all that's left
are the adults,"
said Billboard's Mr. Mayfield. "That
hasn't totally happened.
And we
ught to get scared if kids do lose interest
in paying for music."
Canadian Idol Ryan Malcolm to appear on American idol
TV Christmas special
TORONTO (CP) - Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm
will join his American
counterparts Kelly Clarkson (news )
and Ruben Studdard on An American Idol Christmas, a
one-hour holiday special
airing on CTV Nov. 25.
Let It Snow, which will also be included
on the new CD American Idol:
The Great Holiday Classics, released
this week by
BMG Canada.
first two seasons of
American Idol, including Clay Aiken ,
Justin Guarini and Kimberly Locke.
week in Hollywood. He's also scheduled to sing the
national anthem at the Grey Cup game in Regina on
Nov. 16, and his debut CD, including the single
Something More, is to be released Dec. 9.
Britney,
Bruce Make Beautiful MusicBy Julie Keller
Music pirates beware. Two music giants
have just announced plans to form a
powerful alliance in
the fight to save the recording industry. SNE
-
news )oration
and Germany-based Bertelsmann AG ( news
-
web sites )
have announced initial plans to form a jointly owned music
company dubbed Sony BMG.
of the new venture. Should the merger
get approval from industry watchdogs,
Sony BMG will become the second-largest
music empire in the world behind Universal Music Group, potentially pulling in a
whopping $8 billion in global revenue and controlling 25 percent of the market.
difficult market,"
Bertelsmann chief Gunter Thielen told
German newswire DPA.
times," Andrew
Lack, chairman of Sony Music Entertainment,
said at a press conference Thursday.
"A partnership like this
allows us to manage our way through the difficulties."
business from each company. The
companies' music publishing,
distribution and manufacturing
businesses will be
kept separate.
have a powerful arsenal of
talent at its fingertips. BMG's
labels, including RCA, J Records, Jive and Arista, are
home to Elvis Presley ( news ),
Britney Spears ( news ),
Justin Timberlake ( news ),
Christina Aguilera ( news ),
Dido, OutKast, Rod Stewart ( news ),
Sarah McLachlan ( news ),
the Strokes, Avril Lavigne ( news ),
the Dave Matthews
Band, Kelly Clarkson ( news ),
Ruben Studdard
and *************Clay
Aiken. Sony's
Columbia and Epic Records'
rosters
feature the likes of Beyoncé Knowles
and Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez
( news ),
the Dixie Chicks ( news
-
web sites ), Celine Dion
( news ),
John Mayer ( news ),
Pearl Jam, Jagged Edge,
Train, Ricky Martin ( news ),
Tori Amos ( news ),
Fiona Apple
( news ),
AC/DC, Michael Jackson ( news ),
Billy Joel ( news ),
Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen ( news )
and Bob
Dylan ( news ).
up leadership duties between
its employees.
BMG chairman-CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz
would serve as chairman of
the joint
venture, while Sony's Lack will be
C.E.O. The Sony BMG board will also
be split down the middle, as well.
Don Ienner, Will
Botwin, Clive Davis and Antonio
"L.A." Reid will also keep their jobs.
U.S. and Europe,
but industry insiders seem to be cautiously
optimistic about the venture and its
possible impact on the music industry. Hollywood Reporter
that "many view this as something
to
invigorate the industry" after several
years of facing declining sales,
digital
music and increasing music piracy.
companies from five to four, but
that number could drop
to three as EMI and Time Warner continue to kick around
the idea of teaming up in these post-Napster ( news
-
web sites )
times. Should Sony BMG be approved and EMI and Time
Warner merge,
each would share about 25 percent of
the music biz with Universal (which just
gobbled up DreamWorks' music division).
The remaining 25 percent market share
would be controled by indie labels.
hoping these
mergers will help save a flagging industry.
Julien Raffelsbauer,
an analyst at Bank of America Corp.
in London, told Reuters," and mergers are the only way
to cut costs."
From
Justin to LawsuitBy Josh Grossberg
Justin Guarini
got famous for his singing,
but it's his supposed bad driving that's
keeping him
in the headlines.
terrorizing beachgoers with a wayward Jet Ski,
the floppy-haired
American Idol crooner is being sued by
a couple that claim Guarini
plowed into their car outside
Bethelem, Pennsylvania, according to the
Express-Times
of Easton, Pennsylvania.
and Adrienne Maiatico,
alleges the 25-year-old popster,
who hails from nearby Doylestown, became
distracted and was driving too fast when
he rammed his truck into their vehicle
on March 12, 2002, while they were
stopped at a red light.
too closely.
Initially, he planned to fight it, but by the
time his September 16, 2002 court
appearance rolled
around, he opted to remain in Los Angeles, where he
was
competing on the first season of American Idol ,
and instead paid a $25
fine and $75 in court costs.
neck and side in the
accident and is seeking
more than $100,000 in damages to ease
his pain and
suffering.
comment.
Justin's driving (in)ability
has earned him unwanted ink. Idol runner-up ran afoul with police at a lake
in Cedar
Hill, Texas, near Dallas, when he drove his personal
watercraft out of the water
and onto the beach, coming within
spitting distance of a young girl. After the
girls'
parents complained, he was cited for
reckless operation of a motorized
watercraft, a misdemeanor, and
ordered to pay a $145 fine.
is keeping people from
paying attention to his less than
scintillating musical career. His self-titled
solo debut
barely registered on the charts last June and From Justin
to
Kelly , his beach blanket bingo of a movie opposite
Idol champ Kelly
Clarkson ( news ),
flat-out tanked.
singer's still
milking his Idol fame. Guarini
urrently can be heard getting his jingle
on in American Idol: The Great Holiday
Classics , a Yuletide album
featuring
such other Idol luminaries as Clarkson,
Ruben Studdard and
Clay Aiken.
Toby
Keith "Shocks" the Charts
Entertainment - E! Online
to My Yahoo! By David Jenison
Toby Keith ( news )
knows how to shock 'em. Despite being
the biggest loser at last week's
Country Music Association Awards ,
Keith
wound up the biggest winner on the album chart.
left the ceremony empty-handed and
without the added promotion a few
wins would have provided. Not that he
needed
it--Keith's new album,
Shock'n
Y'All , rode a patriotic wave all the way to number one,
selling
a career-best 585,000 copies last week, according
to SoundScan numbers released
Wednesday.
Unleashed , which
was fuled by the Taliban-thrasing single
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
(The Angry American)."
In the same spirit, the new album features tracks like
"The Taliban Song," "American Solider"
and the number one country hit,
"I Love
This Bar."
McLachlan ( news ),
who returned after a six-year mommy
sabbatical with
Afterglow selling more than 361,000
copies at number two. Her previous
best sales week
came when her live collection Mirrorball debuted at
number three with sales of 221,000 back in 1999.
different tone than
Toby, in the track "World on Fire."
Although a runner-up on the overall sales
chart,
Afterglow , which features the single
"Fallen," topped the Internet
and
Alternative charts. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 14 ,
the latest installment in the
popular series, nabbed the
three spot selling nearly 322,000 copies. The latest
disc
features hits by Black Eyed Peas, Chingy, Thalia and
Justin Timberlake ( news ).
Another hits collection,
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow ( news ) ,
followed at four with
246,000 copies.
140,000 copies of
Blood in My Eye . The
Murder Inc. rapper likely benefited from
a recent
televised interview with Nation
of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan that
specifically addressed Ja's feud with
50 Cent.
as Payable on Death
(the group's full name) opened at
nine with 106,000 copies. The sales were just
short of the
band's career-high number-six bow for 2001's Satellite . Speakerboxxx/
The Love Below
at five, Rod Stewart ( news )'s
As Time Goes By...Great American
Songbook: Vol. II at seven,
Clay Aiken's
Measure of a Man at eight
and Ludacris' Chicken & Beer at 10. Coldplay Live
2003 sold 71,000
copies for a number-13 finish. The
double-disc set, which topped SoundScan's
Music Video
chart, was recorded July 21 and 22 at the Horden Pavilion
in Sydney.
This Left Feels Right:
Greatest
Hits with a Twist , debuted at 14, selling
