A lot of debuts on this week's album charts. Ne-Yo, Michael Buble, Rush, Tori Amos, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton were all tossed into the fray, as they released new albums.
The success of these artists supports the idea that it's better to be a cult figure than a popular artist. Sure, big time popular acts make a lot of money, and sell a lot of records, but it usually happens quickly, and most of them can't handle the newfound success. They either break up (Creed, boy bands, etc) or the public turns on them and they become a punchline (Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer). A cult artist can continue to make music without having to deal with the distractions of popularity or the subsequent backlash. They are judged on their music, rather than their image. If you ask an average person who Michael Buble is, they'd probably be like, "Oh, isn't that the Starbucks guy?" Yet the guy has sold 212,000 records in one week to a devout fan base. Those people are all big fans, so Michael Buble probably doesn't have to deal with much criticism. The guy has got it made.
Of course, the truly talented and fortunate artists, like Rush or Avril Lavigne, can get both the mainstream popularity and the cult fan base.
Anyway, remember this when Sanjaya is arrested in 2012 for robbing a bank while hopped up on PCPs.
Here are your top ten albums of the week...
1) Ne-Yo Because of You (251,000 copies sold)
2) Michael Buble Call Me Irresponsible (212,000)
3) Rush Snakes & Arrows (93,000)
4) Avril Lavigne The Best Damn Thing (89,000)
5) Tori Amos American Doll Posse (54,000)
6) Miranda Lambert Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (53,000)
7) Daughtry Daughtry (50,000)
8) Blake Shelton Pure BS (48,000)
9) NOW That's What I Call Music! 24 (46,000)
10) Carrie Underwood Some Hearts
Singles
Maroon 5 holds down the top spot for the second week in a row. Also, Akon has three songs on the Singles chart this week. That's not really a surprise, but what's a little odd is that all three are right next to each other. Check out the songs ranked #8 through #10. That's a lot of Akon. I feel like we should ring a bell, like hockey teams do when a player gets a hat trick.
In other news, everyone is giving rappers crap for using words like "bitch" and "ho." But how do T-Pain and Yung Joc get off so easily? Sure, "bitch" and "ho" can be demeaning. Especially if you are a bitch or ho, or if you have no sense of humor whatsoever. But what's really demeaning is getting terrible advice from a hip hop star. A lot of kids look up to these guys. While I maintain that musicians are not role models and parents should be the ones teaching life lessons, there is one important thing that hip hop stars must teach children: How to mack it. Yes, no kid is going to learn about macking from his parents. Macking has long been an art form passed down from hip hop songs to teenager. From the beginning of time -- or at least since the Sugarhill Gang - hip hop artists have been notorious for knowing how to mack it. Hell, even unheard of rappers get chicks. Look at Big Pun; that dude had to defend his elusive "non-player" status before he even had a hit song.
How does T-Pain factor in? Well, to tell kids that they should "buy a girl a drank" is bad advice. That simply doesn't work. There has never been a documented case in the history of mankind where a girl disliked a guy, and then the guy bought her a drink, and then she instantly liked him. The only way that could happen is if the guy gives the girl several drinks, or possibly one incredibly strong drink... and since that's a rape-law gray area, we're not going to count that. Guys, feel free to buy girls drinks, especially if you're on a date. Just don't expect it to be a deal-sealer, or to help very much at all. If a girl likes you, she's going to like you regardless of what you buy her. Unless she's a huge golddigger, in which case, you better break out the Visa.
And what happened to the days of rappers spending no money to get the booty? T-Pain, c'mon. Think of the children. What kind of example are you setting?
Here are your top ten singles of the week...
1) Maroon 5 "Makes Me Wonder"
2) Ne-Yo "Because of You"
3) T-Pain featuring Yung Joc "Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')"
4) Avril Lavigne "Girlfriend"
5) Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake "Give It To Me"
6) Carrie Underwood "I'll Stand By You"
7) Fergie featuring Ludacris "Glamorous"
8) Akon "Don't Matter"
9) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony featuring Akon "I Tried"
10) Gwen Stefani featuring Akon "The Sweet Escape"
See you next week.
