SADE MAKES IT A HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY FOR BIZ
The reclusive pop-soul songstress returns with Soldier of Love, her first Epic album in 10 years, since 2000’s Lovers Rock, and sixth overall in a career that began in 1984 with Diamond Life.
According to one-day sales reports from those retailers not up to their necks in snow, the album will debut at #1 next week with a total somewhere between 400-425k, with bad weather back east and Valentine’s weekend shopping the two variables.
The week’s other top debut looks like Atlantic R&B crooner Jaheim, whose Another Round, the follow-up to 2007’s gold-certified The Makings of a Man, appears set to go over the 100k mark, and could do as well as 110k.
MCA Nashville country-rocker Josh Turner is angling for a strong, 60-65k debut for his latest effort, Haywire.
ForeFront Christian act tobyMac is on target for 40-50k, maybe more, with the religious market the big (pardon the pun) X factor.
RCA/RMG’s Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds collaboration, Live in Las Vegas, is on track for between 35-40k.
WaterTower Music’s soundtrack to the all-star movie Valentine’s Day opening this Friday, features a new Taylor Swift single and could be a wild card, with 20-25k forecasted, the same total expected for Sire’s Finland rockers HIM, whose aptly titled Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, Chapters 1-13, arrives just in time for that very special someone who likes some Scandanavian metal with their chocolates.
The market was up 3% vs. last week, down 8% vs. same week last year and down 5% year to date. You may now return to watching an exciting curling match at this year’s Winter Olympics, where maybe perhaps they can import some snow across the border from Washington, DC.
