Britney Spears‘ latest album ‘Femme Fatale’ may be on course to hit #1 on the US charts, however British record-buyers aren’t as interested – if the record’s UK sales figures are anything to go by.
For, much like the 29 year old’s performances as of late, final figures for ‘Fatale’ on this side of the pond are both limp and lifeless.
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Despite much label backing, Spears’ 7th studio album could only manage a lowly #8 debut on the Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart. The singer’s last effort, 2008’s ‘Circus’, bowed at #4 with opening week sales of 76,000. Meanwhile, Tesco’s Mary Byrne – of X-Factor fame- saw her debut ‘Mine & Yours’ open at #6. Above Britney.
As such, ‘Fatale’ becomes the Spears’ lowest-charting studio album in the UK since ‘In the Zone’, which peaked at #13 in December 2003. What’s more, with sales between 27,000 – 30,000, it also serves as her lowest first week British sales to-date.
And yet while some may argue the mother of 2 to usually go on to sell solid numbers, there are two key variables today which weren’t so much the case in the above-such instances. They first is the fact that albums actually sold back then (pre/early download era); with the second being that during neither period was the public critique of Spears’ ability to deliver as an artist and performer as intense as it is now.
Put simply, this is shaping up to be quite the chart fatality. Sigh.