Easily two of Urban music’s most anticipated releases, Jay-Z‘s ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ and Ciara‘s self-titled fifth album have been the hottest of topics as their arrivals drew nearer.
Now, after a full week on shelves, the numbers both projects sold are finally in.
Find out what they are below…
According to Hits Daily Double, Roc Nation mogul Jay has nabbed the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 this week after shifting over half-a-million copies of the “surprise” project (528,208 to be exact). This comes as quite the coup for Poppa Blue as ‘Magna’ has already been snapped up by one million Samsung Galaxy users, who downloaded the LP for free as part of an innovative (and controversial) “app” promotion.
Comeback kid Ciara is the week’s second biggest chart-er; her latest set opens at #2 with 57,515 units sold. The figure marks a significant increase from the first-week numbers of 2010’s ‘Basic Instinct’ which premiered at #44 after selling 20,000 less than this. Particularly important to note in Ci’s case is the fact that the project is yielding hit singles. Indeed, as at writing, its lead effort ‘Body Party’ sits at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, while its follow-up ‘I’m Out (ft. Nicki Minaj)’ was the highest debut on the same chart last week – opening at #50 thanks to the millions of streams its high-octane video is generating. Put simply, the goal with every project is (or, at least should be) to establish a successful “slant” and in Ms. Harris’ case, it appears hit singles is that slant this go round.
Commercial comebacks, especially in the current climate, take time. Hence, should Ciara keep achieving such mainstream success with her singles with this project, she’ll essentially set up the soundest of foundations for the next…on all fronts (see: radio, video views, singles sales, popularity, so on and so forth).
After all, let’s not forget how long it took a certain Bajan beauty to transform from a singles act in to a viable Pop force. Not to mention how costly. Still, it paid off rather handsomely for all involved. Therefore, having essentially gone back to drawing board with CiCi, there’s no reason why her resurgence can’t follow a similar path. Her talent (and the fact few, if any, can step in her “lane”) almost demands it.
Anyway, that’s our two cents. Do you agree? As ever, hollerback below and let us know…