With the Holidays well and truly upon us, most of music’s heavy-hitters have already swung their new releases into stores. However, this week brings with it a relatively late addition – R. Kelly and his racy new album ‘Black Panties’.
The LP, which features the likes of Kelly Rowland, Ludacris, and 2 Chainz, serves as the Pied Piper’s twelfth studio effort.
How is the ‘My Story’ led LP set to fare on the sales front? Find out after the jump…
According to Billboard, ‘Panties’ is on course to become Kelly’s 15th debut within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 next week with sales of…
100,000
A blockbuster? Perhaps not. Yet, the figure is impressive nonetheless. Why? Well beyond the fact it’s a six digit number for an artist active for over 20 years, it’s also solid in the context of Kelly’s most recent releases.
Last year’s ‘Write Me Back’ opened with sales of 68,000, while 2010’s ‘Love Letter’ premiered with 154,000 units sold; when viewed in this guise, ‘Panties’ numbers demonstrate renewed interest in R&B’s reinging King. A fact no doubt attributable to his increased visibility in the media these days and on chart smashes such as Lady GaGa‘s ‘Do What You Want’ (With Ma Bodeh).
Keep it locked on TGJ to see how the actual numbers pan out next week.