Keyshia Cole flew the flag for R&B this week with the release of her sixth studio album ’11:11 Reset.’
But just how high did she fly? The first week numbers are in and they await after the jump…
Per Hits Daily Double, this how Cole’s sales stack up:
13,374
[Sales Plus Streaming]
**************
9,420
[Pure Sales]
With the Billboard 200 now being a consumption based chart combining sales and streams, her SPS figure will sadly see the LP debut at #36. The placement would been relatively better had it been tallied using pure sales alone [#15].
No matter which way it’s diced or sliced, this is not a good look. Even by R&B’s commercial standards.
It’s unfortunate because the album is Keyshia’s strongest body of work in years.
Awareness may be an issue. Because, while she had ‘Love & Hip-Hop’ in her arsenal, she was far from the focus on the show. So much so that few even knew the project was out.
Label-wise, she’s technically signed to a major (Epic), but it’s a distribution deal for her own imprint. Hence, in some regards, her LP (the first fruit of the joint union) was worked more like an indie release than one benefitting from the promotional muscle of the machine.
In any case, moving forward, our suggestion would be for her to hit the live circuit – alone or with others – to signal her return. She has the catalogue to re-engage her core audience. Perhaps upon successfully doing that, she can have another swing of the bat.
Enough from us though, what are…