For Justin Timberlake the Super Bowl was the goal-post that his entire comeback campaign was built around.
Indeed, in a move initially hailed as genius, the Pop crooner set the release of his album ‘Man Of The Woods’ for two days before he took to the stage at the Halftime Show.
However, his performance was unanimously panned by the media and most of the 106 million who tuned in.
And the result saw what looked like slam dunk strategy on paper quickly descend into a dismal disaster. One we’re sure he’d prefer wasn’t attached to the LP.
With the final numbers tallied, how did Justin do in the end? How bad was the damage? The answer to both awaits below…
Per Hits Daily Double, JT will open at #1 on the Billboard 2oo – BUT with the lowest first week sales of his career. The figures are:
295,982
[Sales Plus Streaming]
*********
242,557
[Pure Sales]
******************
A number 1 is number 1, so that’s a win and a spinnable angle for JT and his team.
However, no matter which way it’s diced or sliced the sales represent a dire dip from what was initially touted. After all, early forecasts (pre-release) earmarked the album to deliver north of 700,000. The end result was less than half.
Perhaps most alarming is the limited impact of streaming on his numbers.
Granted it remains to be seen how the project’s pure sales will hold up in the weeks ahead, streaming has proven a powerful metric for other artists to maintain steady sales and ultimately visibility on the charts.
Justin seems to be struggling on that front; a reality which could prove problematic for the LP’s longevity.
That said, the project appears to have birthed a brewing hit in ‘Say Something (ft. Chris Stapleton),’ so that “could” be the game-changer.
But in here and now, everything about this campaign looks like it’ll be an uphill battle for the ‘Man Of The Woods.’