Some artists encounter their highest first week sales after an established career, and others encounter their lowest. Alicia Keys encounters the latter.
After a very aggressive promotional campaign, the singer only managed to push a lukewarm 161,038 units and opening at #1 on the Billboard 200. The first week sales her new album ‘Girl On Fire’ pales in comparison to previous projects such as 2001′s debut ‘Songs In A Minor’ (263,000), 2003′s ‘The Diary Of Alicia Keys’ (618,000), 2007′s ‘As I Am’ (742,000) and 2009′s ‘The Element Of Freedom’(417,000).
Every established R&B artist has encountered low sales this year so we can chalk it up to the genre itself not being as popular as it once was, as well as a recessional era and of course illegal downloading. Others may feel that the lead single in particular, was not strong enough to carry the album.
It only managed to do better than most of her R&B peers simply because RCA invested all of their budget money into her cause. Poor Christina Aguilera and Brandy were clearly not priority. As to whether it pays off in the long run is something that is yet to be seen. But it’s Alicia Keys, so let’s not rule her out just yet.
