Eight more Michael Jackson albums to follow 'Xscape'?

June 10, 2014 11:50

"We got more surprises coming," says producer Rodney Jerkins

As many as eight posthumous Michael Jackson albums could be released following the success of 'Xscape' earlier this year, reports suggest.

With Jackson renowned for recording a wealth of different songs for consideration on each of his studio albums, there is believed to be lots of material in the vaults and Rolling Stone reports that "eight more albums culled from outtakes and repackaged material could be released".

"We got more surprises coming," says producer Rodney Jerkins, who worked as a producer on 'Xscape' alongside Timbaland and Stargate. "I'm sure there are a few more great things out there," says Jerkins, "and, hopefully, we'll all have a chance to hear them."

'Xscape' became Jackson's 10th Official Albums Chart Number One album in the UK upon its release last month. However, the album failed to reach the top spot in America and was pipped to the post by The Black Keys and their album 'Turn Blue.'

Meanwhile, a Michael Jackson hologram appeared at the Billboard Music Awards last month (May 18) in Las Vegas. The hologram was 'wearing' a white and gold jacket and red trousers and performed the song 'Slave to the Rhythm'.

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Any Questions? Taylor Swift Just Sold 1.2 Million First-Week Albums...

Wednesday, October 31, 2012
by  paul

You could still argue that Taylor Swift would have sold even more if she'd licensed Spotify.  But most likely, she would have sold less: according to stats just released by Nielsen Soundscan and tweeted by the singer, Red shifted an unbelievable, record-setting 1.2 million copies during its first week alone.  And, this is in the US only.  

The result puts a recent, Spotify-powered success story by Mumford & Sons into a totally different light.  Leading into the Taylor release, Mumford's Babel set a massive streaming record on Spotify, and still went on to sell a sizable 600,000 first-week units.  The strategy of granting full access obviously worked, but in the end, Babel sold half of what Red sold.  These are different artists with different audiences, with different consumption behaviors. 

And, Red sold an almost unthinkable number of units, especially in such an album-challenged era.  Swift surpassed the previous million-plus first-week seller, Lady Gaga's Born This Way, by roughly 100,000 units, but Gaga received a tremendous boost from a sharply discounted, 99-cent album bonanza on Amazon.  That was a near-freebie for fans, and a subsidized attention-getter for Amazon.  

Yet Taylor's camp decided against such a ploy: in fact, Swift's label, Big Machine Records, expressly restricted Red from appearing on Amazon MP3 (and Google Play, for that matter).  The reason was simple: Big Machine wanted to prevent that sort of price-chopping from happening, a development that would have devalued the full-priced integrity for exclusive partners like iTunes, Target, and even Papa John's Pizza.

Which means, in the end, Red sold 1.2 million the old-fashioned way: at full price, and through a highly-controlled list of retail partners.  And the last album to reach that first-week tally was The Eminem Show, released in 2002 - before Spotify, before Amazon MP3, and even before the iTunes Music Store.

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Imagine Dragons & Lecrae Albums Headed for Top 10 on Billboard 200

by Keith Caulfield, L.A.  |   September 08, 2012 9:55 EDT

After hitting the top 40 on the Billboard 200 last month with its EP "Continued Silence," rock band Imagine Dragons is on its way to the top five of the Billboard 200 with its first full length set, "Night Visions."

Industry sources suggest that the album may sell between 60,000 to 70,000 copies by week's end on Sept. 9. The new Billboard 200 chart's top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 12.

Imagine Dragons Chat With Billboard

"Night Visions" is led by the hit single "It's Time," which reached No. 4 on the Alternative Songs chart in June. The tune has gained some high-profile placements in the trailer for the film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and will be covered in the first episode of the new season of "Glee" (Sept. 13).

Meanwhile, Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae is on his way to a career-high week. His sixth studio album, "Gravity," looks like it will become his first top 10 set. Those in the know think it might move around 60,000 to 70,000 -- easily his best sales week yet. The artist has never sold more than 28,000 of any album in a single week (according to Nielsen SoundScan), nor gone any higher than No. 15 on the Billboard (with "Rehab: The Overdose" in 2011).

As for next week's No. 1 slot, Matchbox Twenty should easily claim its first chart-topper with "North." Sources are saying the effort will sell near 110,000.

Matchbox Twenty Q&A: 'We Had This No-Fear Rule'

On Nielsen SoundScan's Building chart (below), Matchbox Twenty is No. 1 while Imagine Dragons and Lecrae are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. The Building tally is a precursor to the final Billboard 200 ranking -- reflecting the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan's tracking week as reported by six major merchants.

As for the rest of the Building chart's top 10: Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away" is No. 4, the "Now 43" album rests at No. 5 and Maroon 5's "Overexposed" is No. 6. Trey Songz's "Chapter V," fun.'s "Some Nights" and the Lumineers' self-titled album are in the Nos. 7-9 slots. Rounding out the top 10 is Two Door Cinema Club's new "Beacon."

Nielsen SoundScan Building ChartThe Building Chart reflects the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan's tracking week (which ends Sunday) as reported by six major merchants: iTunes, Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Starbucks, Target and Anderson Merchandisers. Billboard estimates that they make up about 85% of all U.S. album sales.

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StarKid's 'Space' Sets Sail, Debuts at No. 2 on Cast Albums Chart

Team StarKid is back on the Billboard charts with their latest release, "The Space Tour." The set flies in at No. 2 on the Cast Albums chart, selling 2,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Space" is blocked from the pole position by the No. 1 debut of the original Broadway cast recording of new musical "Once" (based on the hit film of the same name).

The StarKid production troupe (which includes "Glee" star Darren Criss) has made quite a name for itself since forming at the University of Michigan a few years ago. With a tiny budget (only $150), the ensemble composed and produced the original parody show "A Very Potter Musical" in April 2009.

Shortly thereafter, a filmed version of "Potter" -- a spoof of the "Harry Potter" books and films -- went viral on YouTube and made the StarKid folks stars.

"My Dick" Rises to Become First Charting Student Musical

The "Space Tour" album was recorded during the November 2011 trek of the same name, and features highlights from the troupe's earlier shows, including "A Very Potter Musical" and its follow-up "A Very Potter Sequel."

Brian Holden, one of StarKid's founding members, says that the ensemble is "definitely going to do another tour, but it's going to be totally different from the Space Tour." He's mum on the next trek's details, saying "As for where and when the next tour will be, we'll keep that a secret for now." For those that missed the Space Tour, aside from the album, a DVD of the show will be released on March 24.

Next up for the group in the short term is their newest parody musical, "Holy Musical B@man!" The show will debut on their YouTube channel in April.

StarKid's Billboard chart history dates back almost exactly two years this week. On March 27, 2010, its cast recording of the cheeky "Me and My Dick" musical debuted at No. 11 on Cast Albums. It made history as the first student-produced show to reach a Billboard chart.

Since then, the StarKid team has notched Billboard hits with 2010's compilation "A Very StarKid Album" and 2011's "Starship" cast recording. The latter debuted at No. 1 on the Cast Albums chart dated May 14, 2011.

Inside Darren Criss' Team StarKid: From "A Very Potter Musical" to S.P.A.C.E. Tour

It's been a whirlwind couple of years for the StarKid gang -- something that isn't lost on Holden.

"We've been unbelievably fortunate and overwhelmingly challenged at the same time," he says. "Being a part of StarKid has completely changed the course of my life. But more than anything I feel that all of our success is the direct result of our incredible fan base."

"Glee's" Darren Criss: The Billboard Cover Story

StarKid's YouTube channel has 225,000 subscribers and has amassed over 115 million views. The official Team StarKid Twitter account has nearly 100,000 followers, while their Facebook page has 177,000 likes.

"I think the past two years have been a coming of age story for StarKid," Holden says, "and the fans are growing with us, side by side, every step of the way."

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The top 10 songs and albums on the iTunes Store (AP)

iTunes' Official Music Charts for the week ending Jan. 2, 2012:

Top Songs:

1. "Sexy and I Know It," LMFAO

2. "We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)," Rihanna

3. "It Will Rain", Bruno Mars

4. "Set Fire to the Rain", ADELE

5. "Good Feeling", Flo Rida

6. "The One That Got Away", Katy Perry

7. "Ni(asterisk)(asterisk)as in Paris", Kanye West, JAY Z

8. "Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock)", LMFAO

9. "Someone Like You", ADELE

10. "Young, Wild & Free (feat. Bruno Mars)", Wiz Khalifa,Snoop Dogg

___

Top Albums:

1. "21", ADELE

2. "Own the Night", Lady Antebellum

3. "Ceremonials", Florence + The Machine

4. "Take Care", Drake

5. "Mylo Xyloto", Coldplay

6. "Sorry for Party Rocking", LMFAO

7. "Bangarang", Skrillex

8. "19", ADELE

9. "El Camino", The Black Keys

10. "Torches", Foster the People

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(copyright) 2011 Apple, Inc.

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