“A Thousand Suns,” Linkin Park’s follow-up to “Minutes to Midnight,” is pacing for a number one debut on next week’s album sales chart. The news is not all rosy, however, as first week sales will pale in comparison to those for that 2007 release.
While “Midnight” moved over 600,000 first week units, “Suns” is looking at about 250-260,000 according to forecasts based on one-day extensions from Hits Daily Double.
Closely behind will be Trey Songz’ “Passion, Pain and Pleasure,” which is currently eyeing a debut total of 220-230,000. Songz’ sales performance is trending upward from his previous release, undoubtedly a result of the additional television publicity he has received as of late.
Jamey Johnson’s “The Guitar Song” looks good for 60-65,000, outpacing Weezer’s “Hurley” (45-50,000). While a terrible number by Weezer’s historical standards, good news exists in the fact that the drop-off from last year’s “Raditude” will be trivial; for an aging band that has released three albums in three years with limited crossover success in the singles department, holding steady sales-wise is a positive.
Robert Plant’s “Band of Joy” and Brandon Flowers’ “Flamingo” will both land within the 40-45,000 range.