The streak of missed expectations appears to be over.
Two weeks ago, Katy Perry’s “Prism” bowed to the dominant, yet disappointing, tune of 286K sales. Noting that “Teenage Dream,” which established Katy Perry as the biggest hitmaker in pop, moved 192K, many figured an opening tally in the 400K range was plausible for the eagerly anticipated “Prism.”
Last week, The Arcade Fire launched “Reflektor” to about 139K. Also short of expectations, the total even trailed that of 2010’s Grammy-winning “The Suburbs,” which significantly raised the band’s profile.
This week, Eminem is poised to avoid that disappointing scenario. According to very preliminary projections from Billboard, “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” is pacing for a bow in the 700-750,000 range.
On par with the 741,000 for his 2010 release “Recovery” and certain to top the 608,000 moved by 2009’s “Relapse,” the total would represent the year’s second highest sales frame. Only Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience Part One,” which moved an impressive 968,000 in its debut, can claim a better sales week in 2013.
Wanting to offer projections on the heavily hyped album as soon as possible, both Billboard and Hits Daily Double issued their 700K+ forecasts Tuesday evening rather than Wednesday afternoon. As a result, the projections are based on less definitive data and thus more subject to adjustment than usual.
Still, with rave reviews, uncontrollable buzz and confirmed evidence of its ubiquity on the iTunes Single Sales chart, “MMLP2” is undoubtedly going to debut with a massive total. In doing so, it will undoubtedly end the streak of missed expectations.