Insofar as iTunes is not the only avenue through which fans can purchase music, its sales chart does not always represent a perfect gauge of an album’s performance in the overall marketplace.
It usually, however, provides a very good indication.
Candice Glover better hope this is one of the digital retailer’s rare off weeks.
As of press time, the “American Idol” winner’s debut album “Music Speaks” had only ascended to number nine on the iTunes Album Sales Chart. Since new releases tend to peak on the iTunes chart shortly after release, the album’s struggle to crack into the top five does not bode well for its opening week sales total.
As a point of weekly comparison, Cole Swindell’s self-titled debut, which also hit shelves Tuesday, is already number one on iTunes. Issues’ new self-titled release follows a pair of holdovers (Eric Church’s “The Outsiders” and the “Frozen” soundtrack) in fourth place, while Phantogram’s new “Voices” and Lake Street Drive’s new “Bad Self Portraits” follow at fifth and sixth, respectively. Imagine Dragons’ “Night Visions” and Beyonce’s “Beyonce” then assemble ahead of the Glover album.
Responsible for only 39,000 sales in its opening week, Lee DeWyze’s “Live it Up” currently represents the weakest debut offering by an “American Idol” winner (post-victory). Glover’s “Music Speaks” seems destined to lower that bar.
Phillip Phillips’ “The World from the Side of the Moon” and Scotty McCreery’s “Clear as Day,” the last two debut releases from “Idol” winners, moved 169,000 and 197,000 first week copies, respectively.