Jason Aldean [NBC]
Ahead of Tuesday’s release, industry analysts expected Jason Aldean’s “Old Boots, New Dirt” to move 400,000 first week units and thus establish itself as 2014’s hottest seller to date.
If the sobering mid-week tracking data proves accurate, it might not even claim the year’s best opening sales week for a country album.
According to Hits Daily Double, the Aldean album is currently pacing for an opening week sales bow of 270-290,000 copies. If the actual opening week sales total for “Old Boots, New Dirt” falls anywhere below the very top of that range, it will trail the 288,000 moved by Eric Church’s “The Outsiders” earlier this year.
While Church is no slouch within the country music genre, Aldean is typically viewed as the bigger star — and his music has historically received more support from radio.
Whether or not its total bests that of “The Outsiders,” Aldean’s album will ultimately face no difficulty claiming number one on the weekly Billboard 200. It is also a lock to claim one of the three best year-to-date opening week sales tallies. Only Coldplay’s “Ghost Stories” (383,000) and possibly Church’s “The Outsiders” will have sold more.
“Night Train,” Aldean’s previous studio release, moved 409,000 copies in its inaugural October 2012 frame.