Joe Jonas' solo debut album, Fastlife, enters The Billboard 200 at #15, with sales of just 18K copies. That's a far cry from Jonas Brothers' fastest-selling album, A Little Bit Longer, which blew through 525,000 copies in its first week in June 2008. Simple math tells us that for every 29 fans who bought that album, just one die-hard loyalist sprung for this album.
The tally for Fastlife is about one-quarter of that rung up by Nick Jonas & the Administration's Who I Am, which debuted at #3 in February 2010 with sales of 82K. (The third member of the trio, Kevin Jonas, has yet to release his first post-JoBros album.)
Nobody ever said graduating from teen idol stardom to mainstream pop success was easy.
JoBros reached their peak in 2007 and 2008 with the hits "S.O.S.," "When You Look Me In The Eyes" and "Burnin' Up." In June 2008, the group was featured alongside Demi Lovato in the Disney Channel TV movie Camp Rock. Eight months later, the group starred in a theatrical release, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.
In June 2009, the group released Lines, Vines And Trying Times. It sold fewer than half as many copies in its first week (247,000) as A Little Bit Longer had just 10 months earlier. That's how fast teen-idol stardom can start to fade. The very next month, the inevitable happened. Someone came along who was even younger and cuter. Justin Bieber was 15 when he launched a string of hits with "One Time."
Justin Timberlake, who was 17 when *NSYNC first hit the chart in April 1998, is a rare example of a boy band alumni who went on to a successful solo career. Timberlake's first solo album, Justified, debuted at #2 in November 2002, with first-week sales of 439,000.
In a feature on Jonas in last week's Billboard, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd observed, "Transforming a charmed teenhood career into a viable adult one is possibly one of the entertainment industry's most difficult feats. For every Justin Timberlake, there are 10 former boy-band members whose post-group disinterest led them to hang up their hats."
Case in point: JC Chasez, who was also in *NSYNC. Chasez's first solo album, Schizophrenic, debuted and peaked at #17 in March 2004, with first-week sales of 52K.
Two members of New Kids on the Block also experienced modest sales with their solo debut albums, which were released a decade after the group's heyday. Joey McIntyre's Stay The Same debuted and peaked at #49 in March 1999, with first-week sales of 31K. An eponymous album by Jordan Knight debuted and peaked at #29 that June, with first-week sales of 42K.
Even Michael Jackson faced some bumps in the road making the transition from teen idol to mainstream pop star. His first two solo albums, Got To Be There and Ben, were big hits in 1972 (the year he turned 14), but his next two studio albums didn't go far. Music & Me, released in 1973, peaked at #92. Forever, Michael, released in 1975 when he was a no-longer-cute 16, stalled at #101. (Things fell into place for him in 1979 with Off The Wall, which was released just before his 21st birthday.)
It's tough going for yesterday's teen idols, as their young fans move on to other acts and other interests. But opportunities come around again-eventually. The NKOTBSB tour, featuring New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys, has been a big hit. (Their NKOTBSB album has sold 113K copies since its release in May.) It's possible that a JoBros reunion tour will also be a hit down the line.
Evanescence's first album in five years, Evanescence, debuts at #1, just as its last album, The Open Door, did in 2006. But the sales tally is way down. This album started with 127K. The Open Door opened with 447K.
Adele's 21 holds at #2. It has sold more copies so far this year than the year's next two best-selling albums combined (the runners-up are Lady Gaga's Born This Way and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV). If this stat holds up through the rest of the year (and I think it will), 21 will become only the second album in Nielsen SoundScan history to sell more copies than the year's next two best-sellers combined. In 2004, Usher's Confessions sold more than the combined total of runners-up Norah Jones' Feels Like Home and Eminem's Encore.
Evanescence and Adele both won Grammys as Best New Artist. This marks the first time that the top two albums were by past Best New Artist winners since September 2010, when Zac Brown Band's You Get What You Give and Maroon 5's Hands All Over debuted in the top two spots.
Five Finger Death Punch's American Capitalist debuts at #3. It's the hard rock band's third album; its second top 10 album in a row and its highest-charting album to date.
American Idol Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina are both listed in the top five this week. McCreery's Clear As Day drops from #1 to #4. Alaina's Wildflower debuts at #5. This marks the first time that both of the top two Idol contestants in a given season have appeared in the top five simultaneously since December 2005, when Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts was #2 and runner-up Bo Bice's Real Thing was #4.
The Fine Print: Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks and runner-up Katharine McPhee both made the top five, but they didn't appear in the top five simultaneously. The same was true of Season 7 winner David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta.
Martina McBride's 11th studio album, Eleven, debuts at #10. It's her sixth top 10 album. Only two other core country female artists, Reba McEntire and LeAnn Rimes, have had as many or more top 10 albums. They have each had eight. One crossover star, Linda Ronstadt, has had 10 top 10 albums, but her sound and appeal went far beyond country.
"We Found Love" by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris holds at #1 for the second week in the U.K. How close will it come to hitting #1 in the U.S. (Here's a hint: It jumps to #3 on Hot Digital Songs.) You'll find out when we post Chart Watch: Songs later today.
Shameless Plug: Adele is a cinch to win Grammys for Album and Record of the Year, but what will her competition be? We won't know for sure until the nominations are announced on Nov. 30, but I'll make some educated guesses in a blog that will go up later this week. I'll also preview the Best New Artist category, where Nicki Minaj is the front-runner. This will kick off a series of blogs in which I preview the Grammy nominations in the pop, rock, R&B, rap and country fields.
Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.
1. Evanescence, Evanescence, 127,000. This new entry is the group's second #1 album in a row; its third to make the top five. The album sold 58K digital copies, which puts it at #1 on Top Digital Albums. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Lost In Paradise" debuts at #53. "What You Want" bows at #118.
2. Adele, 21, 111,000. The former #1 album holds at #2 for the second week. This is its 34th week on the chart. It has been in the top five the entire time. Four songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Someone Like You," which is #1 for the fourth week.
3. Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist, 91,000. This new entry is the group's second top 10 album. War Is The Answer hit #7 in 2009. "Remember Everything" enters Hot Digital Songs at #148.
4. Scotty McCreery, Clear As Day, 88,000. The former #1 album drops from #1 to #4 in its second week. It's #1 on Top Country Albums for the second week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "I Love You This Big" drops from #83 to #113. "The Trouble With Girls" drops from #137 to #161.
5. Lauren Alaina, Wildflower, 69,000. This new entry is Alaina's first album. Alaina was runner-up on Season 10 of American Idol. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Dirt Road Prayer" enters at #95. "Like My Mother Does" re-enters at #109.
6. Tony Bennett, Duets II, 55,000. The former #1 album drops from #3 to #6 in its fourth week. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. The album has sold 396K copies to date, not bad for an old guy.
7. Ryan Adams, Ashes & Fire, 49,000. This new entry is Adams' second top 10 album. It ties 2007's Easy Tiger as his highest-charting album to date.
8. Lady Antebellum, Own The Night, 47,000. The former #1 album drops from #4 to #8 in its fifth week. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Just A Kiss" drops from #33 to #35. "We Owned The Night" drops from #58 to #68.
9. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV, 45,000. The former #1 album drops from #6 to #9 in its seventh week. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. Four songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "How To Love," which drops from #22 to #28.
10. Martina McBride, Eleven, 40,000. This new entry is McBride's sixth top 10 album. "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" jumps from #197 to #58 on Hot Digital Songs.
Jack's Mannequin's People & Things plummets from #9 to #85 in its second week. Easy come, easy go. Four other albums drop out of the top 10. J. Cole's Cole World: The Sideline Story drops from #5 to #11, Feist's Metals drops from #7 to #23, Rodney Atkins' Take A Back Road drops from #8 to #25, and Blink-182's Neighborhoods drops from #10 to #26.
The soundtrack to the reboot of Footloose vaults from #136 to #16 in its third week. It's the week's #1 soundtrack. The soundtrack to the 1984 original version logged 10 weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200. It was the highest-charting soundtrack for 19 weeks. Kenny Loggins' recording of the title song, from the original version, enters Hot Digital Songs this week. It has sold 849K digital copies.
Johnny Gill's first album in 15 years, Still Winning, bows at #17. It's the eighth top 20 album of Gill's career. He made the top 20 with two previous solo albums, three albums with New Edition and two albums with LSG...An eponymous album by Hunter Hayes bows at #18...Adele's 19 drops from #19 to #22. It's #1 on Top Catalog Albums for the 23rd week...Britney Spears' B In The Mix: Remixes, Vol. 2 debuts at #46. It's off to a much faster start than the first volume, which peaked at #134 in 2005...James Morrison's The Awakening debuts at #48. The album was #1 in the U.K. for two weeks before falling to #5 this week.
Taylor Swift's Journey To Fearless enters Top Music Videos at #1. This is Swift's second music video to reach #1. CMT Crossroads, with Def Leppard, debuted at #1 in June 2009.
Real Steel was #1 at the box-office for the second straight weekend. The soundtrack features Bad Meets Evil, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, 50 Cent and the Crystal Method. It sold about 1K copies, too few to make The Billboard 200.
Coming Attractions: Casting Crowns' Come To The Well will battle with Adele's album for the #1 spot next week. Also due: Joe's The Good, The Bad, The Sexy, Jane's Addiction's The Great Escape Artist, M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, The Original 7even's Condensate, (they're the band formerly known as The Time), Lalah Hathaway's Where It All Begins and Patrick Stump's first full-length solo album, Soul Punk.
Lauren Alaina/Scotty McCreery photo by Theo Wargo/GettyImages
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