Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Justin Timberlake Brings Sexy Back


Justin Timberlake is back on the music scene seven years after releasing FutureSex/LoveSounds in 2006 with hits like “Sexy Back.” His newest album, The 20/20 Experience is his third solo album, and so far it’s hitting music charts with a splash.

According to the BBC, the album has bumped David Bowie’s newest album, The Next Day, down from its number one spot on the UK charts. Billboard won’t announce its first week figures for the new album until Wednesday, but pre-release figures suggested sales around 500,000 copies. One day after release, that number was upped to 750,000, and 850,000 the day after that. On Sunday, it was estimated that the first week’s sales would be between 950,000 and 975,000.

Will it hit platinum in the first week? We shall see. The estimated numbers are based on both physical and digital sales orders, comparisons with other artists, and other factors. According to MTV, Keith Caulfield, who is associate director of charts/retail for Billboard, says that Timberlake is doing “everything right” and has done a sound job of carefully promoting the new album.

One of Timberlake’s strengths with 20/20 is that the single “Suit & Tie” has become a crossover hit and is being played on many different genre stations, from pop to R&B, contemporary to hip-hop.

The album wasn’t even announced until January, which Caulfield also says was a good move. It didn’t hurt that he’s had some very well-received performances lately, including one at SXSW music festival, a pre-Super Bowl concert, and a Grammys performance.

We suspect he’ll be just fine if he doesn’t make platinum right away. But if Timberlake does manage to sell over 1 million copies in the first week, he’ll be the first since Taylor Swift released her newest album, Red, in 2012.

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