Usher's Here I Stand, his first album in what seems like forever, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week with the second best opening-week sales of 2008. With 433,000 albums sold, he's right behind Mariah Carey's E=MC2, which sold 463,000. It all goes to show that when pop stars fire their moms, impregnate and marry seemingly unpleasant women who definitely rub their fans the wrong way, completely alienate their biggest supporters, and briefly disappear off of the face of the earth, all will be forgiven as soon as they release a simple tune about a desire to engage in sexual intercourse at a dancing/drinking establishment. It's the new formula for success!
BILLBOARD 200
Artist, Record, Peak Position, Number of Weeks on the Charts
1. Usher, Here I Stand, 1, 1
2. Soundtrack, Sex and the City, 2,1
3. 3 Doors Down, 3 Doors Down, 1, 2
4. Bun-B, Ill Trill, 2, 2
5. Leona Lewis, Spirit, 1, 3
6. Frank Sinatra, Nothing But The Best, 2, 3
7. Duffy, Rockferry, 4, 3
8. Mariah Carey, E=MC2, 1, 7
9. Al Green, Lay It Down, 9, 1
10. Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs, 1, 3
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Whateva. Mediocrity should not be rewarded.
Yay Death Cab. I saw them play several years ago. Meh, but it's nice to see they've kinda made it big because they looked like they were trying. The most memorable part of that was using my roommate's Herbal Essences shampoo to mask the cigarette smell that just refused to come out of my braids. I smelled like flowers and stale cigarette smoke for the 3 weeks that followed.
Who bought the crap!
Kenna anyone?
Oh! I understand now, see advertisement bellow.
I don't get it. Like the Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis record, this is just rubbish. The lead song is so generic and tuneless that I honestly can't even remember its name. I feel like I'm living in an alternate universe where bad music is now good and handsomely rewarded.
Ugh. Just ugh.
I'm actually digging a few songs on "Here I Stand." Suprisingly for me. But Usher is a true singer, gifted, he's got a great voice — and he uses it — so he's saved a bit on this cd. Mimi on the other hand — HORRIBLE. I deleted the whole E-Mc2 from my MP3. And believe that anyone blessed with lungs like hers should be severely punished for not using them and making a trendy cd and not one where you just let it go — blow the roof off — and bless us with your gift. It's a crime — E=MC2 is a crime.