Backstreet's Out in Front

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: May 28, 2099 Source: New York Daily News (May 27) Submitted By: Shuilee@aol.com Backstreet's back, all right. The Boys' new album, "Millennium," sold more than 1.1 million copies in its first week out, giving it the biggest opening salvo since accurate weekly music sales were first charted in 1991. Those numbers will place the album in the No. 1 perch in next week's Billboard rankings, with a lead of more than 600,000 platters over the No. 2 entry: Ricky Martin's English-language debut. The 1,134,605 Backstreet CDs sold in the album's first seven days beats by almost 50,000 the old record held by Garth Brooks for his "Double Live," which inspired 1,085,373 purchases in November. Backstreet Boys The Boys' triumph is even more impressive because it comes during a far weaker sales season than did Brooks' record. The country star's album arrived at the start of the Christmas frenzy, when sales commonly zoom north by more than 50%. Also, the Boys' label, Jive, didn't offer the dramatic discounts to retailers - and ultimately, consumers - that Brooks' company used to goose sales. So how did the Boys do it? The ever-escalating teen market, first revealed by the Spice Girls' success in 1997, accounts for much of the Boys' commercial power. But numbers this huge prove that many adult listeners have come along for the ride, too. For its last album, which was the group's American debut, Backstreet racked up two of the year's biggest hits on adult contemporary radio for the ballads "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" and "As Long As You Love Me." And right now, the Boys are enjoying a Top 20 hit with the single "I Want It That Way." MTV played a key part in stoking the frenzy over the new album. Beginning May 16 - two days before "Millennium's" release - the group appeared nearly nonstop on the music network, hosting specials and regular programs, all endlessly repeated and cued to the screeches of girls crowding the streets outside MTV's Times Square studio. Not only can the Backstreet Boys lay claim to the biggest debut week of all time, they're also the undisputed kings of teen pop. While it's too early to place "Millennium" in the company of teen releases of the '90s, the Boys' last album puts them at the peak of that pack. Here are the decade's top teen-oriented releases so far (with number of albums sold [in the USA]): Backstreet Boys, "Backstreet Boys," 7.6 million (Note: It's actually 8.0 million as of this week) Spice Girls, "Spice," 7.1 million 'N Sync, "'N Sync," 5.9 million Spice Girls, "Spiceworld," 4 million Brandy, "Never S-A-Y Never," 3.2 million Britney Spears, "Baby One More Time," 3 million Monica, "The Boy Is Mine," 1.6 million 98 Degrees, "98 Degrees and Rising," 1.2 million Five, "Five," 614,000 B*Witched, "B*Witched," 543,000 Here's the Top 10 for first-week sales (with number of albums sold): Backstreet Boys, "Millennium," 1.13 million albums sold Garth Brooks, "Double Live," 1.08 million Pearl Jam, "Vs.," 950,000 Garth Brooks, "Sevens," 897,000 Pearl Jam, "Vitalogy," 877,000 The Beatles, "Anthology," 855,000 Snoop Dogg, "Doggystyle," 802,000 Guns N' Roses, "Use Your Illusion II," 770,000 The Notorious B.I.G., "Life After Death," 689,000 Guns N' Roses, "Use Your Illusion I," 685,000 Original Publication Date: 05/27/1999 Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnanz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Comment on this item. Next Item: Some Stats on "Millennium" Prev Item: Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin Take Home Blockbuster Awards