S. Samuel
Toronto singer The Weeknd has stepped forward to publicly thank fans for helping his new Kiss Land solo album nearly snatch a chart-topping spot on the music sales chart this week.
After initially thinking he had toppled his competition, Weeknd realized his new LP debuted at No. 2 on the sales chart.
“NUMBER 1 ALBUM IN THE COUNTRY. I LOVE MY FANS XO, WE GOOD!!!!!!,” Weeknd tweeted September 18.
“AWWH. SO CLOSE THEY HAD TO RECOUNT!!! STILL GOT THE BEST FANS!! THANK YOU XO” (The Weeknd’s Twitter)
Weeknd’s long-awaited studio release fell just 3,000 albums shy of a number one debut.
Country star Keith Urban debuts at No. 1 with “Fuse,” edging out the also-arriving “Kiss Land” by the Weeknd at No. 2. Less than 3,000 copies separate the albums, which enter the chart with rounded figures of 98,000 and 95,000, respectively, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (The latest sales tracking week ended Sunday, Sept. 15.) That’s the closest margin between Nos. 1 and 2 since early January, when less than 2,000 copies separated the “Les Misérables” soundtrack at No. 1 (92,000) and Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” at No. 2 (91,000). (Billboard)
Based on one-day estimates, Kiss Land was expected to push out up to 100,000 copies in its opening week.
YOUR NEW RELEASES: After one day of sales, it looks like we might have another close race this week for #1. We’re giving the edge to Keith Urban for the moment, but keep checking back here for updates. Here are this week’s key debuts: Keith Urban (Capitol Nashville) 100-110k The Weeknd (XO/Republic) 90-100k 2 Chainz (Def Jam/IDJ) 55-65k Janelle Monae (Bad Boy/Atlantic) 45-50k (HITS Daily Double)
Recently, the soulful singer explained how his music is able to survive and retain fans.
Despite this willingness to grow and change when it comes to direction and songwriting, however, The Weeknd stresses that he has not changed — even if he has come out of his hidey-hole to execute interviews and personally call his fans. “I feel like my fans will love Kiss Land because I didn’t change — it’s the same character, but in different settings and scenarios,” he said. “Once you’ve changed who you are or who you’ve portrayed in your music, the fans, they’ll catch it…. Once I feel like the world knows me for anything else but my music then I feel like I failed.” (MTV)
