this just came in from http://www.drfunkenberry.com/

Prince’s new 3 cd set Lotus Flow3r debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 with about 168,000 sold, although Hits Magazine had Prince at number 1 with almost 20,000 more copies sold. Keith Urban outsold Prince by 3,000 copies if the numbers stay the same.Hits numbers usually always differ from soundscan, which is what Billboard and the public go by.

We are wondering where those 20,000 copies went or were they not counted. It is an impressive debut but if those 20,000 copies were sold, the CD should be at number 1.

Perhaps what Prince said about the music industry is true and then Bria Valente actually lost the bet….

Billboard is the gold standard. Let me say this; Lotus Flow3er is Prince’s best first week sales since 3121, which debuted at number 1 with over 180,000 sold.

The music industry is everchanging and Prince is still that dude challenging it, 25 years after his first number 1 album on Billboard.

Prince (and Bria), you may not have debuted at number 1 but you are number 1 with us.-Dr.FB

NOTE: Lotusflow3r debuted at #1 on the R n B charts and it is the #1 Indie Release.

He seems to always do well on the r&b charts, even when it's a single off one of his albums.
[Edited 4/8/09 13:21pm]

2elijah said:

his r&b fan base has always been the strongest... they have always supported him

despite the vocal majority on this board that think that Dreamer (as great as it is) will somehow get played on rock radio. Rock fans don't buy Prince albums

R&B fans do despite the fact that Prince has rock leanings and his legacy will go down as one of the greatest guitar players of a lifetime.

Other than PR... rock radio has been resistant to Prince... despite the fact that the people they play love him and cover him.

Rock fans don't even realize that Prince is a rock star... its pretty amazing isn't it

Alexandernvrmind said:

Yep!

audience1 said:

You Got That Right....Favorite Son

After all these years he`s still to complex for radio to understand, but all the radio stations love him even the ones that dont play him.You best beleive that all bought the new album. LOL

Alexandernvrmind said:

Absolutely, I have to agree with you, but yet everytime I walk into my supermarket, a light-rock station is playing "Little Red Corvette" or "When Doves Cry" but not his recent stuff. I don't get it. They will play his classics non-stop, but you're lucky if you hear them play his recent rock-flavored tracks.

If I hear them play "Dreamer" or "Crimson & Clover" I will be shocked.
[Edited 4/8/09 16:50pm]

Alexandernvrmind said:

I totally agree with everything you posted. The rock community has never accepted Prince as a rock artist. In their limited mind, they can't see how someone can do R&B and be rock at the same time. Also, race may play a part as well. Black rock artists are hardly recognized. R&B stations do give more airplay, but I know a lot of R&B lovers who donn't considerate him authenticly R&B. When people tend to mention great R&B singers, Luther, Smokey,Marvin Gaye, Teddy P, etc are mentioned but Prince isn't. Race also plays a factor here, as well. R&B fans (which are largely black) don't consider him authenticly R&B because he plays rock muisc, which makes him less black, in their mind.

Congrats Prince

Alexandernvrmind said:

This is so true. However, it is usually the case for most black artists who crossover to mainstream (Pop or Rock) radio. Before and after their 15 minutes of mainstream success/attention, R&B radio is the one that plays them. Prince's R&B fan base has always held him down no matter how much people try to dismiss them. They are the ones who tend to listen to him as a complete artist and not dump on the Rock, Jazz or experimental/fusion stuff that he does. However, the antithesis seems to be the case with the Rock/Pop fan base. Those seem to be the ones who keep saying that P hasn't had any good music since the 80's or who dog on his more R&B or spiritual music of late.

After the Superbowl and RRHOF so many Rock fans were coming up to me saying that they did not know P could play guitar like that. However, I have never heard that from his R&B fan base. R&B audiences are used to folks who can play soul, funk and rock like The Isley Brothers or Parliament Funkadelic. They are used to soulful voices melded with searing guitar. I do not think that Rock audience are as use to this.

Looking at Prince's career now, adult R&B radio have played the slow cuts off of the last three albums, and that fan base has gone out and bought the albums. "Call My Name," "Satisfied," and "Future Baby Mama" got heavy play. They also charted on the R&B singles charts. This undoubtedly helped album sales and singles downloads. However, I do not remember hearing anything off the last three albums on Rock/Pop radio. But as you reflect on his career as a whole, he has always had more success on the R&B charts.
[Edited 4/8/09 19:18pm]