Well, 2009 hasn't been a really good year for albums sales, but some musicians really had it hard, especially "superstars", which albums were supposed to be huge, musically and saleswise... Which albums/artist do you think had the worst flop this year??
My vote goes to :
- 50 Cent : Wow, after dissing everybody and trying too hard to create a buzz, his album fell flat...
- Mika : He spent like 3 weeks in the UK top 50 with his album?
- Shakira : Her albul flopped hard here in Europe... I guess the fans didnt go for her electro-R&B-pop-soup sound...
What are yours?

Its really all about bottom line and not a chart positions though. Now a record that has 10 million dollars of promo and doesnt sell a million in the states, sorry thats not a smart investment, people dont normally look at things like that, but at the end of the year thats what labels look at, and the SORRY thing about that is that artists that get the brunt of that, are the ones that are bottom rung on the label roster chain, not the person that just costed you millions.

Album sales are going to drop every year now, there will be no rise in it till have a concsious effort to make music what you are selling, but if youre selling other things that take the focus off of music, then the trend will be worse and worse. Sales are down almost 60% since the beginning of the decade, and honestly this years decline would BE ALOT BIGGER if MJ hadnt died (sorry to say it that way) or if the Beatles hadnt released all those remasters and repackaged albums.

Amerie. I didn't even know she had an album out to flop the pop tart charts.

missfee said:

Thats sad. Her album has been discussed for months here on the org. Where have you been?

Amerie, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Mario, Trey Songz, Mariah Carey, about all the "commercial" hip-hop artists, etc.

missfee said:

Well you said it right there, "you didnt even know it was out" there was no investment in it, the label put in less than a million, and she funded the videos from her advances on her deal with Def Jam, so the 30-40 thousand sold to date are money in the bank for the label.

Rick Springfield had a demo cd out on Amazon only and select music stores, it sold about 7500 copies is that a flop?? I mean these were tapes in his basement, he put them on a cd, his label manufactured it and put it out there, so who lost? it cost almost nothing to do it, no promo costs, pure cheddar. We need to realize our ways of thinking.

It never charted U never heard of it, unless you were a loyal or on the mailing list, i mean, no investment, anything made is money in the bank
[Edited 12/10/09 10:40am]

lastdecember said:

Yeah, sure. I do agree with, th whole industry is going down, but still some artists like Jay Z, the Black Eyed Peas, Susan Boyle, Lady GaGa, Kanye and U2 had quite good sales and reviews, even though we all agree they didnt sell as muech as they would have done, say, just five years ago... I mean, Jay Z or U2 had multiplatinum albums in the past, now we all call their album "successfull" cause they went JUST platinum...

I'll define a flop as an album with high expectations (from critics, the record companies executives and the fan) and, they just fall flat... Especially critics (though sales, especially for "mainstream" artists matters as much!)

Wowugotit said:

Living my life Had things to do, and people to see...I get on the org at least once a day but only for like an hour or so, the rest is dedicated to working, paying bills, and working out.
[Edited 12/10/09 10:45am]

FrenchGuy said:

Well its a little of both then, i mean you can consider the 50cent record a major disappointment because of its HYPE and his own HYPE but the rap game is that way, here today gone tomorrow, 50 is really a one album wonder. And overall if sells 500,000 of this record, than you cant shit on that, because in this day an age who is selling that? and he DOES NOT have a proven track record, 2 albums is not a "track record". And plus they leaked the whole thing a month before, so in that genre, if it leaks YOUR DONE.

So its really just looking at the whole market, whats moving whats not, whats being put in whats not, etc...to me right now anyone selling 100,000 at the end of the day with no promo no talk no scandal is a positive, alot of us are still stuck in the 90's early 00's ways of thinking about sales here on the org. so if something doesnt do a million we think its a flop even if the artist has never had more than a gold record.
[Edited 12/10/09 10:50am]

lastdecember said:

Yeah that makes sense but what about the artists who "purposely" leak their album before its released?

I was a bit saddened by the lack of attention for Mika's new album. I love it though.

As far as movies go, the biggest flop this year, and in movie history, is the new Transylmania. Apparently it opened earning only $274,000. It opened on 1000 locations. That's about 24 people per location (on average paying $10 a ticket). It's worse than Dorm Daze II, which earned just over $300K it's opening weekend. Quite a title to carry....the worst opening in history.

ernestsewell said:

I'd be only too happy to see his career die a quick death!

Moonbeam said:

He's brilliant. He also came out as bisexual very recently (which was no real surprise). He's taken music back to being melodic, fun, interesting, high spirited, and flat out catchy. No rappers, no samples, no shit hop producers. Just pure song writing, and TALENT.

I may get MIKA's album after Xmas if I can find it in my shitty ass Wal-Mart store.

Timmy84 said:

It's at Best Buy. Get the deluxe w/ the DVD. There's a few bonus tracks floating around the web too (wiki it up). They're worth finding....or if you need help getting them....you know where to find me.

ernestsewell said:

Ah I see. Thanx. I may go there when we start to do Xmas shopping. I gotta ask if anybody's going to Best Buy anytime before the 25th lol

ernestsewell said:

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

I'm a big pop fan myself, but I've hated everything Mika's released. "We Are Golden" is one of the worst songs of the year.

118 CAREY*MARIAH MEMOIRS OF AN IMPERFECT ANGEL 10,279 10 9,385 343,767


Floppage. 344,000 sold for a Mariah album. unheard of.

Moonbeam said:

Yeah, it's not the greatest lead single. "Blame It On the Girls" is better.

50 cent

terrible album and terrible sales for an artist on a major label.

So many flops this year, so few hits, even the few hits are far from the heyday of big sales.

Mika is a complete flop, he did not make a dent anywhere in the world, turned out to be another on the long list of flash in the pans and 1 album wonders.

Shakira, wonder what happened, a hit single in most parts of the world, yet can't even outsell Janet's Discipline worldwide. The Lil Wayne/Timbaland single didn't do anything either.

Mariah, poured millions and millions into promo, radio gave her a top 10 hit, played "Obsessed" for 3 months, she was everywhere, yet she's selling less than Prince, beyond embarrassing. Now embarking on a tour that visits theatres and high school auditoriums that host less than 5,000 people. Of course she has the biggest Hot 100 song of the decade, which probably made her day.

Leona Lewis outside the UK not doing much anymore, in the US she was turned into a one hit wonder, and seems Ryan Tedder's ballad formula no longer works after 2 years.

50 Cent is a non-entity, Lil Wayne's album kept being pushed back because none of the singles caught on, now the release date is 2010, it's frightening how short-lived artists are now...

Whitney Houston??

newpower99 said:

ernestsewell said:

Relax (take it easy), is almosta a remake of I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight

And I like him too, Rain should have been a big hit in Europe, atleast in UK
[Edited 12/13/09 5:20am]

LiveToTell86 said:

Not.melodic.enough.no.bellydancing.rhythm

The biggest flop is probably Britney's compilation. From studio albums I would say Mika and Mariah

I quite enjoyed Fantasy Ride, but everyone was spending their money on Star Trek that week I think.

and I'ma say Rihanna. Awful single, awful sales.

Chris Cornell's "Scream" album, produced by Timbaland, was a major flop. It was such a departure from Soundgarden/Audioslave/previous solo releases (in a bad way) that it could be a career-killer.

The album sounds like a major sellout.