Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated R&B releases of the year, Kelly Rowland’s ‘Here I Am’ finally hit stores last week. And after 7 days on shelves, the LP’s first week sales are now in.

Find out what the ‘Motivation’ led LP sold after the jump…

According to industry outlet Hits Daily Double, Rowland’s third studio set shifted 76,399 copies, landing it at #3 on the Billboard 200. And though fans will have to wait for Soundscan’s tally for final verification, history has shown their figures to not be far off.

Admittedly eager to see the album cross the 100,000 mark, it’s safe to say the numbers are somewhat reflective of the promotion prior to week of release. Yours truly has said it many a time, and can’t say it enough: it’s important to generate mass awareness of a project prior to its store date. For, time in and out, we’ve seen many a project try and fail to sustain sales by hitting every platform going during release week (see: Jennifer Hudson’s ‘I Remember Me’).

Luckily for Kelly, there are many an untouched stage awaiting her stiletto’s (see: Lopez Tonight, Ellen, Fallon, Kimmel, The View, 106 & Park, among others). And with her telling That Grape Juice that longevity is the priority with this project, we’re sure hoping all pans out as planned. She already has a successful ‘face’ on the album with ‘Motivation’; it’s simply time to keep the momentum going…starting with the elusive ‘Lay It On Me’ video!

I'm still rooting for her!

[Edited 8/3/11 7:52am]

That's a gorgeous pic of her. I'm rooting for her too - despite having told a friend years ago that she sucked, just to piss them off.

Go Kelly!!!

Kelly has to get out there and promote more. She has had a huge r&b hit, #1 for 7 weeks, more promo by her would have certainly taken her to 100k.

She needs to drop the video for 'Lay it on me' and do a few tv performances of it to push casual listeners to buy it. Come on Kelly.

unfortunately for her, her cd will suffer the dreaded 60-65% 2nd week decline which won't be a lot of cds sold. That 2nd video needs to drop and she needs to get on George Lopez, nad letterman. she is going to have a long, hard climb to gold but if she can get to 300k that would be a starting point.

Her best bet is to take this album, release it in the UK/Europe to correspond with her UK X Factor hosting duties, release a dance cut and milk it. That shoudl be good for 500k sales there. See J-Lo, sucky sales in the US but good sales for her in Europe.

I like motivation and I do tend to root for this girl, but aside from Commander and the lead single I just find 'Here I Am' to be really dissapointing.

From Billboard:

Kelly Rowland's third album, Here I Am, arrives at No. 3 with 77,000.

It's her highest charting album yet, surpassing the No. 6 peak of her last release, 2007's "Ms. Kelly," which bowed with 83,000. Rowland's "Here" was led by the single "Motivation," which spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

she can claim bragging rights to having a top 3 charting cd. I wonder if she was able to hit #1 on the R&b Charts. I would think so as the only other high charting r&b album is Beyonce and that's projected to sell under 50k this week.

So Kelly will have claim to a #1 charting cd without having to differentiate that it's on the urban charts, lol.

Lay it on Me isn't bad but gosh her promo sucks balls!

SMH.......... she had ZERO competition and still couldn't get a #1 album. Thats a gotdamn shame and PROOF that she isn't made to be a big star. Oh well, somebody has gotta be 2nd place and she seems confident and happy with it so more power to her.

Second-week sales tumble substantially to 22,108. Clearly, it's gonna take more than a planned nipple slip to elevate those numbers.

Identity said:

Second-week sales tumble substantially to 22,108. Clearly, it's gonna take more than a planned nipple slip to elevate those numbers.

Yeah it seems like they milked "Motivation" far too long going into her release date. She should have had a hot 2nd single climbing up the charts by the time her release date was approaching. Especially in the these times. People probably figured they were straight withjust buying the first single and chilled on the rest of it like most album releases now.

That is if she has a hot 2nd single she could release, of course...

[Edited 8/10/11 8:56am]

Go Kelly....She's determined to make it as a Solo artist and her self-determiniation will take her far for decades.....I wonder if Michelle is still doing Off-Broadway shows and when she's gonna drop another Gospel CD?

Entertainer said:

unfortunately for her, her cd will suffer the dreaded 60-65% 2nd week decline which won't be a lot of cds sold. That 2nd video needs to drop and she needs to get on George Lopez, nad letterman. she is going to have a long, hard climb to gold but if she can get to 300k that would be a starting point.

Her best bet is to take this album, release it in the UK/Europe to correspond with her UK X Factor hosting duties, release a dance cut and milk it. That shoudl be good for 500k sales there. See J-Lo, sucky sales in the US but good sales for her in Europe.

No, no I do not think she should once again go hiding in Europe. It's time for Kelly to make a bid for US success because she's wanted it since DC broke up. Can't say the girl doesn't deserve a bonafide hit, but my lord is she generic. And yes, her promo team sucks. You would think that Kelly Rowland, the 2nd most visible member of one of the most popular vocal groups of all time, would have the pull to get a competent team, but...

Spinlight said:

Entertainer said:

unfortunately for her, her cd will suffer the dreaded 60-65% 2nd week decline which won't be a lot of cds sold. That 2nd video needs to drop and she needs to get on George Lopez, nad letterman. she is going to have a long, hard climb to gold but if she can get to 300k that would be a starting point.

Her best bet is to take this album, release it in the UK/Europe to correspond with her UK X Factor hosting duties, release a dance cut and milk it. That shoudl be good for 500k sales there. See J-Lo, sucky sales in the US but good sales for her in Europe.

No, no I do not think she should once again go hiding in Europe. It's time for Kelly to make a bid for US success because she's wanted it since DC broke up. Can't say the girl doesn't deserve a bonafide hit, but my lord is she generic. And yes, her promo team sucks. You would think that Kelly Rowland, the 2nd most visible member of one of the most popular vocal groups of all time, would have the pull to get a competent team, but...

I agree she should fight for success in the states. Must be amateur hour @ Motown/Universal

Musicslave said:

Spinlight said:

No, no I do not think she should once again go hiding in Europe. It's time for Kelly to make a bid for US success because she's wanted it since DC broke up. Can't say the girl doesn't deserve a bonafide hit, but my lord is she generic. And yes, her promo team sucks. You would think that Kelly Rowland, the 2nd most visible member of one of the most popular vocal groups of all time, would have the pull to get a competent team, but...

I agree she should fight for success in the states. Must be amateur hour @ Motown/Universal

Nobody has brought up what's-his-name yet, but I feel it coming.

She should pose nude for Playboy if she really wants her album sales. Or join the Illuminati.

^

Dang! Don't be cruel.

Identity said:

^

Dang! Don't be cruel.

Hey! She sure as heck is NOT going anywhere. The only thing people know her as is Beyonce's back-up. Not even a nip slip can get her attention.

You're right. I'm rooting for her, but it's going to take something akin to a miracle to propel sales of the album.

Identity said:

You're right. I'm rooting for her, but it's going to take something akin to a miracle to propel sales of the album.

I don't even think Satan can save her career.

Identity said:

You're right. I'm rooting for her, but it's going to take something akin to a miracle to propel sales of the album.

Do you feel like she has strong follow up singles on her record? If she doesn't, its a wrap!