Chris Brown’s ‘Fortune’ Expected To Debut At #1 With Disappointing Sales

Becky Bain | July 5, 2012 3:58 pm

We’re already bracing ourselves for the Chris Brown brag-a-thon that will inevitably hit Twitter next week, as the “Don’t Wake Me Up” artist’s newest album Fortune is expected to debut in the top spot of the Billboard 200. His fifth studio release is on track to move 125,000 to 140,000 units — a disappointing figure, reports Billboard, when compared to the first week sales of his previous album, F.A.M.E., which hit #1 in March 2011 with 270,000 discs sold.

So what’s the cause of these relatively low figures for Breezy? Is it because sales are generally low for all R&B albums? Just look to Usher‘s Looking 4 Myself sales for proof of that — though he also debuted at #1, he did so with only 128,000 units sold, about a third what his previous LP, 2010’s Raymond Vs. Raymond, pulled its first week out.

Was it the content itself that turned people off? Though his electronic offering “Turn Up The Music” was able to crack the Top 10, the three other singles to chart on the Hot 100 (“Til I Die”, “Sweet Love” and “Don’t Wake Me Up”) did so way on the other end of the spectrum at #106, #89 and #89, respectively. Clearly, the public wasn’t salivating over Breezy’s new tunes, as detailed in our Review Revue of Fortune, where we discovered that critics had little praise for Brown’s musical output this time around.

Or is it most likely that Brown’s low sales figures are due to him leaking practically every track himself over the last few months, causing his potential album-buying fans to have already heard (and snatched up) the full LP already?

Whatever it is, Brown will probably still land himself another number one album, which is quite an accomplishment for a man who finds himself incessantly embroiled in controversy. You’d think all that drama would kill his reputation at this point, but since his reputation is getting into various amounts of trouble, anyone picking up his album is pretty much aware of what kind of person they’re supporting.

Did you pick up Chris Brown’s Fortune? Is it everything you want it to be and more? Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below.

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