For posthumous albums, it can be a tough line to moonwalk: honoring a beloved artist's legacy, while still giving fans something fresh and exciting from their favorite icon. On the fifth anniversary of the King of Pop's death, USA TODAY takes a look at five releases that ignited the charts and gave new life to music legends.
MICHAEL JACKSON, Xscape (2013)
The numbers:
309,000 copies sold since its May 13 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan
Peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart
6 weeks on the chart (currently No. 9)
Why it worked: Xscape hasn't sold quite as well as the This Is It concert film soundtrack, which arrived four months after Jackson's death on June 25, 2009 and debuted at No. 1 (selling 373,000 copies its first week).
"You don't have this news event that's generating headlines to help promote (the project)," says Keith Caulfield, associate director of charts/sales at Billboard. "They had to find a new way to build interest" in Xscape, which included a Michael Jackson illusion singing Slave to the Rhythm at the Billboard Music Awards , along with a Justin Timberlake-assisted single,Love Never Felt So Good , which peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Xscape succeeded because "there was a real desire to try and do something that represented the best of what Michael Jackson did," with a sound that is "both recognizable and contemporary," says Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis .
"Some people might think that in itself is problematic, but if you're going to do it, you want to do it in a way that makes sense for the people that are going to hear it."
No comments:
Post a Comment