USA Today: Fall Music Preview: 12 Platinum Acts?
Sept 18, 2010 11:00:50 GMT -5
Post by areyoureadytojump on Sept 18, 2010 11:00:50 GMT -5
Fall music preview: Is platinum among the season's colors?
By Edna Gundersen, Steve Jones, Jerry Shriver, Elysa Gardner and Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY
Fall promises a wealth of new albums, but how much wealth will they add to the ailing music industry? In the week ending Sunday, album sales totaled 4.83 million copies, the lowest since Nielsen SoundScan started tabulating in 1991. Among the season's scores of releases, only a handful seem capable of boosting the bottom line. USA TODAY's music critics assess a dozen discs likely to strike platinum.
Kings of Leon, Come Around Sundown (Oct. 19)
Auditing the sound: The choir-backed Radioactive single bears strains of gospel and Southern roots, plus the same urgency, grandeur and emotional weight that turned the Kings into rock royalty. And the hugely anticipated Come Around Sundown, again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King, promises a few stylistic shifts.
Eyeing the sales: Driven by megahits Use Somebody and Sex on Fire, 2008's Only By the Night sold 2 million copies (more than 6 million worldwide), a particularly strong haul during a difficult era for rock. In addition to mainstream popularity, the band won four Grammys and critical respect, setting the stage for Sundown's deafening buzz. With their commercial heft and creative juice, the Kings are poised to follow U2's trajectory to stadiums and multiplatinum reruns. — Edna Gundersen
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV (Nov. 5)
Auditing the sound: Wayne apparently recorded a ton of music before heading to prison: The hotly anticipated album coincides with his early release. Details are sketchy, but collaborations with his Young Money labelmates Drake and Nicki Minaj are likely.
Eyeing the sales: He's maintained a presence on Billboard's album chart with 2008's blockbuster Tha Carter III and 2009's experimental rock-guitar album Rebirth. There's no sign that the public's appetite for his music is waning: Right Above It, the first single off Wayne's I'm Not a Human Being (a digital EP that's out Sept. 27, his 28th birthday), had a No. 1 debut on Billboard's digital chart four weeks ago and has sold 453,000 downloads. — Steve Jones
My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (November)
Auditing the sound: Frontman Gerard Way and company had finished a raw rock album last year, then chucked it and started over after getting signals from a fresh muse. While not a concept album like 2006's The Black Parade, Danger Days represents a transmission blasted from the future, according to the band. Planetary (GO!) and Na Na Na are among the confirmed tracks produced by Rob Cavallo and recorded in Calabasas, Calif. No other specifics have been leaked, and the band's blog advises fans to "look alive, keep your ears to the ground and your eyes bloodshot and open … there are signs everywhere."
Eyeing the sales:The Black Parade was the band's biggest artistic and commercial success, selling 1.5 million copies (for a career total of 3.7 million albums) while impressing critics with its daring and ambitious strokes. Blender dubbed it "the Sgt. Pepper of screamo." My Chemical Romance's profile grew substantially with Parade, and the follow-up's scrapped first draft and tight lid on details have fans salivating. — Gundersen
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday (Nov. 23)
Auditing the sound: For the past year, Minaj (aka Onika Maraj), 25, has been featured on hits by Trey Songz, Usher, Lil Wayne, Jason Derulo, Ludacris and others. On Pink Friday, the sexy rapper who has been compared to everyone from Lil Kim to Lauryn Hill finally steps to the forefront. Producers include Swizz Beatz, Kanye West and will.i.am. Though equipped with an array of alter egos (including Harajuku Barbie) and animated voices, she's drawn raves for her songcraft and lyrical prowess.
Eyeing the sales: Female rappers have struggled in recent years to achieve mainstream success, but industry expectations are high that the stylish Minaj will change that. Buzz single Massive Attack got a lukewarm reception this spring, but official first single Your Love was the first song by an unaccompanied female rapper to top Billboard's rap chart in eight years. Like Drake, her labelmate on Lil Wayne's Young Money, the release of her debut album will be riding a pent-up wave of hype. — Jones
Rihanna, Loud (Nov. 16)
Auditing the sound: The Barbadian chanteuse has never stood still during her four-album excursion through the pop, reggae and R&B worlds, and this latest outing is likely to find her stepping away from the downcast drama that infused last year's Rated Ralbum and hopping back into dance mode. Sassy single Only Girl (In the World) is produced by Stargate, the team that's fueled many of her biggest hits since 2006, including Rude Boy, Unfaithful, Don't Stop the Music and Hate That I Love You. Also manning the boards: The Runners and David Guetta.
Eyeing the sales: Even though Rated R was certified platinum, that still represented a fall-off from predecessorGood Girl Gone Bad, which went double-platinum and spawned eight top 20 singles. A leaner album with a high ratio of potential hits may be the cure. Only Girl is off to a good start: After one week, it's No. 4 in downloads on iTunes. —Jerry Shriver
Kid Rock, Born Free (Nov. 16)
Auditing the sound: The waggishness isn't going anywhere, but we may see a maturing Kid. There's no metal or profane rapping — just his ruminations on the state of the nation. Rock and producer Rick Rubin have assembled a backing band that includes Heartbreaker Benmont Tench and Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith, and coaxed collaborations from Bob Seger, Sheryl Crow, Zac Brown, Trace Adkins, T.I. and Martina McBride
Eyeing the sales: Rock's eighth studio work bears the burden of matching its predecessor, Rock 'N Roll Jesus, which made its debut at No. 1, produced the worldwide smash All Summer Long — and wound up as 2008's best-selling rock album. The title track, Slow My Roll, Feels Good to Me and Times Like These already are playing well in concert. — Jerry Shriver
Ne-Yo, Libra Scale (Oct. 19)
Auditing the sound: Admired both for his fluid vocals and songwriting prowess, Ne-Yo indulges his flair for the fantastic with a concept album charting "the rise of R&B's first superhero squad." Naturally, there's a love interest, whose villainous alter ego fuels crackling single Beautiful Monster. The sweeter, more lyrical One in a Million and Champagne Life showcase his silky tenor and sinuous hooks.
Eyeing the sales: Ne-Yo's last album, 2008's platinum-plus Year of the Gentleman, spawned several successful singles, though none as ubiquitous as the chart-toppers he has penned for Beyoncé and Rihanna. Suffice to say that Libra Scale should reconfirm his status as one of his generation's most accessible and respectable artists. — Elysa Gardner
Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Oct. 25)
Auditing the sound: Swift, who turns 21 in December, looks to make the transition from teen idol to young adult superstar with her third studio set. The songs, written solely by Swift, address words left unsaid in a variety of situations: "Track by track, each song is a different confession to a different person," she said during a Ustream video chat in July. Swift continues to work with co-producer Nathan Chapman.
Eyeing the sales: Lead single Mine made its debut atop Billboard's digital songs chart and has sold more than 650,000 copies. The single already has reached the top 20 on USA TODAY's country, top 40 and adult contemporary radio charts. Swift's two previous albums have sold nearly 11 million copies combined. — Brian Mansfield
Kenny Chesney, Hemingway's Whiskey (Sept. 28)
Auditing the sound: Road warrior Chesney has largely stayed off the concert trail this year. He sees Hemingway's Whiskey as the album that will launch the next phase of his career. With a title track written by Guy Clark and a lead single, The Boys of Fall, about high school football, Chesney weaves in themes of introspection and nostalgia. He also sings duets with country legend George Jones (Small Y'All) and rock singer Grace Potter (You and Tequila). A deluxe edition offers two additional tracks and a 30-minute DVD with commentary on each song.
Eyeing the sales: Chesney has sold more than 30 million albums over the course of his career, and he was the top touring act in the USA during the past decade. He's currently 2010's most-played artist at country radio, and Boys of Fall has already gone top three. — Mansfield
Zac Brown Band, You Get What You Give (Tuesday)
Auditing the sound: This year's best-new-artist Grammy winner brings the jam-band model to country music, making the road as important as radio. The Georgia group's genre-expanding follow-up to 2008's double-platinum The Foundation combines commercial country with influences from Southern rock, Texas swing and harmony-rich '70s rock acts like The Eagles. First single As She's Walking Away features Alan Jackson; there's also a duet with Jimmy Buffett called Knee Deep.
Eyeing the sales: Major-label debut The Foundation yielded five No.1 singles and sold 2.2 million copies. A recent entertainer-of-the-year nomination from the Country Music Association is proof of the industry's high regard for the band and should keep it in the spotlight. — Mansfield
Maroon 5, Hands All Over (Tuesday)
Auditing the sound: Produced by reclusive Robert John "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, Shania Twain) and recorded primarily at his studio in Switzerland, the band's third studio album serves up soul-injected pop-rock, plus such surprises as the pounding title track and Out of Goodbyes, a country ballad featuring Lady Antebellum. Lange, a notorious perfectionist, helped Maroon 5 hone the album's 12 tracks into a more streamlined, cohesive whole.
Eyeing the sales: The band's debut, Songs About Jane (2002), captured the best-new-artist Grammy and spawned four hits, including No. 1 This Love. Follow-up It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007) entered Billboard at No. 1. The pair's combined sales approach 7 million copies, plus 11.4 million digital tracks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Hands could add handsomely to that figure. Lange has a strong track record for hits, and USA TODAY's airplay charts rank first single Misery at No. 2 on hot adult contemporary and No. 9 on top 40. — Gundersen
Kanye West, Dark Twisted Fantasy (Mid-November)
Auditing the sound: After the marked departure of 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, which relied on Auto-Tune-aided singing to sort through a broken engagement and the untimely death of his mother, West returns to harder hip-hop beats and rhymes and gets production help from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, RZA, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and Swizz Beatz. He drew praise for the edgy song Runaway, which he unveiled at the MTV Video Music Awards, and he's working on a 40-minute film of the same name.
Eyeing the sales: West scored his fourth consecutive No. 1 and million-selling album with 808s. Rock-edged Power, the first song from the tentatively titled new album, leaked on the Internet in May, and Rolling Stone declared it West's best since Stronger. West plans to put out new music from his G.O.O.D. Music family on kanyewest.com every Friday through December to build interest. — Jones
By Edna Gundersen, Steve Jones, Jerry Shriver, Elysa Gardner and Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY
Fall promises a wealth of new albums, but how much wealth will they add to the ailing music industry? In the week ending Sunday, album sales totaled 4.83 million copies, the lowest since Nielsen SoundScan started tabulating in 1991. Among the season's scores of releases, only a handful seem capable of boosting the bottom line. USA TODAY's music critics assess a dozen discs likely to strike platinum.
Kings of Leon, Come Around Sundown (Oct. 19)
Auditing the sound: The choir-backed Radioactive single bears strains of gospel and Southern roots, plus the same urgency, grandeur and emotional weight that turned the Kings into rock royalty. And the hugely anticipated Come Around Sundown, again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King, promises a few stylistic shifts.
Eyeing the sales: Driven by megahits Use Somebody and Sex on Fire, 2008's Only By the Night sold 2 million copies (more than 6 million worldwide), a particularly strong haul during a difficult era for rock. In addition to mainstream popularity, the band won four Grammys and critical respect, setting the stage for Sundown's deafening buzz. With their commercial heft and creative juice, the Kings are poised to follow U2's trajectory to stadiums and multiplatinum reruns. — Edna Gundersen
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV (Nov. 5)
Auditing the sound: Wayne apparently recorded a ton of music before heading to prison: The hotly anticipated album coincides with his early release. Details are sketchy, but collaborations with his Young Money labelmates Drake and Nicki Minaj are likely.
Eyeing the sales: He's maintained a presence on Billboard's album chart with 2008's blockbuster Tha Carter III and 2009's experimental rock-guitar album Rebirth. There's no sign that the public's appetite for his music is waning: Right Above It, the first single off Wayne's I'm Not a Human Being (a digital EP that's out Sept. 27, his 28th birthday), had a No. 1 debut on Billboard's digital chart four weeks ago and has sold 453,000 downloads. — Steve Jones
My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (November)
Auditing the sound: Frontman Gerard Way and company had finished a raw rock album last year, then chucked it and started over after getting signals from a fresh muse. While not a concept album like 2006's The Black Parade, Danger Days represents a transmission blasted from the future, according to the band. Planetary (GO!) and Na Na Na are among the confirmed tracks produced by Rob Cavallo and recorded in Calabasas, Calif. No other specifics have been leaked, and the band's blog advises fans to "look alive, keep your ears to the ground and your eyes bloodshot and open … there are signs everywhere."
Eyeing the sales:The Black Parade was the band's biggest artistic and commercial success, selling 1.5 million copies (for a career total of 3.7 million albums) while impressing critics with its daring and ambitious strokes. Blender dubbed it "the Sgt. Pepper of screamo." My Chemical Romance's profile grew substantially with Parade, and the follow-up's scrapped first draft and tight lid on details have fans salivating. — Gundersen
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday (Nov. 23)
Auditing the sound: For the past year, Minaj (aka Onika Maraj), 25, has been featured on hits by Trey Songz, Usher, Lil Wayne, Jason Derulo, Ludacris and others. On Pink Friday, the sexy rapper who has been compared to everyone from Lil Kim to Lauryn Hill finally steps to the forefront. Producers include Swizz Beatz, Kanye West and will.i.am. Though equipped with an array of alter egos (including Harajuku Barbie) and animated voices, she's drawn raves for her songcraft and lyrical prowess.
Eyeing the sales: Female rappers have struggled in recent years to achieve mainstream success, but industry expectations are high that the stylish Minaj will change that. Buzz single Massive Attack got a lukewarm reception this spring, but official first single Your Love was the first song by an unaccompanied female rapper to top Billboard's rap chart in eight years. Like Drake, her labelmate on Lil Wayne's Young Money, the release of her debut album will be riding a pent-up wave of hype. — Jones
Rihanna, Loud (Nov. 16)
Auditing the sound: The Barbadian chanteuse has never stood still during her four-album excursion through the pop, reggae and R&B worlds, and this latest outing is likely to find her stepping away from the downcast drama that infused last year's Rated Ralbum and hopping back into dance mode. Sassy single Only Girl (In the World) is produced by Stargate, the team that's fueled many of her biggest hits since 2006, including Rude Boy, Unfaithful, Don't Stop the Music and Hate That I Love You. Also manning the boards: The Runners and David Guetta.
Eyeing the sales: Even though Rated R was certified platinum, that still represented a fall-off from predecessorGood Girl Gone Bad, which went double-platinum and spawned eight top 20 singles. A leaner album with a high ratio of potential hits may be the cure. Only Girl is off to a good start: After one week, it's No. 4 in downloads on iTunes. —Jerry Shriver
Kid Rock, Born Free (Nov. 16)
Auditing the sound: The waggishness isn't going anywhere, but we may see a maturing Kid. There's no metal or profane rapping — just his ruminations on the state of the nation. Rock and producer Rick Rubin have assembled a backing band that includes Heartbreaker Benmont Tench and Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith, and coaxed collaborations from Bob Seger, Sheryl Crow, Zac Brown, Trace Adkins, T.I. and Martina McBride
Eyeing the sales: Rock's eighth studio work bears the burden of matching its predecessor, Rock 'N Roll Jesus, which made its debut at No. 1, produced the worldwide smash All Summer Long — and wound up as 2008's best-selling rock album. The title track, Slow My Roll, Feels Good to Me and Times Like These already are playing well in concert. — Jerry Shriver
Ne-Yo, Libra Scale (Oct. 19)
Auditing the sound: Admired both for his fluid vocals and songwriting prowess, Ne-Yo indulges his flair for the fantastic with a concept album charting "the rise of R&B's first superhero squad." Naturally, there's a love interest, whose villainous alter ego fuels crackling single Beautiful Monster. The sweeter, more lyrical One in a Million and Champagne Life showcase his silky tenor and sinuous hooks.
Eyeing the sales: Ne-Yo's last album, 2008's platinum-plus Year of the Gentleman, spawned several successful singles, though none as ubiquitous as the chart-toppers he has penned for Beyoncé and Rihanna. Suffice to say that Libra Scale should reconfirm his status as one of his generation's most accessible and respectable artists. — Elysa Gardner
Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Oct. 25)
Auditing the sound: Swift, who turns 21 in December, looks to make the transition from teen idol to young adult superstar with her third studio set. The songs, written solely by Swift, address words left unsaid in a variety of situations: "Track by track, each song is a different confession to a different person," she said during a Ustream video chat in July. Swift continues to work with co-producer Nathan Chapman.
Eyeing the sales: Lead single Mine made its debut atop Billboard's digital songs chart and has sold more than 650,000 copies. The single already has reached the top 20 on USA TODAY's country, top 40 and adult contemporary radio charts. Swift's two previous albums have sold nearly 11 million copies combined. — Brian Mansfield
Kenny Chesney, Hemingway's Whiskey (Sept. 28)
Auditing the sound: Road warrior Chesney has largely stayed off the concert trail this year. He sees Hemingway's Whiskey as the album that will launch the next phase of his career. With a title track written by Guy Clark and a lead single, The Boys of Fall, about high school football, Chesney weaves in themes of introspection and nostalgia. He also sings duets with country legend George Jones (Small Y'All) and rock singer Grace Potter (You and Tequila). A deluxe edition offers two additional tracks and a 30-minute DVD with commentary on each song.
Eyeing the sales: Chesney has sold more than 30 million albums over the course of his career, and he was the top touring act in the USA during the past decade. He's currently 2010's most-played artist at country radio, and Boys of Fall has already gone top three. — Mansfield
Zac Brown Band, You Get What You Give (Tuesday)
Auditing the sound: This year's best-new-artist Grammy winner brings the jam-band model to country music, making the road as important as radio. The Georgia group's genre-expanding follow-up to 2008's double-platinum The Foundation combines commercial country with influences from Southern rock, Texas swing and harmony-rich '70s rock acts like The Eagles. First single As She's Walking Away features Alan Jackson; there's also a duet with Jimmy Buffett called Knee Deep.
Eyeing the sales: Major-label debut The Foundation yielded five No.1 singles and sold 2.2 million copies. A recent entertainer-of-the-year nomination from the Country Music Association is proof of the industry's high regard for the band and should keep it in the spotlight. — Mansfield
Maroon 5, Hands All Over (Tuesday)
Auditing the sound: Produced by reclusive Robert John "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard, Shania Twain) and recorded primarily at his studio in Switzerland, the band's third studio album serves up soul-injected pop-rock, plus such surprises as the pounding title track and Out of Goodbyes, a country ballad featuring Lady Antebellum. Lange, a notorious perfectionist, helped Maroon 5 hone the album's 12 tracks into a more streamlined, cohesive whole.
Eyeing the sales: The band's debut, Songs About Jane (2002), captured the best-new-artist Grammy and spawned four hits, including No. 1 This Love. Follow-up It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007) entered Billboard at No. 1. The pair's combined sales approach 7 million copies, plus 11.4 million digital tracks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Hands could add handsomely to that figure. Lange has a strong track record for hits, and USA TODAY's airplay charts rank first single Misery at No. 2 on hot adult contemporary and No. 9 on top 40. — Gundersen
Kanye West, Dark Twisted Fantasy (Mid-November)
Auditing the sound: After the marked departure of 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, which relied on Auto-Tune-aided singing to sort through a broken engagement and the untimely death of his mother, West returns to harder hip-hop beats and rhymes and gets production help from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, RZA, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and Swizz Beatz. He drew praise for the edgy song Runaway, which he unveiled at the MTV Video Music Awards, and he's working on a 40-minute film of the same name.
Eyeing the sales: West scored his fourth consecutive No. 1 and million-selling album with 808s. Rock-edged Power, the first song from the tentatively titled new album, leaked on the Internet in May, and Rolling Stone declared it West's best since Stronger. West plans to put out new music from his G.O.O.D. Music family on kanyewest.com every Friday through December to build interest. — Jones