So last week's Billboard charts were pretty anemic, as Idolator pointed out that the 61,000 albums Alicia Keys sold of As I Am was the second-lowest chart topper in the SoundScan era. And once you go down the list, it's kinda shocking to find out that 27,000 albums can get you a Top 10 slot -- 27,000 albums used to get you a swift kick in the tail if you were the major-label A&R person for an album that debuted with those sales totals.
This week's charts were little better, with the Juno soundtrack selling 65,000 albums and the Hannah Montana 2 disk placing 10th again, this time selling 30,000 albums.
So what does this have to do with kids music, our little corner of the music world? Well, you're probably aware about this They Might Be Giants CD/DVD, Here Come the 123s, which is released next week? (That was sarcasm, of course you're aware.)
Well, I think Here Come the 123s could break the Billboard Top 10. Not the kid audio chart -- the whole enchilada.
Think about it -- its predecessor, Here Come the ABCs went gold (500,000 50,000 albums) in just 2 1/2 months. The album is, at the time of this writing, sitting at #21 in Amazon's Bestsellers list, right around Billboard Top 20 artists like Colbie Caillat, Daughtry, and Mary J. Blige. Their podcast for kids is a huge hit on iTunes. I mean, really, why couldn't they sell 35,000 - 40,000 copies the first week of release? Frankly, the only reason why I didn't ask why They Might Be Giants reach #1 is that that honor will likely go to Jack Johnson, who's got a new album coming out next week, too. (And who knows a little bit about kids music himself.)
