This summer was supposed to be a “three-peat” for Kelly Clarkson and 50 Cent.
Much the way “Spider-Man 3,” “Shrek the Third” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” were titles slated to keep this season’s movie box office afloat, pop star Clarkson’s third CD, “My December,” and rapper 50 Cent’s third disc, “Curtis,” were titles considered to be surefire summer saviors.
A few undeniable summer hits were certainly needed. During the first half of the year, sales of digital tracks rose almost 50 percent from the same period last year. But CD sales fell 15 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
“American Idol” finalist Chris Daughtry’s “Daughtry” is the best-selling CD of the year so far, and that’s actually a 2006 release.
Clarkson’s and 50 Cent’s track records looked like the right remedies, or at least Band-Aids, for an ailing music industry. Then things fell apart for both artists.
Clarkson, coming off a blockbuster, hits-laden CD in 2004’s “Breakaway” and a couple of Grammy Awards, had this summer’s most troubled CD. All the news leading up to the release of “My December” was bad, and that’s not good.
She fought with label head Clive Davis over songwriting control, parted with her management, her tour crumbled and her single “Never Again” nearly tanked.
Clarkson’s CD sold well its first week but was topped by Miley Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus.” Coming in behind a star as dubious as Cyrus wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Clarkson has since fallen from the Top 10 after a mere month.
50 Cent, who had the second-best-selling CD of 2005 with “The Massacre,” released two singles this spring, “Amusement Park” and “Straight to the Bank.” Both flopped, as did his performance on the BET Awards. His “Curtis” CD subsequently was moved to Sept. 4 from June 26, then to Sept. 11. The official spin has something to do with synchronizing his worldwide release, but who’s buying that?
Even the “Now Vol. 25” compilation CD isn’t selling like other installments of the long-running series, but it still sits atop the Billboard 200 for two weeks and counting as fans continue to show their transition to stand-alone hit singles over albums. No matter that the hits are slightly moldy. The latest set includes Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend,” Beyonce and Shakira’s “Beautiful Liar,” Huey’s “Pop, Lock and Drop It” and Fergie’s “Glamorous.”
Now, the industry finds itself looking for other summer CD champions, another Daughtry, another Carrie Underwood, another “High School Musical” (the latter two are on the way).
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HITS AND MISSES
Hits and misses are popping up in unexpected places. Some artists, like Nickelback, Fergie and Carrie Underwood, are still selling well several months or even a year after the album release. Here’s a look by genre:
ROCK
Hits
Linkin Park’s “Minutes to Midnight”
Maroon 5’s “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”
White Stripes’ “Icky Thump”
Smashing Pumpkins’ “Zeitgeist”
Nickelback’s “All the Right Reasons”
Misses
Wilco’s (right) “Sky Blue Sky”
Nine Inch Nails’ “Year Zero”
Marilyn Manson’s “Eat Me, Drink Me”
Enrique Iglesias’ “Insomniac”
HIP-HOP
Hit
T.I.’s (right) “T.I. vs. T.I.P.”
Misses
Shop Boyz’ “Rock Star Mentality”
Timbaland’s “Timbaland Presents Shock Value”
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “Strength & Loyalty”
Young Jeezy Presents U.S.D.A.’s “Cold Summer: The Authorized Mixtape”
Huey’s “Notebook Paper”
SOULFUL BRITS
Hit
Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”
Misses
Joss Stone’s “Introducing Joss Stone”
Lily Allen’s “Alright, Still”
COUNTRY
Hits
Carrie Underwood’s “Some Hearts”
Rascal Flatts’ “Me And My Gang”
Misses
Brad Paisley’s “5th Gear”
Toby Keith’s “Big Dog Daddy”
Big & Rich’s “Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace”
Gretchen Wilson’s “One of the Boys”
R&B
Hits
R. Kelly’s “Double Up”
T-Pain’s “Epiphany”
Kelly Rowland’s “Ms. Kelly”
Fergie’s “The Dutchess”
Misses
Ne-Yo’s “Because of You”
Tank’s “Sex, Love & Pain”
Lloyd’s “Street Love”
Bobby Valentino’s “Special Occasion”
