The music world's infatuation with pop acts may be trending downward, but indications are that the members of *Nsync will still have something to celebrate with "Celebrity."
An informal survey of Canadian retailers suggests the pop quintet's follow-up to "No Strings Attached" got off to a running start when it arrived in record stores Tuesday.
"We have had a great first day with 'Celebrity'," HMV's new-release buyer Brent Taggart told JAM! Music.
"By far, it was the strongest release of everything that came out (Tuesday). It sold well across the country."
At the chain's Winnipeg store at the Polo Park Shopping Centre, a sales associate said "Celebrity" sold over 100 copies, which qualified it as a big seller.
"It's really, really big ... In my opinion, they might surprise people with this album. It's a little bit dancier than the last album."
Meanwhile, the U.S.-based magazine Hits reported at their website (hitsdailydouble.com) that "Celebrity" was unlikely to repeat *Nsync's historic opening-week sales of "No Strings Attached," which sold 2.4 million copies out-of-the-box.
But the magazine predicted "Celebrity" would still sell between 1.8 and 2 million copies during its opening week, and confidently declared that "Celebrity" would go on to be the biggest album of the year.
A staffer at Virgin's downtown Vancouver store agreed that "Celebrity" wasn't matching the performance of "No Strings Attached," but added "it is still very important music for us."
"Now, (pop music) is not selling as well as then. It has shifted a little bit ... It used to be more rock and pop, but now (record buyers) are diversifying, looking for stuff that is off the beaten path."
In Toronto, a staffer at Sam The Record Man's flagship Yonge Street store agreed that, compared to the frantic reception "No Strings Attached" received from record-buyers, this release was more subdued.
"I would say ('Celebrity') is a bit down from the last one," the staffer said, pegging opening-day sales at approximately 50 copies.
"This pop stuff is starting to wane in popularity," the staffer said, adding that Moist singer David Usher's solo album, "Morning Orbit," which also arrived in stores Tuesday, attracted a bigger initial rush of customers than *Nsync.
HMV's Taggart conceded that pop sales are dipping along with overall sales, but added that there's still plenty of life left in superstar acts such as *Nsync.
"Sales have trended down generally, but we're very excited by the sales we've already seen for 'Celebrity'."
"Celebrity" review
