This is the thread where we discuss records that have actually sold a million plus during the 2010s and it's increasing rarity

01 Lady Antebellum, Need You Now (2,355,000)
02 Justin Bieber, My World 2.0 (1,387,000)
03 Sade, Soldier of Love (1,213,000)
04 Lady Gaga, The Fame (1,151,000)
05 Eminem, Recovery (1,058,000)
09 Justin Bieber, My World (710,000)

Yay for Sade. Also wtf is the biggest record of the year?

Also wtf is the biggest record of the year?

Lady Antebellum

hmm, what genre do we think this might possibly be....?

I only know the Gaga record but I'm old so ignore me.

Isn't Lady Antebellum a bit of a contentious name tho?

ok lol country music

my bad, sunday mornings and all that

Last weekend I was exposed to a lot of bad commercial country and other singer-songwriter schlock of the modern era against my will, and did listen to the entire Lady Antebellum record. Well, it's poor. Quite poor. But the appeal is obvious and if you're into that sort of thing, quite well done. I think pop-country will be the last genre standing in terms of record sales. Also, go Sade!

I guess Sade is selling records to the grown&sexy crowd or something? weird tho

Same crowd that made the Maxwell record such a 'success' I assume.

the lady antebellum single is a 10/10 classic fwiw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB7T3lJ3dZ4

sam aren't you into like neko case and shit? you'd really dig this song imo

jenny lewis and what not

never heard of lady antebellum

will listen now

the track J0rdan posted is pretty solid -- they played the hell out of it on the radio, so i'm sick of it now, but it's totally worth stanning for

lots of batshit crazy talk in this thread

i like that weird guitar thing after she says "need you now"

Lady Antebellum's latest single is yummy and crunchy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeL81HhC6eA

lots of batshit crazy talk in this thread

― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, August 29, 2010 2:43 PM (38 seconds ago) Bookmark

to be fair 6 of the first 8 posts were from british ppl

song is not bad, great lyrics ("it's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now...), it's kind of lifeless though... needs a remix

I guess Sade is selling records to the grown&sexy crowd or something? weird tho

Sure -- and to the twentysomethings who've had plenty of time to love her albums.

that's the only lady antebellum song i've heard tho -- i hope the dude & the chick sing on every song tbh would be a dope like country version of the xx

song is not bad, great lyrics ("it's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now...), it's kind of lifeless though... needs a remix

A third-rate remix has graced Miami's airwaves for months.

xhuxk's review of Lady Antebellum.

Hmmm, might be alright if the dude didn't ruin it.

/lex

yeah his voice is slightly unfortunate

Same crowd that made the Maxwell record such a 'success' I assume.

― a hoy hoy, Sunday, August 29, 2010 7:39 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark

I fell hard for "Need You Now" around this time last year so it's difficult to write about. The couple bend their harmonies so well; every vocal fill is well-timed and perfect.

xpost well not r&b fans in general, but a certain demographic within the r&b fanbase... the same people who bought Kem's latest album (which debuted at #2 this week... I've still never heard a Kem song in my life). That Urban AC/"grown & sexy" crowd.

who's Kem?

exactly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dNRG8OIzxA

he sounds exactly like I imagined

That Urban AC/"grown & sexy" crowd

You talking about people buying Sade or Lady Antebellum? (Or both?)

Sade

Kind of a black Richard Marx vibe going on.

My brain.

actually on further reflection eminem seems like the biggest outlier here -- not really sure who his target demo is at this point (altho I will cop to momentary feelings of "maybe he's still got it???" excitement the first time I heard his verse on "Forever")(but still, it's not like I fuckin' bought the album!)

not really sure who his target demo is at this point

Aging goths.

I haven't heard Bieber's record, but Eminem aside, the albums listed upthread are good to pretty good.

hasn't been mentioned in the thread yet but Usher's Raymond v. Raymond has sold over a million now.

I've heard of half of those. Are they uk or us figures? Surprised no Black Eyed Peas either way.

Drake's album went platinum as well I believe

no way -- wow

I guess we've only just started the 10s, but still

oh right yeah, i think Thank Me Later has only shipped platinum but should be passing a million sold like any day now anyway

BEP's last album was 2009; wiki sez Drake's Thank Me Later has sold 994K in the US to date

Ke$ha's album will soon be platinum too. And I guess we could count Susan Boyle's sales at the beginning of the year.

yeah 09 releases that are still selling in 2010 are totally fair game, the Gaga and the first Bieber listed upthread were released last year

you'll be able to add taylor swift and likely katy perry by the end of the year as well

also maybe T.I.

I don't really know what my point is either. I guess I'm like 25% offended by this band's name and 75% by yr bullshit attitude towards criticisms of it.

The point is, if you think the album's a drag, cool. But using "hegemony" and alluding to Weber strikes me as weird. You can say the same about hip-hop!

yeah the Weber shit is just my personal country music baggage, which I only brought into the discussion because I don't think "country music" is some kind of marginal social group that needs to be protected against criticism

I just smoked a cigarette tho and I feel less angry about all this stuff already

Well, it's the only genre dismissed out of hand by people, and these same people expect you to sympathize (i.e. "I like all genres except country").

it's all good

yeah I saw a list of my little sister's favorite music recently that included the phrase "anything but country" and got a little bit :'(
at least we've moved on from the days of "anything but country, techno, or hip-hop". hell, if I was really into country, I might take a little pride in being the last truly hated musical genre in america!

I seem to have a knack for setting threads on fire this week.

treating hegemony like some really scary intimidating five dollar word is weirder (xpost)

Calling something hegemonic is almost tautological; it stops conversation. What made it hegemonic, and so what if it is? It's a beginning, not an end.

usually (in the uk anyway) the phrase is "anything except for country,metal & opera"
So one day there will be a Country Metal Opera.

xpost dude I sorta understand where you're coming from, but it's not like I offered that up as some definitive reason to condemn of the band or the music; just trying to point out that they occupy a cultural position at odds with the "disparaged/misunderstood minority group" defense you were trying to mount upthread

is this a lady antebellum discussion thread now?

newayz even though platinum albums are v uncommon now, platinum and multi-plat singles are ridiculously common. digital singles sales are extremely healthy right now although labels are having trouble convincing (particularly younger) consumers to purchase full albums. i suppose this is why so many album tracks are pre-released as "buzz singles" like with tswift's "fearless," bep's "the end," jbieber's "my world," katy perry's "teenage dream" and so on. all those albums actually seem to be doing unusually well, so this may not be such a bad tactic for the time being.

This is the thread where we discuss records that have actually sold a million plus during the 2010s and it's increasing rarity

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (128 of them)
01 Lady Antebellum, Need You Now (2,355,000)
02 Justin Bieber, My World 2.0 (1,387,000)
03 Sade, Soldier of Love (1,213,000)
04 Lady Gaga, The Fame (1,151,000)
05 Eminem, Recovery (1,058,000)
09 Justin Bieber, My World (710,000)

Yay for Sade. Also wtf is the biggest record of the year?

― a hoy hoy, Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:37 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Also wtf is the biggest record of the year?
Lady Antebellum
hmm, what genre do we think this might possibly be....?

― the GISing of summer porns (history mayne), Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:39 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I only know the Gaga record but I'm old so ignore me.

― Hongro Horace (Noodle Vague), Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:42 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Isn't Lady Antebellum a bit of a contentious name tho?

― Hongro Horace (Noodle Vague), Sunday, August 29, 2010 11:43 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ok lol country music

my bad, sunday mornings and all that

― a hoy hoy, Sunday, August 29, 2010 12:10 PM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Last weekend I was exposed to a lot of bad commercial country and other singer-songwriter schlock of the modern era against my will, and did listen to the entire Lady Antebellum record. Well, it's poor. Quite poor. But the appeal is obvious and if you're into that sort of thing, quite well done. I think pop-country will be the last genre standing in terms of record sales. Also, go Sade!

― FRESH MEAT (MFB), Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:16 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I guess Sade is selling records to the grown&sexy crowd or something? weird tho

― I.C.P. Freely (bernard snowy), Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:37 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Same crowd that made the Maxwell record such a 'success' I assume.

― a hoy hoy, Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:39 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the lady antebellum single is a 10/10 classic fwiw

― J0rdan S., Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:40 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

sam aren't you into like neko case and shit? you'd really dig this song imo

― J0rdan S., Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:40 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

jenny lewis and what not

― J0rdan S., Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:40 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

never heard of lady antebellum

― / (The Brainwasher), Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:41 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

will listen now

― / (The Brainwasher), Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:41 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the track J0rdan posted is pretty solid -- they played the hell out of it on the radio, so i'm sick of it now, but it's totally worth stanning for

― markers, Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:42 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lots of batshit crazy talk in this thread

― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, August 29, 2010 8:43 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

ZOMG BATSHIT CRAAAAZY

it's kind of funny that this thread got batshit crazy AFTER that post

lol yes

"Calling something hegemonic is almost tautological"

http://deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/the-itchy-scratchy-poochie-show1.png?w=512&h=384

lol

i will say to whineys credit hes good w the image zings -- u did a chris farley one i found the other day for searching for something else iirc & it made me irl lol

haha i remember that but don't remember what i was zingin

Are these US sales or world sales?

it was chris farley doing air quotes

that lady antebellum song basically sucks why are you guys talking about them so much

its a rly good song dude

Geir - us ones. no-one anywhere else in the world cares about record sales as the best the rest of the world gets is usually "hey! we had a hit! that'll fund the rest of our tiny label for 10 years. or piles of coke!" whereas big american record industry funds most music and whatnot.

it's some really maudlin ish

Meh - that Lady Antebellum thing is exactly the mix of modern country and 80s-ish pop that I assume is massive in lots of bits of America I've never visited. It's ok but I can't imagine wanting to listen to it again.

more Simpsons posts plz

"Calling something hegemonic is almost tautological"

― hold me, thrill me, kiss me, lil b (Whiney G. Weingarten),

Doncha think.

This thread needs these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSIioUyyqAM

http://ladyantebellum.com/intl/media/videos/cover-radioheads-high-and-dry-london

Geir - us ones. no-one anywhere else in the world cares about record sales as the best the rest of the world gets is usually "hey! we had a hit! that'll fund the rest of our tiny label for 10 years. or piles of coke!" whereas big american record industry funds most music and whatnot.

Disregarding the UK, this may well be true ;), but still those US acts and US labels still sell a lot outside of the US too, but with slightly different acts than on the US market. For instance, country seels considerably better in the US, and Hip-hop/R&B probably have a bigger percentage of the US market than the European one as well. Whereas punk pop and electropop - much of it by US acts - seems to go down better in Europe.

well if anyone sells a million + anywhere else then feel free to talk about it?

just want to cosign the awesomeness of that lady antebellum single, though the rest of the album didn't really grab me. the name put me off listening to them for ages, but more because i assumed they were an emo band than because i clocked the dubious origins of it.

i think their name is interesting because it's sort of progressive and reactionary at the same time -- a band with a 2:1 guy-girl ratio that calls themselves "lady," but also obv. the "antebellum" thing. anyway, i love "need you now," best power ballad in a long time. and i like that neither one of them is a very interesting singer separately, but their two generic voices make for really nice, evocative harmonies.

^^^ Can't really deal with the dude's voice, but they sing well together. I really liked "Lookin' For A Good Time." Which, thinking about it lyrically, may be the prequel to "Need You Now!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW5Y5Y8wcKU&ob=av3e

My Singles Jukebox review of Lady Antebellum's "I Run to You":
I suppose it was too much to hope that Lady Antebellum was an impossibly tall R&B diva with an Afro, hoop skirt, and parasol, as though imagined by artist Kara Walker. Decent heartfelt duet, though.

I'm having a premonition of a 2019 or 2020 ILM thread about the Biggest Hits of the past decade: someone mentions "Need You Now" and a bunch of British people ask "What the hell is that?" (I think it happened last decade with "Before He Cheats")

Richard Marx was white?!

Thank God he is dead now.

theres a band called john cougar concentration camp

there used to be a ton of their albums in the bargain bin at the record exchange

lady antebellum is a dumb ignorant name that only red state hicks would choose/use without any sense of irony ;-)

to be fair 6 of the first 8 posts were from british ppl

give it a rest will you, this meme is fucking stupid and ignorant and you should know better. and i say that as someone who's not british.

(re: grown-and-sexy r&b, it surely helps sales that it's stuff you'd really listen to in album form, right? I mean, you don't run around banging Sade singles, you put a record like that on and hang out with the whole thing, long-term, and that helps word-of-mouth, etc. etc. -- it's a kind of record you want to have. plus yeah older people.)

yeah, you "hang out" with the whole thing

(while having sex)

Sade's kind of a bad example because the lead single from that album totally was a radio banger

and bedroom banger?

i doubt ppl who heard the 'bangin' lead single (about sex) were unsure that the sade record was gonna be smooth or not

I'm hoping the album sleeve lured a few extra thousand buyers.