via ShowBiz 411

Yikes! It’s worse than I thought. Robin Thicke’s “Paula” album opened on iTunes today at number 8, and at 76 on amazon.com. That’s after his dreary appearance on the BET Awards this past weekend.

(By the way: this is for real time sales today. The number 1 album last week, just about to be announced, is from our favorite contemp pop balladeer Ed Sheeran.)

What a difference a year makes. “Blurred Lines” was last year’s ubiquitous song of the summer. The album didn’t sell that well, however. The total so far is just over 731,000 copies– not even a million although the single sold over 14 million digital copies.

But “Paula” looks doomed unless Thicke’s all day adventure tomorrow on ABC– “GMA,” “The View,” and “Jimmy Kimmel”–can stimulate sales. But the video for the first song is so weird and awful, and the lack of real build up for this release, spells a sales disaster come next Monday. After Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez’s failures, this is another misstep for the record biz this summer.

What does this all mean? For Thicke it means that without a real dance hit, and no Pharrell to help him, he’s squandered all the good vibes he got from “Blurred Lines.” He’s obviously turned off his base of female fans– already angry about the “rape” connotations from “Blurred Lines” and its X rated video. On “Paula” he pretty much admits to serial cheating on Patton. That’s not a way to woo a female audience.

For Carey and Lopez, it’s different things. Carey seems genuinely besotted with her kids and maybe just doesn’t care about chart positions right now. Lopez should take a cue from Janet Jackson and bow out gracefully now. Mechanized, tricked up music has run its course for those two.

As for Robin Thicke convincing Paula Patton to re-start their marriage, I don’t know: will it work if the record is a flop? I don’t think so unless she feels bad for him. Cue the puppy dog eyes.

Buzz Track: The One

Kings of A&R favorite Wolf Colony just released the lead single “The One” from the debut album titled “Unmasked”. He will be releasing another single within the next two weeks prior to the album release coming at the end of July. They will tour this fall, in support of the debut album, throughout the East and West coast. We listed Wolf Colony as a top 8 emerging artist and an artist to watch, the track Calling caught our attention.
Contact: marshall.wade@me.com

Buzz Track: Hopeless

We really like Ethan Teel also known as Owl-Eyes. Teel sings, plays guitar, bass, drums, and is a lyricist, following in the steps of Foo’s frontman David Grohl. He cites The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, The Kinks, all the way down to Slipknot as influences. Ethan Teel also plays regularly in several other bands and can be seen playing live in Kansas City and other Missouri towns. Upcoming shows can be viewer here.
Contact: drumman@windstream.net

15 year old Chris Miles, a white rapper, signed a million dollar deal with Warner/ Chappell. His big break occurred when his rap audition for “America’s Got Talent” went viral. According to sources, Miles will get an $182,500 advance for the first album. If the album sells, the next 4 combined could land Chris more than $1.5 million. Check out his video 32 Bar Acapella video here.

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