Two veteran acts Maroon 5 and Linkin Park are set to release their anticipated albums on June 26th. Each are hoping for the #1 spot and I’m surprised their respective teams did not push back one of the releases considering both are projected to debut with 200k in the first week. The competition is close. Both Maroon 5 and Linkin Park’s previous album were released with disappointing results and had many wondering if their luck ran out. It seems each band could re-capture some of the fan base they lost.

NBC’s The Voice gave the Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine his second life. He also replaced his funk rock routine with electronic dance that apparently worked for him. He came out with 2 big hits this year – ‘Moves Like Jagger‘ featuring Christina Aguilera and his featured role on the Gym Class Heroes’ ‘Stereo Hearts’.

Linkin Park’s new single Burn It Down sold close to 400k. The fan enthusiasm is quite noticeable this time around compared to their last failed Rick Rubin produced album ‘A Thousand Suns’ (2008).