I just recieved an email from Playbill.com about how I could save money on buying the #1 Billboard OCR of Legally Blonde. I don't have an account on Billboard.com, so can someone confirm this? Did the Legally Blonde CD beat out Wicked this week?
"It's like children's theatre for 40-year old gay people!" - XANADU THE MUSICAL
I just read somewhere within the last few days that the WICKED cast album held the #1 spot on that chart every week since its release, except for two. Can anyone remember which cast albums took its place for those two weeks?
Was Spring Awakening one? And maybe the revival of Sweeney Todd was the other...? I can't remember!
"Word of advice: Be who you are, wear what you want---just learn how to run real fast." Marc, UGLY BETTY
The release of Stephen Schwartz's Wicked has topped the chart for 52 of the 58 weeks the chart has been published. The recording has dominated the spot, only being toppled by the Columbia Records two-disc "Harry" release (comprised of the recording of Broadway's The Pajama Game revival and selections of Connick, Jr.'s 2001 show Thou Shalt Not) and The Color Purple for one week each, and Jersey Boys.
#86 is very good for a cast recording...but how many copies did it sell? Like 5?
Anyone remember back in the good'ol days when people RUSHED to stores to buy CDs and CD sales were in the MILLIONS? Today, CDs are leaked out and people don't pay for the music. I do that sometimes--but if I like a few of the songs, I make an effort to go buy the CD (I had the rough version of the cast recording and drove 25 miles to the closest store that had it just to get a real, legal copy). It's sad that sales just aren't what they used to be.
"If it walks like a Parks, if it wobbles like a Parks, then it's definitely fat and nobody loves it." --MA
It may not be the greatest reference point, but Elliott Yamin's album is at #81 and sold 9,000 copies last week. Legally has to somewhere around there.
Several recent cast albums have charted, but mostly in the 101-200 range and have short lives on the big chart. Spamalot, Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde and maybe Jersey Boys (not sure about that one) are the only ones of recent vintage that I can think off that hit the Top 100...and then only for a week or two.
What they have is longevity. Before its age threw it onto the Catalog albums chart (over two years since release), "Wicked" bounced around the lower half of the chart for months. Now it's a top 10 catalog staple. I've heard that both it and "Mamma Mia" sell a couple thousand a week.
The leaked copy of the cast recording had the Overture, the legal copy (the actual one) does not have the Overture, the CD just starts off with "Omigod You Guys".