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Experts answer your questions. For
January 09, 2009
Ask Billboard is updated every Friday. Submit your burning music questions to Gary Trust at askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.
A(C/DC) TO Z(Z TOP)
Hi Gary,
First off, congrats on taking over the 'Ask Billboard' column. I've followed it with interest for a long time now, and I would like to thank Keith Caulfield for years of great work!
As for my question, I've heard that ZZ Top is to return this year with a Rick Rubin-produced album. Any news on this? I hope they can make a big AC/DC-style comeback.
Also, could you provide a sales breakdown of their albums?
Thanks,
Thomas Christiansen
Copenhagen, Denmark
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm honored to take on the column, having been a faithful Billboard reader for many years before I joined the charts department in 2006. I'm sure the 15-year-old me in 1989 would've been very excited to know that I would one day be authoring this column (though I'd struggle to explain what '.com' means ...)
And, you can still read Keith's 'Over the Counter' in the pages of Billboard and 'Chart Alert' at billboard.biz.
Per your question, Billboard's Gary Graff reported in August that ZZ Top is, indeed, planning to record a new album to be produced by Rick Rubin. You can check out the entire story here.
Several of the band's most notable sets were released prior to 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking album sales. But since then, ZZ Top's highest-selling collection is 1992's "Greatest Hits," with 4 million sold. Its 1983 monster "Eliminator" ranks second with sales of 1,060,000 in the SoundScan era. The band's last album of new material to reach the Billboard 200, 2003's "Mescalero," has sold 104,000.
WILDE LIFE
Hi Gary,
Two years ago I bought Kim Wilde's new album "Never Say Never" as an import. It featured brand new songs and new versions of her older hits, including "Kids in America" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Recently I noticed that "Never Say Never" was released in the U.S. and I was wondering what the sales have been. I think it's a very good album. My favorites are "Perfect Girl," "Game Over" and "Forgive Me."
Kiril Kostova
New York, N.Y.
Hi Kiril,
I picked up that album -- first released in Europe in 2006 -- as an import, too. I also like "Perfect Girl," and it was great to hear new takes on some of Kim Wilde's classics, including her updated recording of "You Came," which remains her last Billboard Hot 100 hit, stopping at No. 41 in 1988. The album is a hidden gem in the U.S., though, having sold less than 1,000 copies since its stateside release in 2007.
Wilde's top-seller in the Nielsen SoundScan era is "The Singles Collection 1981-1993," with sales of 36,000.
Wilde looks poised for a successful 2009. She begins a 14-date solo tour March 24 in Germany and will then join the Here and Now Tour for seven dates in the U.K. in May. The lineup includes fellow '80s faves Boy George and Howard Jones and wraps with a May 23 show at Wembley Arena in London.
GIVE A LYTTLE BIT
Hello Gary,
I have not heard alot about Caribbean artist Kevin Lyttle since his success in 2004 with his single "Turn Me On." Can you please let me know the sales of "Kevin Lyttle" and his latest album "Fyah"?
Thanks,
Kyle Walker,
Christ Church, Barbados
Hi Kyle,
I'm sure the weather is nicer on the beaches of Barbados than here in icy New York!
Lyttle's new album is due to be released in the U.S. after it was first made available in August on his own Tarakon label in Japan, where the label has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Universal Records. The first single is "Anywhere," featuring Flo Rida.
Lyttle sold 375,000 copies of his self-titled debut, powered by the success of "Turn Me On," which rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200.
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Gary Trust is Billboard's pop/adult chart manager. He oversees the Pop 100, Mainstream Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts. He also edits the Billboard Canadian Update and manages the pop and adult charts for sister publication Radio & Records. Before joining Billboard, Gary spent 14 years in New England radio. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in communications from Boston University, where he worked at student-run station WTBU (home of Howard Stern's first on-air job).
Note: Questions regarding the Recording Industry Association of America's gold and platinum certification program can be answered by visiting RIAA.com.
Send all your burning music questions to Gary at askbb@billboard.com
Got an in-depth question to ask Billboard? For a reasonable fee, Billboard Research Services will explore the Billboard archives for you.
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