Harlequin Debuts at #20 on Billboard 200

[Erich Johnson 2,920]

143 jokes karma 

[rafaelgherardi 956]

When Harlequin was released, it was compared to Bewitched by Laufey (never had heard of her) because the latest had been the biggest debut of a jazz album on Spotify and then Gaga's release broke this record.

Her album peaked at #18 on Billboard 200, so this means we cannot compare LG6.5 to LFS or CTC that went #8 and #1 respectively because it's very clear that the interest on jazz music is decreasing year after year.

Can't say about pre-orders and physicals copies of Laufey's album, but maybe she had those and that's why she peaked a bit higher than Gaga.

I guess Harlequin got a high debut on streams because people didn't know it was jazz and then some people lost interest in it over time, and that made it debut lower than expected... Now only the fans who are into jazz (the minority I'd say) listen to it basically.

Edited October 7, 2024 by rafaelgherardi
typo

[Juanlittlem 43,096]

4 minutes ago, Erich Johnson said:

143 jokes karma 

Two vinyls and 1 CD on her store for a Jazz album with 11 covers and 2 original songs vs a comeback pop album with 7 vinyls variants, 3 CDs and a casette only for it to sell 12k more than Harlequin  

 

[nATAH 44,803]

5 minutes ago, Juanlittlem said:

Two vinyls and 1 CD on her store for a Jazz album with 11 covers and 2 original songs vs a comeback pop album with 7 vinyls variants, 3 CDs and a casette only for it to sell 12k more than Harlequin  

 

plus a VMAs medley performance after winning the vanguard award with 3 singles and 3 videos 

[Erich Johnson 2,920]

1 hour ago, Juanlittlem said:

Two vinyls and 1 CD on her store for a Jazz album with 11 covers and 2 original songs vs a comeback pop album with 7 vinyls variants, 3 CDs and a casette only for it to sell 12k more than Harlequin  

 

A blockbuster exposure 

[BlondeQueenOfGGD 25,454]

Why are we sugarcoating it by saying it was a surprise release? folklore? BEYONCÈ? Someone of Gaga’s caliber should be able to debut Top 5 EASILY. It’s worrying, it kinda annoys me that the whole world is streaming DWAS, and yet the new album isn’t doing as good as it should. You have to admit, going from 1.1M opening to 25K in the span of 13 years is alarming.

[vitoburrrito 631]

I’m actually surprised it’s this low, I have non-Gaga fan friends telling me how they like the album. I would have thought it would chart higher than L4S. 
 

I think it’s a great album and I hope Gaga is proud of it

[Mr S 8,445]

3 hours ago, Luffy said:

Why are we sugarcoating it by saying it was a surprise release? folklore? BEYONCÈ? Someone of Gaga’s caliber should be able to debut Top 5 EASILY. It’s worrying, it kinda annoys me that the whole world is streaming DWAS, and yet the new album isn’t doing as good as it should. You have to admit, going from 1.1M opening to 25K in the span of 13 years is alarming.

Well the fanbase has dwindled and her music doesn't always hit the GP

[ALGAYDO 30,826]

It’s because I’ve been streaming The Joker, Happy Mistake and Close To You non-stop 

[Mr Oak 7,248]

Modded Spotify versions are down these past few weeks, I'm sure the album took a hit because of that

[nATAH 44,803]

6 hours ago, Luffy said:

Why are we sugarcoating it by saying it was a surprise release? folklore? BEYONCÈ? Someone of Gaga’s caliber should be able to debut Top 5 EASILY. It’s worrying, it kinda annoys me that the whole world is streaming DWAS, and yet the new album isn’t doing as good as it should. You have to admit, going from 1.1M opening to 25K in the span of 13 years is alarming.

those are pop records  and bringing up born this way's numbers is even more insane

this isn't a suprise release pop record with full promo, it's a surprise release jazz companion album to a movie soundtrack

[lastpopicon 6,104]

am I crazy to think this was kinda expected? i mean, even the most hardcore fans had no idea an album was coming and it was barely advertised, i see this as a fun side project she did.

[PatrickMonster 6,126]

19 minutes ago, lastpopicon said:

am I crazy to think this was kinda expected? i mean, even the most hardcore fans had no idea an album was coming and it was barely advertised, i see this as a fun side project she did.

No actually you are one of the sane ones here  we cant explain to them the difference between a pop album with promo and singles to a jazz album (one of the least popular genres among young people) with almost completely consisting of covers, no singles, no videos, barely any promo whatsoever, and physical copies only available from her online store. Oh and being a companion album to one of the most hated movies of our generation  the fact it went top 20 should be celebrated if anything

[Hyperobject 66,771]

1 hour ago, NATAH said:

those are pop records  and bringing up born this way's numbers is even more insane

this isn't a suprise release pop record with full promo, it's a surprise release jazz companion album to a movie soundtrack

don’t interact with that user, they’re a lost cause atp. they must be paying Gaga’s bills or something lol. 

Edited October 8, 2024 by Hyperobject

[nATAH 44,803]

3 hours ago, lastpopicon said:

am I crazy to think this was kinda expected? i mean, even the most hardcore fans had no idea an album was coming and it was barely advertised, i see this as a fun side project she did.

that's what's so vexing is that she finally put out a little side project that's just pure Gaga, something she did just for fun and artistic reasons yet people are branding it as a flop, comparing it to 143 or chromatica and saying she have just not bothered

Gaga's finally in another creative peak but all people care about are numbers, it's so sad to see