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Post by BeachTenant on Aug 22, 2007 8:44:43 GMT -5
August 21, 2007 — 
Rapper 50 Cent has vowed to hang up his solo career if Kanye West outsells him when their new albums are released on September 11, but Kenny Chesney, whose Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates also goes on sale that day, may prove to be a bigger threat.
Kenny says the guys ought to be watching their backs in case he slips by both. "It's funny how with every record that comes out, we're aware of the urban [competition], and none of those acts are aware that I exist — until I have that No. 1 debut on the Top 200," he told Entertainment Weekly.
Kenny's last four studio albums have debuted at No. 1, including his most recent effort, The Road and the Radio, which beat the original soundtrack to 50 Cent's film Get Rich or Die Tryin' when both debuted in November 2005. He also consistently places at or near the top of annual lists of the year's top concert-ticket sellers. So if West and 50 Cent split the rap vote come September 11, Kenny just might be the spoiler.
Kenny says his only complaint is that his fans are getting ignored "because they're not an image the media find sexy. What does bug me is discounting the people who bought my records year in and year out." Right on Kenny!! 
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Post by yoohoo on Aug 22, 2007 11:07:33 GMT -5
Well at least fity cent  was smart enough not to make the same claim in regards to Kenny's album (cd?). |
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Post by chesneynut on Aug 22, 2007 11:33:09 GMT -5
GOSH I LOVE KENNY LMAO!!!!
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Post by lilmisschesney18 on Aug 24, 2007 14:34:27 GMT -5
LOL, thats too funny! Love Kenny's comment though! He IS theee BEST!
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Post by igoback02 on Aug 24, 2007 17:30:43 GMT -5
Love that article, thanks for posting!
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Post by igoback02 on Sept 7, 2007 10:14:34 GMT -5
Here's the latest:
Rap vs. country for Billboard album chart bragging rights
50 Cent may act like it's a two-man race between him and Kanye West on Sept. 11 to nail the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top 200 Album list. But it's looking more and more like a three-way.
Industry sources cite country star Kenny Chesney as a formidable foe for the hip-hop icons with his own Sept. 11 release, "Just Who I Am: Pirates and Poets." "Chesney has a good shot, based on a number of variables," says Roy Trakin, senior editor of the trade magazine Hits. For one, "rap sales are off significantly in the last year. And country is one of the few genres that's still selling significant physical [as opposed to digital] product."
Chris Neal, music editor of Country Weekly, adds that Chesney's "summer tour was one of the year's biggest, and his album hits stores on the back of a massive radio hit, 'Don't Blink.'"
At the same time, 50's first three singles struggled on the radio. Kanye's haven't done much better, though his new "Stronger" rallied with huge digital sales.
If we use the past as the only indicator of upcoming sales, the rappers would have it all over the cowpoke. Fitty's last CD, "Massacre," sold 1.1 million in its opening volley. Kanye's "Late Registration" moved 860,000. Chesney's "The Road and the Radio" pushed 469,000. But all that happened three long years ago. No one sells anywhere near those numbers anymore. This year's two top openers - from Linkin Park and "High School Musical 2" - started with 625,000 and 618,000, respectively. Right now, industry analysts estimate sales for Kanye and 50 to land in the 500,000-600,000 range, with Chesney just below, unless certain factors intervene. "A key variable is whether either of the two rappers' albums leaks on the Internet," says Trakin. (Some sites already claim to have them).
"The rap audience is more attuned to the Internet," says Trakin. "The country audience is not as digitally sophisticated."
Also, the country audience has shown more loyalty to its stars than fickle rap fans. Should Chesney win out, or even come close, it would show once again the power of America's silent majority.
More, says Neal, "Kenny's album will almost certainly sell consistently for the next year, [and] he's much more prolific than either Kanye or 50. So, for him ... it's certainly not something to threaten retirement over."
No matter which star ends up on top, the industry itself will certainly win. "Anytime you have this much coverage of a release date," says the CEO of Chesney's record company, Joe Galante, "it has to be a good thing."
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Post by BeachTenant on Sept 10, 2007 6:57:01 GMT -5
Got that rite! Thanks for the post Chelsey 
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Post by yoohoo on Sept 10, 2007 10:44:46 GMT -5
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Post by igoback02 on Sept 12, 2007 6:42:38 GMT -5
LOL, looks like he's had a bit too much to drink. lmao
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Post by yoohoo on Sept 20, 2007 10:41:38 GMT -5
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Kanye West is not an artist who is known for his modesty.
Kanye West was all smiles at the GQ anniversary party after receiving the news his album had debuted at No. 1.
Listen to his current album, "Graduation," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, besting 50 Cent's "Curtis" in a much ballyhooed face-off, and you're more likely to hear the sounds of chests being thumped than backs being patted.
But Tuesday evening at GQ's 50th-anniversary party at Cedar Lake, a club in Manhattan's popular Meatpacking District, West was surprisingly gracious.
"I feel bad about beating 50," he said, "but I feel good about being number one."
According to Nielsen SoundScan, West to date has sold more than 957,000 albums. Fifty, who has said that he'd retire from rap if West was victorious, sold 691,000 copies in the past week. Will 50 be heading to Shady Pines? His people would not "confirm or deny his retirement."
No matter. The GQ party was as much a celebration of the magazine's storied history as it was of West. "He's the perfect marriage between artistic integrity and mainstream," said GQ's editor Jim Nelson. Watch Kanye talk about how he'll celebrate »
Supermodel Cindy Crawford, who arrived solo in a silver micro-mini dress and matching pumps, gushed about the magazine and then quickly moved on to the 50-Kanye tiff. She remained neutral.
"I love both of them," she said, referring to the rappers. "I could never pick sides, but I heard Kanye kicked some serious butt. 50 shouldn't retire," she added. "We still love him."
West worked the red carpet in a white Calvin Klein suit and matching canvas sneakers. His fiancee, Alexis, opted for a curve-hugging black number that looked more befitting a dominatrix than a bride-to-be. As she quietly hovered in the background, West was showered with congratulations, hugs and handshakes, declarations of his genius and even a few who took to quoting his lyrics.
Earlier in the evening West reminisced about the days when he wasn't so beloved. After spending an entire summer perfecting his game, he tried out for his high school's basketball team. He made all of his shots, completed all of the drills, but was cut nevertheless. The coach told him he wasn't tall enough, the 5-foot-8 rapper recalled. "And I keep feeling like all these awards shows, it's just them telling me I'm not tall enough. It's like what else do you want me to do?"
He said some of his temper tantrums (the latest backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards), stem from that moment. They are less about his ego and more about his passion. "I play to win. I look at it like it's a sport, man. And all I'm doing is basically screaming at the refs," he said.
Jay-Z, the rapper turned Def Jam executive, said that Kanye's current success was owed to his obsessive work ethic. "There are 75 iterations of 'Stronger,' " he said, referring to West's current hit single. "There are 16 versions of the 'Good Life.' He cares more about the music than anyone."
In recent days 50 Cent has alleged that Island/Def Jam purchased albums to bolster West's sales. It's a charge that the label's CEO, L.A. Reid, vehemently denied shortly before posing for photos with West on the red carpet.
"This is a very clean and legitimate success," said Reid. Did he expect 50 to retire? "No, I expect him to go back into the studio and make a better album."
Moments later, hip-hop mogul P. Diddy sauntered down the red carpet, toothpick firmly in mouth, black Gucci loafers gleaming. Like Crawford, he refused to choose sides.
"I'm very political," he said, grinning slyly, "and this is a very emotional situation."
Ever the businessman, Diddy quickly launched into a sales pitch about his new women's fragrance, Unforgivable, which hits stores today. "I had so much success with my men's fragrance and the women were demanding their own fragrance, so I had to oblige them," he said.
He also had his own dares to make. In a video that was released to YouTube earlier in the day, he challenged Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Sarah Jessica Parker and any other female celebrity with a fragrance to a "scent off."
"I know mine will win," he said. "I'm going to invite all of them to my penthouse suite, and if any of their scents smell better than mine I'll take 'em shopping and they can run up my credit cards." As of yesterday, none of the ladies had obliged.
British crooner James Blunt, of "Beautiful" fame, was also ready for his own showdown. Blunt's sophomore album, "All the Lost Souls," was released on Tuesday and he joked that he was eager to take on 50 and Kanye. "I'm throwing my hat into the ring," he said. "I'm comfortable coming in from behind and if my album sells more than either of theirs this week, I will retire from the American music industry."
West hit the stage shortly after 11. He did not come alone. He was accompanied by a band, an elaborate string section, several back-up singers, a DJ, fog and a highly choreographed light show. He ran through his past hits ("Gold Digger") and current chart-toppers ("Stronger"), whipping the crowd of tastemakers, fashionistas, and celebrities like Beyonce into a frenzy.
He danced. He freestyled. He thanked his fans profusely. Halfway through his show, he wiped his brow and paused for a brief moment of reflection.
"To be a true champion," he said, "You've got to take out a champion."
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