8A NEWS
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2007
'90s pop icons surprise industry with album sales
BY MATT LINDBERG
mlindberg@kansan.com
AndrewKuttler first heard Britney Spears' new album online two weeks before its release, but that didn't stop him from purchasing a in-store copy of the album. University of Kansas students and Lawrence music stores took a blast to the past last week with new releases from '90s pop icons Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. While some were skeptical of the artists' attempts to make new music, fans rushed to stores to buy Spears' latest offering. According to Billboard, "Blackout" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with
290,000 copies sold, while the Backstreet Boys' "Unbreakable" debuted at No. 7 with 81,000 sold. Both albums were released Oct. 30.
Dustin Mitchell, entertainment specialist at Target, 3201 St. St.
said Spears' album was selling well to his surprise.
"Fans like me will be on top of buying the new album, I think to more or less see how their music has changed."
"She's been the biggest seller this week by far. We've sold at least 20 copies," Mitchell said. He said Target didn't expected big sales for the album and considered it a second priority and placed it on a shelf in the back of the music section, away from the new releases.
Kuttler, El Dorado senior and Britney Spears fan, said he had already purchased three copies of the album since its release date at Target and on iTunes.
"Itunes had a pretty hot remix of 'Gimme More' in the bonus tracks that I had to have," Kuttler said. Kuttler, who had seen Britnley live nine times and met her three times, said Spears was a sweetheart and that her new album was some of her best work to date.
Club. Billboard has never included albums sold exclusively at certain stores in its history.
Amanda Burgen, Lawrence freshman, has been a fan of the group for the past nine years and said although she hadn't purchased the new disc yet, she would in the near future. She said loyal fans would buy anything the group put out.
Some controversy over the charts arose Tuesday night, after Billboard announced that they would include the Eagles' latest album, which was sold only at Wal-Mart and Sam's.
Not too far behind Spears and continuing the late '90s trend, the Backstreet Boys' new album "Unbreakable" marks the first time the group released an album with four members. The fifth member, Kevin Richardson, left the group in 2006 for personal reasons.
"Fans like me will be
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Britney Spears released her new album Oct. 30. According to Billboard, "Blackout" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 290,000 copies sold. The Backstreet Boys also released an album on the same day, "Unbreakable" debuted at No. 7 with 81,000 copies sold. Spears and the Backstreet Boy's album sales success interested and surprised fans, especially Spears, whose personal life has been under scrutiny in the past year.
AMANDA BURGEN Lawrence freshman
will be on top of buying the new album, I think, to more or less see how their music has changed." she said.
Jessica Hylander, Lawrence sophomore, said the group's success led to their
evolved sound.
"Their music has changed a lot over the years," she said. "They have more of a rock edge to their music now compared to when they first came out."
While the Backstreet Boys' high debut was expected by most media outlets, most were surprised by Britney Spears' success. Spears' personal life has put the pop princess under scrutiny in the past year. Kuttler said he was glad Spears' personal life was looked at differently than her music.
"Britney has such a hardcore fan base, it's almost like a cult following. She's done absolutely nothing to promote this new CD but it still will be incredibly successful," he said. "It's Britney the product versus Britney the real person. Everyone is rooting for her, even people who hated her before. I want her to get it together. She's truly an incredible performer and entertainer."
Edited by Meghan Murphy
person was killed and six were wounded, officials said.
Bush, Sarkozy encourage Iran's destruction of nuclear weapons
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NATION
Photographers for The Associated Press saw at least two gunmen — one wearing a ski mask and another covering his face with a T-shirt — firing handguns at the anti-Chavez crowd. Terrified students ran through the campus as ambulances arrived.
Bush said agreement on Iran was a hallmark of their talks at the Virginia home of George Washington. He said they expressed "the desire to work jointly to convince the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions for the sake of peace."
National Guard troops gathered outside the campus, Venezuela's largest and a center for opposition to Chavez's government. Venezuelan law bars state security forces from entering the campus, but Luis Acuna, the minister of higher education, said they could be called in if the university requests them.
"It is unacceptable for Iran at any point to have a nuclear weapon," Sarkozy said.
MOUNT VERNON, Va. — President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy stood shoulder-to-shoulder against a nuclear-armed Iran on Wednesday, demonstrating the cozier relationship between the two countries under France's new conservative leader.
VENEZUELA
Although some suspect Bush of leading a march toward war to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, the U.S. president said the diplomatic course is his preferred choice.
"The idea of Iran having a nuclear weapon is dangerous, and therefore now is the time for us to work together to diplomatically solve this problem," Bush said.
Sarkozy emphasized that Iran should be allowed to have civilian nuclear power, which Tehran argued is the sole aim of its nuclear program. "Iran is entitled to the energy of the future which is nuclear energy," he said.
Bush has welcomed foreign leaders to several locales to which he has personal ties — his ranch in Texas, the White House and the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md. But hosting meetings at a neutral site — especially one with such significance to the American story — became additional evidence that the on-again, off-again U.S.-French relationship is reaching new heights with Sarkozy's ascension to office in Paris.
The second day of the Bush- Sarkozy meetings was unique.
Antonio Rivero, director of Venezuela's Civil Defense agency, told the local Globovision television channel that one student was killed and at least two were injured by gunfire. He said four other students suffered other injuries.
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