Source: Livedaily
BACKSTREET BOYS SELL 5 MILLION ALBUMS IN FIRST WEEK OF RELEASE
ALBUM ENTERS THE BILLBOARD CHART AT #1 WITH DEBUT-WEEK U.S. SALES OF 1.6 MILLION COPIES INCREASE OF 36% IN SALES OVER 1999'S 'MILLENNIUM';
NEW PRECEDENT SET AS BACKSTREET BOYS BECOME FIRST GROUP IN SOUNDSCAN HISTORY TO ACHIEVE MILLION-PLUS FIRST-WEEK SALES WITH BACK-TO-BACK ALBUMS
BACKSTREET BOYS--recognized as the biggest pop group in the world--have set two new records in the music world.
Their new BLACK & BLUE album--the group's fourth release--has sold more than five million copies worldwide in its first week of release, setting a new first-week record in international sales. At the same time, in the U.S. BACKSTREET BOYS have set a new precedent by becoming the first artist in SoundScan history to ever achieve million-plus first-week sales with back-to-back albums. BLACK & BLUE, released November 21, sold more than 1.6 million copies in its debut week of release. This follows 1999's MILLENNIUM album, which moved more than 1,134,000 copies in its opening week.
Globally, BLACK & BLUE--whose 13-song selection features five songs co-written by members of the group plus two songs solely penned by all five BACKSTREET BOYS--has achieved platinum status in 22 countries and gold certification in 10 regions around the world in its first week of release. BLACK & BLUE is already multi-platinum in Canada (5 times), Japan, Korea, Mexico and Venezuela; platinum in Arabia (Gulf), Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States; and gold in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K.
BLACK & BLUE's phenomenal initial success comes on the heels of the global triumph that was MILLENNIUM, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Millennium is already certified 12 times platinum in the U.S. and has spent more than 79 weeks on Billboard's "Top 200 albums" chart. In addition, MILENNIUM has earned gold and platinum awards in 45 countries. And since the release of MILLENNIUM, BACKSTREET BOYS have set precedents with a sold-out 42-city European trek and two sold-out U.S. tours including recording breaking stops in such venues as the 70,000-seat Georgia Dome where they topped long-standing marks set by the Rolling Stones and U2.
With the ink still wet on the record books, BLACK & BLUE is generating early praise from outlets that include USA TODAY, whose Elysa Gardner noted: "The brisk, shimmering 'The Answer To Our Life,' one song that the Boys wrote on their own, is among the album's best tracks; 'Time,' another Backstreet-composed effort, has the sweetly soulful vibe of a lost Boyz II Men single." ROLLING STONE has shown their support for the group by featuring the group on the cover three times in the past 18 months.
In celebration of BLACK & BLUE's release, BACKSTREET BOYS--NICK CARTER, HOWIE DOROUGH, BRIAN LITTRELL, AJ McLEAN and KEVIN RICHARDSON--pulled off a series of globe-trotting press conferences on six different continents in the span of 100 hours. At each stop, the group visited local landmarks, held press conferences, met fans and performed brief a capella versions of their new Top Ten song "Shape of My Heart." All of this culminated with BACKSTREET BOYS being welcomed back by their faithful legions of supporters to New York City, where the final press conference was held to announce the first leg of U.S. dates on their "Black & Blue 2000 World Tour," kicking off January 22 in their native Florida.