It's obvious at this point that 4 won't pass Loud, but Rated R gives us a more even basis for comparison. Despite being critically acclaimed (with 4 getting overall better reviews), both albums underperformed. 4 has sold about 1.2M WW. Even with holiday sales coming, will it be able to catch up to RR's 3M? Albums see a boost during the holidays, but the competition is much greater due to an influx of new releases. Historically Beyonce has had stronger album sales than Rihanna, is this a sign that the tide is changing?

4 will sell about the same as RR

I can't, but I won't.

4 is going to have to stay afloat until November. I know Beyonce is going to promote heavily and release lots of videos, but the effects are very temporary, unlike having a big global hit single. Without a re-release, I see 4 doing 2.5M-3M. That's over twice what it has sold so far so that's more than generous.

As for the tide changing, it depends on the work they put out in the near future. That NPR article about the cost of a Rihanna album has me convinced that Def Jam won't allow for any more Rated Rs. So her upcoming albums should be strong sellers, especially with her UK support. Beyonce's international draw is more limited due to her comparatively greater R&B/urban sound. Rihanna is more dance pop (see the smash WW success of Only Girl). To keep up, Beyonce will need to serve up some Crazy In Love/Baby Boy type WW smashes. She'll always be the more respected performer, but sales-wise, things have changed.

I see what you did there. I really hope that it will.

Doesn't matter because Beyonce only has 4 albums and still sold more than Rihanna WW with 5


But to answer the question...unless we get an "Irreplacable" on 4, it will suffer

Duca, is that Britney shade in your signature?

Yeah but you know that by the time I finish writing this, Rihanna will have recorded 2 more albums slated for Black Friday 2012 and 2013 release, so this is about future sales.

Would you hold it against me?

I Was Here already started charting in few countries this week and when it gets released around November it will will become huge,especially in Europe. You'll see 4's sales then.
Start Over, Love On Top and I Miss You could do very good there.

Countdown,End Of Time will do great too. Don't underestimate her again. She has at least those 5 million on lock. And her promo will be amazing. She isn't one of those who will give up that easy. Now mark this post.

When I Was Here gets released and performed on X Factor and everywhere, 4 will be selling +150-200k weekly on Mediatraffic. Now bookmark this.

That's reaching, didn't she say that she wants to start a family? And I'm not sure that if she will have enough hit singles to sustain her sales

You made some valid points, but what's hurting Beyonce this era is not the lack of WW support, Rihanna has always had more global appeal, it's the lacklustre response her album has received in the US. 4 has sold well when you consider it hasn't had a "smash" single, but that's where the problem lies. 4 reconnected to her roots and played to her strengths. The singles are by no means bad, but they're not making any impact. If Beyonce wants to have a hit in today's market then she needs to work on more up-tempo tracks. If 4 was released in 2003-2006 then it would have smashed, the market back then would have been more suited to it.

That's 4M more than what's she sold thus far.


You don't think that's a wee bit unrealistic? Usually, holidays or not, the bulk of the sales come from the first few months unless it's a new artist who suddenly starts taking off.

I agree - as respected as Beyonce is, she still falls in the same category as Gaga, Rihanna, etc. She isn't Adele, who exists on a different plane where she can release one ballad and sell 10M albums (though a lot of her sales came from the hype of people discovering her). And since Beyonce shares a lot in common with Gaga/Rihanna/Katy etc b/c her biggest hits were fun dancy uptempo radio smashes, she's going to need more of those. When you're that type of artist, there's a certain sound & image you need in order to sell (16 Grammys or not). Gaga and Rihanna tried to expand beyond that and both suffered.

It's not going anywhere near 5 million. IASF sold 7 million and it had four smash singles. Nobody is "underestimating" her, we're just reacting to what we see.

No one is underestimating her. And you don't know whether those songs will become singles eventually or not.

Are you really saying that she'll be selling as good as during her third week? She'll definitely have longevity and consistent sales, but that number is out of question, probably even during the fourth quarter.

Lies, everyone cares about that. That's like saying that Rihanna doesn't care that she doesn't have a number one album.

Adele started with 359,000 copies and she only went up.

I totally agree. Critically Beyonce may be regarded as to being superior to her peers, but to the purchasing public she's clearly just another dispensable popstar. She made a more serious record and it has failed to connect. Adele has clearly proven that their is an appetite for music that possesses more "meaning", she's selling better than anyone right now.

Beyonce hasn't even released right singles yet and she's at 1,3 million.

I Was Here is "one of those songs".You just wait and remember my words.

Both Countdown or End of Time will be great introduction as 3rd single. And then the real party will start.