The teen could sell 200,000 first-week downloads of his ballad, setting up a likely top-25 debut on the Hot 100 next week
Shawn Mendes is getting the "Party" started in a big way.
The 15-year-old Canadian pop singer, who first gained acclaim by performing cover songs on Vine and YouTube, is set to storm onto the Billboard Hot 100 next week with his debut single on Island Records, "Life of the Party."
Industry forecasters suggest that the red-hot ballad, released late Wednesday (June 25), might sell upwards of 175,000 downloads by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, June 29. If the week progresses especially well, that number might jump to somewhere near 200,000.
As of this posting, the song is No. 1 on the real-time Billboard Twitter Trending 140 chart (Billboard's up-to-the minute ranking of songs shared on Twitter in the U.S., measured by acceleration over the past hour). It also ranks at No. 1 in the iTunes Store.
Such a sales start, regardless of any early streaming or radio airplay figures, could send "Party" to a possible top 25 debut on the Hot 100. It could also challenge for the top spot on Billboard's Digital Songs chart. Highlights of next week's Hot 100 and Digital Songs will be revealed on Billboard.com and Billboar.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...00-debut-chart