They pulled pretty much every conceivable marketing and publicity stunt to hawk their new CD, No Line on the Horizon. But U2’s 12th studio disc, which was released March 3, still sold only 484,000 copies in its first week. These days, not many acts would consider that number a disappointment. Still, U2 aren’t just any act: The Irish quartet’s last disc, 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, shifted 840,000 units in week 1. What’s more, the ostensible heir to their biggest-band-in-the-world throne, Coldplay, moved 721,000 copies of last year’s Viva La Vida in the first seven days of its release.
So what caused U2’s middling sales? It wasn’t economics; fans could buy it digitally on Amazon.com for the ridiculously low price of $3.99. Nor was it due to a lack of promotional savvy. U2 opened this year’s Grammy ceremony and took up residence for five consecutive nights on Late Show With David Letterman. (The appearances did little to goose Letterman’s ratings, perhaps indicating lukewarm interest in the album.) No, the villain seems to be lead single "Get On Your Boots," which peaked — if that’s the word — at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. "They didn’t have a clear radio hit," says Jay Beau Jones, program director of Boston’s WBMX-FM. "When I first heard ‘Boots,’ I thought, It’s a good song. But when I first heard [Coldplay's] ‘Viva La Vida,’ I thought, Wow!" Second single "Magnificent," which sounds far more like classic ’80s-era U2 than "Boots" does, may provide renewed hope for Horizon, though. Says Amazon exec Craig Pape, "I was anxious for them to get that on the roster as a single. That stands out. I think the record will have long legs as people get exposed to more and more of the tracks."
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I don’t disagree with the premise of this post (mainly because “Boots” is the worst song on the album). But the comparison to Coldplay would make more sense if “Viva La Vida” was the first single. It wasn’t. “Violet Hill” was.
Who decides who is the biggest band in the world? I don’t disagree that Coldplay may well be it, but what about Radiohead? And isn’t it funny that in terms of touring, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna are the leaders of the pack?
Life needs passion.
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If U2’s latest and greatest claim is that the new record sounds like the “old U2″, that’s not a good sign.
Partially because all you primitive screw heads stopped buying music and seem to only buy video games now.
The album is fantastic, and my favorite track is Magnificent, though Boots does get better the more you listen to it. Give it time to build before you decide that the album is a loser!
@ crispy: Viva La Vida came out prior to the album’s release, however, Magnificent did not.
Joline, as a huge thanks for all the spamming you’ve been doing, I’d like to take a long hard pee on your face.
The album is fantastic, and I agree “Boots” probably wasnt the best to choose as their first single. But I still think that U2 is the greatest band in the world!
Honestly, if I’m a microcosm of the population I’d say give it time. I know I’ll buy the album, I watched every night of Letterman and love every song I’v heard, but life is super stressful and busy and I haven’t had time to get to Best Buy. They had shelf for it today at Starbucks and I got excited but there weren’t any left.
I think a huge factor are the millions of free downloads when the CD was leaked onto the Internet…
Happy to hear that “Magnificent” is the next single…best song on album followed by “Breathe.” Can’t wait for the tour!!
Other than Stand-up, Boots is the only radio friendly single on the album. The problem is the album is too gloomy, meditative — not a likely follow up to Dismantle; more of an ego side project.
I personally think that Stand Up Comedy would’ve done MUCH better. It has the feel to fit in with today’s hit music. Or well…what’s considered hit music. All the drivel on the pop/rock top 40 radio stations.
I completely agree, the single stinks. Let’s face it, we’ve waited years for a new U2 single and “Boots” is a Vertigo rip-off at most. I downloaded the new album, listened to it twice and grew bored with it. I’ve moved on to better music.