Should have gone gold today!

Fantastic news for her, and Polydor.

#1 154,000 Westlife
#2 139,400 Michael Jackson
#5 96,600 Alex Parks
#8 71,000 Black Eyed Peas
#13 47,000 Enrique
#30 30,000 Pet Shop Boys

That is not good news, maybe her album should have been called, "Here Today Gone Tomorrow".

:yawn:

or "Someones Give Me A Record Contract "

How can you say thats not good news, to go Gold in your first week?

Alex is doing well and will do well in the future. A great start to a fine career.

That is crap for a first week

Poor old Pet Shop Boys at 30. I thought their album which as a greatest hits album contains loads of classic tracks would do really well. Tsk! The great British public, eh?

If thats crap then poor old, Enrique, Missy Elliot, Kylie, Britney, huh? virtually 100,000 in the 1st week is fantastic for a new artist, who isn't mainstream, and came from the lesser hyped TV Show.

and Busted's 1st week sales were 77,000 which got them to No1 the previous week, 20,000 less than Alex, had she released the previous week, she'd be No1 album.

Busted are the flavour of the moment, to say Alex's sales were crap is ridiculous!

Whilst I think those sales figures are OK for a new artists at this time of year, it doesn't look so great when you consider she's had an hour's worth of primetime TV every Saturday night for 10 weeks or so over the past three months.

Of the 'millions' who must have voted for her to win Fame Academy, it does seem odd that only about 3% of them can be bothered to buy the resultant album...

Same could be said for Will Young with his Debut album who I have on authority had 177,000 for his 1st week, and 4.5 million voted for him, against Alex's 2.5, allow for multiple voting, plus Pop Idol was a far more mainstream and populist show. Alex has done brilliantly.

I am pleased to say though Will looks to have a second No1 album, so just shows they can last!

Not long ago artists used to sell 300,000 in the first week, no wonder there selling so little when they release such poor songs.

Thats across the board though, think Kazaa may be responsible! take a look at my above post to further my point,

Will "only" got 177,000 for the 1st week, against 4.5 Million votes
Alex "only gets 96,600 for the 1st week, against 2.5 Million votes

yet gets over half of Will's sales for the 1st week

Doesn't anyone ever listen, these songs are shite!!

I think to sell loads the songs has to be um......... good or even catchy.

10 or even 20 years ago alex parks would've disapeared without trace with a song like that.

In your opinion!

Maybe Thats What it Takes is not my favourite track, there are alot more stronger original tracks on the album.

The Album is great, and I don't normally go for reality acts, I hate Gareth gates, Hearsay, Girls Aloud, Cheeky Girls etc, just more manufactured pap.

But you do get talent IMO on these shows, and Will Young and Alex Parks have proved, that and I find them a breathe of fresh air, against the Simon Cowells of this world.

Yes, it could. They both didn't sell anywhere near the amount you'd expect considering they had millions of fans happy to spend 30p a week for 10 weeks voting them as winners.

Also, wasn't Will's debut album a full-length album?

if you mean did it have covers yes it did. Alex's album is 13 tracks.

Plus people like me who tried 50 times and couldn't get through once!

Anyway people were ready to write Will Young off, hense the limited release last week, now he's sold 40,000 albums in one day for his 2nd, because of his storming Single "Leave Right now", and has entered the mainstream market.

I know Alex has similar potential under her belt, next year, when she'll be working with the likes of Guy Chambers, and the creme de la creme of songwriters in the industry who want to work with her, and Alex is a great songwriter herself IMO

Steve, I'm not knocking Alex or her sales.

I think what people find interesting is that she, unlike the former winners of Fame Academy and Pop Idol, didn't manage a number one single (which, to her credit, is probably because hers wasn't a cover) and a bigger selling album.

For anyone to sell c.100,000 copies of their debut album is still a fantastic achievement, especially at this time of year when it's up against a million greatest hits CDs from established artists and all the Christmas release chart compilation albums.

I do still find it odd that so many people invest hours of their time and no small amount of money in following and voting on these talent shows and then not bother to buy the albums.

Apart from poor old David Sneddon! who OK got 100,000 for his single, but only sold 30,000 for his album in the 1st week, and Alex has now sold more albums in her 1st week, than David did in his career. Another factor of this is Fame Academy gets less viewers, simply because its a little bit more serious and less "Saturday night" than Pop Idol.

The simple reason Alex didn't get to No1 was because like me her fans were waiting for her Album, sp didn't buy the single, since there were no tracks on the single that weren't on the album. And she was up against Westlife and Girls Aloud.

Exactly, so there's maybe not quite so much need to get so defensive about it.

One might argue that, as a serious artist, Alex herself might not think record sales and chart positions are of any real interest anyway...

Lol sorry for getting defensive, it wasn't you it was the post near the top that annoyed me, simply saying it was rubbish sales.

And Alex may say that, which I know she has, but she'll be pleased with the success, but more importantly, Polydor will be pleased and have faith in her longterm ,so will now have confidence, to give her time, space, money , and the facilites to make a very good second album

Absolutely agree.

The first album is not the one to judge her on, as it was basically a contractual agreement which had to be done the way it was.

It's undoubted success should now allow her to stamp her authority and personality on the second album, which should also contain a much larger percentage of original material.

Out of all the TV talent show winners so far, I think she probably has the most potential if allowed to develop her way.

Lol I'm pleased we are in complete agreement.

I'm sure she'll be calling it her debut Album now!

before it was her "introduction" album, just incase it didn't go so well. Anyway Your right, its the 2nd/1st Proper album that'll count, but if things go the way Will's has, things hopefully look bright, she has a very loyal fanbase, and the critics rate her.