I'd say it's the only objective way of measuring someone's success in the USA.

People should give Leona a Break!

Would like to see more Collabs on her next album, maybe lil wayne, kanye, jay z

Right so if we do that then Britney is a very minor star in America she's not succesful at all even, but we'll ingnore the fact that she's sold more records than Beyonce, Madonna, and every other female artist...no other female aritst made the top 10 list of best selling artists of the decade, and yet we must conclude that Britney is a very minor succes because her singles didn't chart well on the Hot 100...a chart that is skewed by radio bias.

OK, lets look at album sales then.

Her first album was a decent seller yes, but her second has flopped utterly and will be lucky to make 500,000 sales.

Britney on the other hand sold an enormous number of albums.

How can you say that after 1 single? which was a poor choice...I would be concerned for Echo if Happy had reached number 1 and it achieved the sales that it did...despite having a poor performing lead single Echo still outsold Jordin Spark's Battlefield which had a top 10 hit lead single...someone like Jay Sean should be worried he got a number 1 single and his album debuted at 37 in the charts.

Despite a poor 1st single and poor single chart position Echo debut just outside the top 10, which shows potential and shows that people have bought into Leona and with the right choice of singles she can turn things around. Christina Aguilera's Stripped, although initially charting in the top 10, fell rapidly because the 1st single only made it to #48...everyone wrote off the album and Christina's career but she turned it around by releasing the right singles and Stripped became the biggest selling album of the following year.

Its not so straight forward and we'll have a better understanding of Leona's position in America after this era is done.

I agree that it is possible to turn around a disastrous start if the album is actually good.

Echo however is just a slightly inferior version of Spirit. There are no potential hit singles on the album apart from Happy, and that has already failed everywhere.

Have you listened to Echo? It's a massive step-up from Spirit and there are plenty of songs that have single-potential.

The Hot 100 is a strange chart to read and incorporates 50% airplay and 50% sales. When you look at Better In Time peaking at #11, you would think it wasn't a big hit. In fact it sold over 1.5 million copies and was one of the biggest radio hits of 2008 in the States. She is by no means a one hit wonder and many Americans will have heard Better In Time.

If U Seek Amy has pretty much said everything else I would want to say on this topic.

Happy is one of the songs from Echo with the least single potential, the tempo changes too much and in America Ballads are dead (only 3 ballads this year, from singers like Leona, have been a success Halo, Battlefield and Already Gone).

'I Got You' has huge radio potential, Can't Breathe is raved about on Twitter and blogs (many people want IGY to succeed just so CB can be released) Outta My Head is very on trend with its electro pop sound...and Love Letter could be a great summer hit.

You're probably the first person to claim Spirit is the stronger album, nearly all critics (even ones who slate Echo) have admitted it is a stronger all around album than Spirit.

If radio gave IGY a chance it could be huge for Leona and Echo, Happy just wasn't radio friendly at all, but even after radio dropped it, it continued to sell.

Of course the funniest thing about this thread is how those who are putting down Leona's Echo sales are so quick to defend and make excuses for Mariah's recent sales being low!!!!

double standards much!

She did. She just didnt get any hype.

But her album hasnt finished selling yet. Her sales might still pick up. You cant write someone off as a flop after less than a month.

Where was mariah mentioned in this thread?

so right now Amy and Corrie are the biggest selling UK female artist in the US not LeLe

INTERESTING

She cracked America for 5 minutes.

Bleeding Love cracked America, not Leona.

Leona is a virtual nobody in America.

alexandra burke has zero chance then......

That's not true, anyone can have a hit song (Estelle, Jay Sean, etc) but selling the album is another matter. Leona's album sold very well too, right around 1.6 million. Better in Time peaked at #11, selling about 1.5 million and was a big radio hit. It's really silly for people to dismiss a song just because it didn't peak inside the Top 10.

So certain people can keep dismissing the song as just a top 20 hit but it was a hit with longevity and kept the album selling consistently.

Yes I agree, her first album sold moderately well. However, her new album is doing very badly, it is very unlikely it will sell even a third of what Spirit sold in America.

And a single selling 1.5 million in America is really not that big a deal.

its been said on here she has Justin lined up for a video cameo for the 3rd single Don't Let Me Down which also features him on backing vocals so that should do well for her in America.

The US charts are a completely different set up to the UK charts. People get confused with how it works out there.

How does it work there then? I never have any idea when people talk about airplay, spins etc
Also, how does it work over here as well ? I'm assuming it's alot more complicated then "who sells the most in a week?"

So? Even if she maxes out at 500k of Echo in America that will still be decent. She's thankfully not just an American artist. Someone like Mariah who sells virtually nothing outside America should worry when her album doesn't sell great. Leona has other territories to bump her sales, the UK especially.


I disagree. Some songs that make top 10 on the Hot 100 don't sell that much.


All speculation.

It might not be a big deal but a single that sold 1.5 million shouldn't be dismissed as "just a Top 20 hit". The single did a great job of selling Spirit. When Bleeding Love peaked the sales started sliding and Better in Time picked them right up.

Echo is doing badly because of a very poor lead single that was never going to attract the masses. Pop artists can't sell without hits. Some can't sell even with hits.

Look at artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Shakira. All sold millions in the past but due to under performing singles/flop singles their sales have suffered massively.

And I agree, it's very unlikely that Echo will sell more than a third of what Spirit did (if that) at this point. Flop lead singles are a death sentence for the album in 9 out of 10 cases. Once the album slides down the chart it usually never recovers..even if that artist has a successful single later on.

For a pop artist it doesn't matter how many millions you sold in the past, you are only as big as your last hit and examples like Kelly, Mariah, Shakira, or even Leona only reinforce that.

The US Hot 100 is made up of 50% airplay and 50% sales. Most countries like the UK are just 100% sales based.

Well yes, she will sell well in the UK. However, the question was whether she had cracked the US. I think it is quite clear that she hasn't.

Short term she did, with Spirit.