Nicki Minaj’s sophomore album has received dismal reviews but that didn’t stop her from knocking iconic pop star Madonna off the top of the Billboard charts. Minaj’s Pink Friday; Roman Reloaded sold 253,000 copies in its first week. Entertainment Weekly reports:
The chart road divided this week for two of the three participants in this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. On the one side, Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded easily grabbed the top spot on the latest Billboard album chart, moving 253,000 copies in an extremely respectable opening week. It’s her first debut at number one, though her 2010 debut Pink Friday did find the upper plateau several months after its release thanks to the late surge of “Super Bass” in early 2011.
The success of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is easy to see, as Minaj went on a media blitz that included a free surprise concert in Times Square and the continued success of the single “Starships” (which currently sits at number five on the Billboard Hot 100).
That’s all good news for Minaj, whose album has been met with mixed critical reactions but seems to be capitalizing on its everything to everyone approach. The outlooks is less rosy for Madonna, whose latest album MDNA posted the single biggest second week sales decrease for a number one debut since SoundScan started tracking official sales in 1991. MDNA moved 359,000 copies in its first week, giving Madonna one of the best opening weeks of her career. But in its second week, MDNA only shifted 48,000 copies—a drop-off of 86%, surpassing former record holder Lady Gaga, whose Born This Way dipped 84% after a massive opening stanza last year.
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