In a February
60 Minutes interview,
Lady Gaga told CNN's
Anderson Cooper that everyone "wants to see [her] fail." By May,
Forbes had listed the pop sensation as the
most powerful celebrity in the world. Yet after losing her title as the most "liked" living artist on Facebook and seeing a decrease in sales of her
Born This Way album, has this self-proclaimed fame artist indirectly foretold her own fate?
Album Sales: The first noticeable chink in her armor coincided with the release of Gaga's much hyped second studio album,
Born This Way,
released on May 23. Despite selling an impressive 1.1 million copies
in its first week, the album failed to find sustained growth. In just
its second week, sales had
sunk a staggering 85 percent.
To
better put that number in perspective, let's take a look at another
hugely successful pop star that's had no problem selling millions of
records without having to
wear a lobster on her head. The artist: Adele.
The British singer's sophomore album,
21,
sold 352,000 copies in its first week, back on February 22. Nearly
five months later, its sales remain incredibly strong -- the album
sold 121,000 units this past week, which was good enough for it to
reach the No. 2 spot.
In comparison,
Born This Way has already slipped to No. 8 in just seven weeks. This places Gaga's album exactly three spots lower than
Hell: The Sequel, which as it turns out is not a slasher film, but actually the latest
Eminem project.
Still, selling 1.1 million copies in one week is a feat in and of itself, right? Well... it is and it isn't.
Born This Way
was initially released on Amazon.com for the low low price of 99
cents. Anyone who has ever casually strolled through a Dollar Store
can tell you how instantly attractive
k.d. lang's Christmas album or some lead based candy becomes when priced at 99 cents.
In other words, Gaga offering her album for pennies is akin to all the movie theaters in America showing
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 for a buck -- which for the record, didn't happen. But just imagine the
chaos if it had! Needless to say,
many in the industry felt Gaga's first week sales didn't paint an accurate picture.
Cash Flow: If we're to believe what
she said this past week on the
Howard Stern Show, Gaga doesn't "give a f--- about money." But when you consider that
Forbes estimated her 2010 earnings to be $90 million -- or more than enough to buy one hell of a
hat collection -- it's hard to believe she doesn't have some sense or appreciation of her fortune.