UPI Jackson's 'HIStory' tops chart [June 28, 1995]
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Michael Jackson
exithereplease — 5 months ago(October 14, 2025 04:04 PM)
NEW YORK, June 28 – Michael Jackson's career rehabilitation program passed a key hurdle Wednesday with the confirmation that the embattled pop star's new album, 'HIStory,' will debut this week at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's albums chart.
SoundScan, the New York-based firm that tracks U.S. record sales, reported 391,000 copies of Jackson's first new album in four years were sold during its first week in stores. Most retailers sold 'HIStory, Past, Present and Future Book I,' a compilation of 15 old hits and 15 new tracks, for $24 to $29 on compact disc and $16 to $19 on cassette. In light of Jackson's superstar status, it would have been surprising if 'HIStory' debuted at anything lower than No. 1.
Music industry observers have noted the double album's price tag took the pressure off Jackson to top the first-week sales record set in 1993 by Pearl Jam. The Seattle rock band's second album 'Vs.' sold 950,000 copies in its first week in stores. Sales of 'HIStory' did exceed first-week sales of Jackson's previous album, 'Dangerous,' which sold 326,000 in its debut week in November 1991.
The pace of Jackson's record sales are being carefully watched in the wake of the 1993 sex scandal brought forth by a 13-year-old boy who claimed he was molested by Jackson. No criminal charges were ever filed against Jackson despite a lengthy investigation. He later paid out a multimillion-dollar sum to settle a lawsuit filed by his young accusor. Additionally, Jackson stirred up a fresh controversy by using anti- Semitic terms in the song 'They Don't Care About Us,' one of the new tracks on 'HIStory.'
Jackson, who maintains he meant to condemn all prejudice by using the terms '****' and 'Jew me,' issued a public apology last week and has promised to include a re-recorded version of the song on future pressings of the album.
Some 2 million copies were shipped to U.S. retailers earlier this month in advance of the album's June 20 release date.
Yet the lyrics controversy and the child molestation allegations seemed to have little impact on record buyers, said Todd Meehan, manager of the Tower Records store in Hollywood. Most retailers say they expect 'HIStory' to remain a top-seller through the holiday shopping season. -
exithereplease — 5 months ago(October 14, 2025 04:11 PM)
"Sony music mounted a $30 million promotional campaign for Michael Jackson's 'HIStory,' an enormous gamble which required Jackson to stay at No.#1 for months on end in order to approach the break-even point. 'HIStory' managed to stay at the top of the charts for just one week,
making it one of the biggest flops in the 100-year history of recorded music
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FOLLOW-UP Article:
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/12/20/Its-Only-Rock-N-Roll-1995-The-Year-in-Review/3622819435600/
Dec. 20, 1995 -
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Chicxulub — 5 months ago(October 14, 2025 04:51 PM)
Your career's in the toilet, so…Let's put out an expensive double album, baby!
Yeah, bad idea.
It was pretty much a glorified greatest hits album combined with new material.
Should've released the greatest hits on its own, as one disc, with one or two new singles as bonus tracks to sell it.