If you thought Robin Thicke's new album Paula selling 530 copies during its first week in the U.K. was a sad news story, you probably don't want to hear about his Australian numbers. Thicke's plea to his estranged wife Paula Patton failed to crack the top 500 albums down under, meaning it sold less than 54 copies.
According to News.com.au, Thicke's Paula failed to make the ARIA Top 500 chart upon its release last week, meaning it moved less than 54 copies. The exact figures for the new album are unknown, ARIA does not track releases that don't make its chart, so Paula could have moved anything between one and 53 copies... a dismal figure for a former chart-topping artist.
Putting the sales figures for Paula in perspective makes for an even more pathetic case. An old Blondie compilation album clocked in at No. 500, and it sold slightly fewer than 55 units.
Thicke's last record 2013's Blurred Lines debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Top 500 and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks.
Though the Australian numbers are far and away the worse, Paula hasn't been selling particularly well anywhere. In the U.K., the album notoriously moves 530 copies during its first seven days.
Thicke did fare slightly better in the U.S., with sales figures of about 24,000 copies and a No. 9 spot on the Billboard 200. However, when compared to his last album Blurred Lines, which debuted at No. 1 with 117,000 copies last September, it makes Paula seem like a bona fide flop.
The sales figures for Paula compared to Blurred Lines indicate the power of a hit single. Last year, "Blurred Lines" topped charts across the world, spending 12 weeks at No. 1 in the United States. Meanwhile, the lead Paula single "Get Her Back" failed to resonate with both audiences and critics. Thus far, it debuted and peaked at No. 82 on the Hot 100.
