So when we discussed earlier this week that Katy Perry and Lady Gaga had the potential for the first week ever in which two debut singles could both sell more than 400,000 copies, we suggested that it would be Perry if anyone who would prevent the pair from hitting the sales goal. It looks like Gaga is "struggling" more.
Perry in fact dominated the "battle," almost selling two copies of her single "Roar" for every copy of Gaga's "Applause." The final count for the first week indicate that Perry sold 450,000 copies to the 225,000 sold by Gaga. The numbers are a little skewed however. "Roar" has been out for an entire week, whereas "Applause" has only gotten four days on the charts. Still, Gaga wasn't on pace to equal Perry's seven-day total, and a majority of singles sales occur within the first two days of release.
Of course, 225,000 copies in four days isn't bad at all, especially in comparison to the rest of the music industry. Gaga just had the misfortune of going up against one of her few sales rivals. This week marks the first time since October when multiple singles have broken 200,000 sales in one week. The last instance was when One Direction's "Live While We're Young," Taylor Swift's "Red" and Adele's "Skyfall" all hit the mark.
There will be less competition when the pop stars' respective albums come out however. Perry's "Prism" is due out in October, versus a November release for Gaga's "ARTPOP." Both performers were forced to release the singles early due to leaks however. Who's to say that the same thing won't happen with their albums?
