Robin Thicke's new album, "Paula," is off to a tepid sales start. Industry forecasters say the R&B singer, who hit a career high a year ago with his No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Blurred Lines," might sell around 20,000 to 25,000 copies of "Paula" by the end of the tracking week on July 6. The new set was released on July 1.
That sales start would be a steep drop-off compared to the arrival of his last album, "Blurred Lines," which debuted with a career-high 177,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan. It also became his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, following three earlier top 10 sets.
If "Paula" sells as forecasted, it would tally the smallest debut for Thicke since "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" bowed with 20,000 in 2007.
However, "Paula" could still sell enough to debut in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. If so, that would mark Thicke's fifth top 10 effort.
The Billboard 200's new top 10 will be revealed on Wednesday, July 2.
As for the No. 1 position on next week's Billboard 200, watch for Trey Songz's "Trigga" to open atop the list with around 90,000 to 100,000 sold.
Other albums aiming for sizable debuts include: Seether's "Isolate and Medicate," with perhaps 35,000, MAGIC!'s "Don't Kill the Magic" with around 30,000 and Colt Ford's "Thanks For Listening" with 20,000.