On March 29th, Link Music announced on their Twitter account the first-week sales figures of Link's third album, "The Woman I Love."
1.747 million copies!
This made it the 15th album in Western music history to sell over one million copies in its first week. Link also became the 12th artist in music history to achieve platinum sales in the first week.
**Billboard** updated its list of the highest first-week sales records this week.
1. The first place is NSYNC, with their third album "No Strings Attached" released in 2000, selling 2.41 million copies in its first week.
2. The second place is NSYNC again, with their fourth album "Celebrity" released in 2001, selling 1.88 million copies in its first week.
3. The third place is Eminem's third album "The Marshall Mathers LP" released in 2000, selling 1.76 million copies in its first week.
4. The fourth place is Link's third album "The Woman I Love" released in March 2010, selling 1.747 million copies in its first week.
5. The fifth place is the Backstreet Boys' fourth album "Black & Blue" released in 2000, selling 1.591 million copies in its first week.
6. The sixth place is Eminem's fourth album "The Eminem Show" released in 2002, selling 1.322 million copies in its first week.
7. The seventh place is Britney Spears' second album "Oops! I Did It Again" released in 2000, selling 1.32 million copies in its first week.
Other notable mentions include Whitney Houston, who was the first artist in music history to have an album sell over one million copies in its first week, and The Beatles' album "1" released in 2000, Garth Brooks' "Double Live," Limp Bizkit's "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water," Norah Jones' "Feels Like Home," Usher's "Confessions," 50 Cent's "The Massacre," and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III."
"This is an excellent album, and Link is one of the most impressive new music stars."
In the latest issue of **Billboard**, editor-in-chief Steven Konop praised Link's album in a feature article. He called it the best love album in Western music in the past decade, with 18 top-notch songs making the album highly valuable. He also praised Link's significantly improved vocal skills, mature album style compared to his second album, and stated that he has taken a big step forward on his musical journey.
Reading these professional reviews, Link felt a bit elated.
On one hand, his singing skills were recognized by professionals, and his ability to perform songs had made great strides through continuous practice, which was worth celebrating.
On the other hand, his half-original song "The Rose" was also considered a good song, which was the most gratifying part, indicating that his music creation was no longer a well without a source.
"The Woman I Love" sold 1.747 million copies in its first week, undoubtedly ranking first on the **Billboard** 200 album chart.
The second place was Justin Bieber's "My World 2.0," selling 153,000 copies in its fourth week, with cumulative sales of 1.02 million copies. He also became the first artist in music history to sell one million records in the first month at the age of 16.
The third place was Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," selling 97,000 copies in its 14th week, with cumulative sales of 2.02 million copies, making it the first album to sell over two million copies this year.
The fourth place was Wiz Khalifa's "Deal Or No Deal," selling 89,000 copies in its fifth week, with cumulative sales of 718,000 copies, with a high chance of breaking a million within the year.
On the singles chart, "Here With You" temporarily ranked first.
"Girls Like You," "Everything You Need," "Someone You Loved," "Stay With Me," and "The Woman I Love" ranked second, fourth, sixth, ninth, and tenth respectively.
"Legends Never Die" was dethroned after six weeks at the top, ranking third on the singles chart this week.
Link also became the first artist in music history to have seven songs simultaneously in the top 10 of the singles chart, nearly matching The Beatles' record of occupying the top five in 1964.
Furthermore, 16 songs from this album entered the top 100 singles chart, surpassing The Beatles' record of having 14 songs in the top 100 simultaneously in 1964.
Including "Legends Never Die," he had 17 songs simultaneously in the top 100, drawing widespread amazement.
Previously, fans and media claimed that all 18 songs on this album were masterpieces, with one album equaling ten albums, which many thought was overhyping Link.
After the singles chart was announced, having 16 songs in the top 100 proved that the previous praise was not exaggerated.
Additionally, the songs from the album also created new records on streaming charts, radio request charts, and digital music download charts.
Link didn't care much about these records, thinking records were meant to be broken. With more people buying digital albums and record companies focusing more on marketing when selling albums, breaking records would become easier in the future.
For example, the first-week sales chart would be topped by Adele's album "25" in the future, selling 3.37 million copies in its first week. Also, Taylor's songs would dominate the top 10 of the singles chart in the future.
However, breaking his record of having 17 songs simultaneously in the top 100 would be difficult, as no one would put 18 songs, all of them good, in one album.
Moreover, his album sold for $29.50 each, almost twice the price of other artists' albums.
Selling 1.747 million copies at such a high price in the first week also sparked public discussion, with various praises like pop king, male god, superman, golden boy, and music dominator being attached to him.
A minute ago, seeing these exaggerated praises, he felt pressured, worried about being overhyped.
But just now, his worries were relieved.
Ivanka called to tell him the good news that she had obtained the video.
Scooter from SB Projects also intended to cooperate with Link Music, currently in negotiations.
According to Ivanka, Link Music could get 25% of SB Projects' shares and 45% of Justin Bieber's management contract in exchange for the rights to "Baby," but she wanted more.
"Eva, you are amazing. I just asked you to exchange the copyright for the video, and you not only got the video but also secured over ten million dollars' worth of shares from Scooter. Impressive, truly impressive."
Link didn't hold back his praise.
"No need to praise me. As I said before, I am the manager of the company, and it's my job to make the company grow. Your job is to write and sing songs with peace of mind, without worrying about other things. So, in the future, if you encounter such matters, just tell me, and I will handle everything."
Ivanka's voice was calm, as if she didn't care, but Link could still detect a bit of pride.
"Yes, you are indeed an excellent partner, not only beautiful but also smart. Do you remember what I said the first time we met? I said you are a thoughtful and intelligent woman. I am very good at judging people."
Link complimented.
Ivanka snorted lightly on the phone, "Stop flattering me. Guess what I'm doing right now?"
"What are you doing? Working?"
"Hmph, I'm watching your porn video."
Ivanka said with a teasing tone.
Link felt a bit awkward, "What's in it? Who's the leading lady?"
"Don't you know who the leading lady is? Or have you messed around with so many women in the dressing room that you can't be sure who it is?"
Ivanka questioned.
"No! Is it... Beyoncé?"
"Beyoncé?!"
There was a clattering sound on the phone, as if Ivanka had knocked something over. After a while, she suppressed her surprise and said, "Beyoncé? When did you get involved with Beyoncé? She's a married woman. How dare you mess around with her?"
Link twitched his mouth, thinking he had miscalculated. The woman in the video was not Beyoncé; he shouldn't have confessed so soon.
He helplessly said, "It was at the last Grammy Awards. After my performance, I was changing clothes, and she walked into the dressing room. When I refused her, she said I was being racist."
"You are such a scumbag. No wonder you were so nervous before; you were worried about being accused of messing around with a married woman, and your rival Jay-Z's wife at that. You are an unbelievable scumbag."
Ivanka scolded him.
Link accepted it helplessly, "Eva, it was my mistake. Please stop teasing me. Other than Beyoncé, I don't remember messing around in the dressing room."
"Emma Watson, last September in London, remember?"
Ivanka snorted lightly.
"Emma Watson? Impossible. After the competition, she came in to congratulate me. We only kissed and hugged for a while. At that time, there were also Harry Potter, Redhead Ron, Coach Brooks, and others in the dressing room. How could I mess around with Emma in front of them?"
"Are you sure? This video is over thirty minutes long, probably filmed secretly from a closet. The front part matches your description. Emma Watson jumped into your arms, kissed you
passionately, and you two talked while kissing. Later, you both entered the dressing room and messed around behind the curtain. Although it's not clear, the shadows show you were messing around."
"Fake. I left the dressing room after changing clothes for an interview, spending no more than ten minutes in there. Look carefully, is there any sign of editing?"
After a while, Ivanka confirmed that there were editing traces after the third minute, suggesting that someone re-enacted the latter part based on the first part, edited it into a complete video to scam money.
"After worrying for a few days, it turns out to be a fake video. Little Kunis is such an idiot, spending 100,000 pounds on a fake video, and he doesn't even know he's been scammed."
Ivanka laughed.
"I think it's great, a false alarm."
"Hmph! This time it was a false alarm, but next time it might not be. Can you book a hotel room when you mess around outside? Is the dressing room that exciting?"
"I understand. There won't be a next time."
"You don't need to promise me anything; I'm not your girlfriend."
Ivanka snorted and hung up.
Link touched his forehead, letting out a sigh of relief. After worrying for days, it turned out to be a false alarm. But British paparazzi are indeed crazy, like mice, getting into every nook and cranny.
(End of Chapter)