Adam Lambert Projected to Become First Openly Gay Artist to Debut at #1 on Albums Chart

Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 05/21/2012 at 12:25 PM News

The Popdust Files: adam lambert, Billboard, chart achievements, sales, trespassing

Yes, that’s right, Glamberts—your boy Adam’s sophomore album Trespassing is projected to debut at #1 this week, assuming no late sales surges for Adele’s 21 or Carrie Underwood’s Blown Away push it past Lambert’s expected 70-80k sold. Aside from being a personal best for Adam, the album would make chart history by becoming the first LP by an openly gay solo artist to top the Billboard 200. (Elton John topped the chart several times in the ’70s, and Clay Aiken went to #1 back in 2003, but neither had yet come out at those respective point points.) Lambert’s own previous best was the #3 debut for debut effort For Your Entertainment.

Of course, as several publications have pointed out, the victory for Lambert and the gay community is more one of circumstance than one of legitimate mainstream breakthrough. Lambert’s chart-topping sales week, if it holds as projected, will be the lowest of any #1 album in nearly a year, and just a fraction of the 198k that Entertainment sold in its first week, when that album had the bad luck of going against high-selling efforts from Susan Boyle and Andrea Bocelli. If Trespassing had come out in any number of the 50 or so weeks in the last year-plus that Adele sold over 80k copies of 21, its debut would probably be seen as something of a disappointment.

Still, a #1 is a #1 forever, and we’re happy that Adam gets to list that on his career resume. Plus, as Idolator rightly points out, you shouldn’t buy the album “because you want to help the gay rights movement — pick it up because it’s actually quite good.” Word.

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