Jasper
2-23-06, 05:18 PM
INXS has pulled a coup, in part because its new lead singer is helping remind fans of its old one.
INXS chose frontman J.D. Fortune to replace the late Michael Hutchence via reality show competition "Rock Star: INXS," which CBS broadcast from July through September.
Ratings for the show started low, and critics wondered if fans would find the idea disrespectful to the memory of Hutchence, who died in 1997.
Such questions seem answered, now that INXS' new record "Switch" has sold 75,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, the band's best opening in the SoundScan era. INXS' last album (which was also its last with Hutchence), 1997's "Elegantly Wasted," sold 25,000 its first week.
"It's doing surprisingly well," says Carl Mello, senior buyer for retailer Newbury Comics.
Retail is not the only part of the picture—INXS' tour is selling out, and radio and video outlets, most notably VH1, are having success with the band.
"They delivered the goods in two ways," says Rick Krim, executive VP of music and talent relations for VH1, where INXS currently ranks No. 4 on the station's top album chart and No. 7 on its top video chart. "They made a great record with a single that sounds like classic INXS, and they have a new star in the band. He's truly compelling, and vocally he's in the ballpark of Michael, so you hear the older INXS songs."
Bill Weston, PD of rock station WMMR (93.3) Philadelphia, echoed the sentiment. He says first single "Pretty Vegas" "sounded like the old INXS and it was a good song, so we thought the older demos would dig it."
The tour will kick off Jan. 18 and visit 31 theaters with capacities of 2,500-4,000 seats. Sales have been "wildly successful," says John Scher, co-CEO of Metropolitan Talent Presents, which is producing the trek. To date, 27 shows have sold out, including dates in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C. A second leg is being eyed for April/May
INXS chose frontman J.D. Fortune to replace the late Michael Hutchence via reality show competition "Rock Star: INXS," which CBS broadcast from July through September.
Ratings for the show started low, and critics wondered if fans would find the idea disrespectful to the memory of Hutchence, who died in 1997.
Such questions seem answered, now that INXS' new record "Switch" has sold 75,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, the band's best opening in the SoundScan era. INXS' last album (which was also its last with Hutchence), 1997's "Elegantly Wasted," sold 25,000 its first week.
"It's doing surprisingly well," says Carl Mello, senior buyer for retailer Newbury Comics.
Retail is not the only part of the picture—INXS' tour is selling out, and radio and video outlets, most notably VH1, are having success with the band.
"They delivered the goods in two ways," says Rick Krim, executive VP of music and talent relations for VH1, where INXS currently ranks No. 4 on the station's top album chart and No. 7 on its top video chart. "They made a great record with a single that sounds like classic INXS, and they have a new star in the band. He's truly compelling, and vocally he's in the ballpark of Michael, so you hear the older INXS songs."
Bill Weston, PD of rock station WMMR (93.3) Philadelphia, echoed the sentiment. He says first single "Pretty Vegas" "sounded like the old INXS and it was a good song, so we thought the older demos would dig it."
The tour will kick off Jan. 18 and visit 31 theaters with capacities of 2,500-4,000 seats. Sales have been "wildly successful," says John Scher, co-CEO of Metropolitan Talent Presents, which is producing the trek. To date, 27 shows have sold out, including dates in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C. A second leg is being eyed for April/May