Orb's current single's performance a foretelling of his career in the U.S.?

So...from what I can only assume from the reaction to orb's single on the Billboard Country Chart on the 

Country Music News & Chart Discussion forum of orb's chart performance..it ain't doing too well. While orb is apparently tearing it up in Oz...what with his little gig on a tv karaoke game show...he is selling cds of a just released greatest hits cd and will begin his "world" tour early next year to a few more sold out venues...again...in OZ. Over here in the states, his fansie's await the release of his next album. It would seem due to "other" commitments he is once again rushing to get it written and recorded for an end of this year release. Perhaps he will...perhaps he wont. But one interesting note is the performance of his current single, "For You." Predictably, the single has sold VERY mediocre...having sold ONLY about 260k in about 12 weeks. By comparison, kenny chesney's "Come Over" has just sold 500k in only 9 weeks.

And now, it seems orb's current single is struggling to make it into the top 10. Some of the monkeys of the Country Music News & Chart Discussion forum are claiming it is due to the song being a "between-singles single"...and that it is from a Soundtrack album. Yet recall swifty's "soundtrack' songs "Safe & Sound" and "Eyes Open" have both sold a million each. Now naturally, it would be a given that the fansie's would simply consider it an "aberration" that the song doesnt do that well in either sales or on the chart. But now the question becomes..."Is it an aberration?" Or could it be that orb's single is struggling on the Billboard Country Chart because of the recently announced news that the Country Charts would no longer be simply based on "radio adds" or "spins"...but be based on a mixture of radio spins, sales and social media. If it is true, then orb's last bastion of any sort of success in the US will have finally abandoned him. 

Apparently, the orb's "World" simply comprises of the U.S. and Oz.

According to the Brisbane Times, orb is to begin his "World" tour in Oz on Jan 25, 2013 in Brisbane.


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/queenslander-urban-kicks-off-world-tour-on-home-soil-20120617-20hpp.html


'Queenslander' Urban kicks off world tour on home soil

"Australian country music star Keith Urban will kick off his 2013 world tour on home soil in January.

Keith Urban: The Story So Far tour will begin over the Australia Day long weekend in Brisbane, Chugg Entertainment and Nine Live announced today.

The Grammy and ARIA winner will stage two shows at Brisbane's Entertainment Centre on January 25 and 26, before heading to Sydney and then Melbourne."

Yes, the orb's "World" has been reduced to the US, Oz and Canada for years now. The article mentions that the orb has toured "to sold out venues across the world, from Australia to Germany, England, Canada and the United states." From what I can see, orb hasn't toured in Germany since 2007...5 years...and hasn't toured in the UK since 2008...4 years ago. Orb's tour last year, 2011 consisted of Oz, the US and Canada. His Escape Together "World" tour in 2009 consisted only of US, Oz and canadian shows. Now purportedly, orb is to release another album later this year...he has a few "county fair and festival" gigs till the end of this year....then he purportedly starts his next "World" tour next year in Jan in Oz.  

 I also got a kick out of this other achievement orb was able to get..mentioned in this article...

"His Get Closer 2011 World Tour solidified him as one of the music industry's best live performers, while yielding $US15.7 million."

...well, I dont know where this source comes up with that $15mil...as orb tour last year grossed  $27mil  ...which was still  DOWN from his 2009 tour total gross of $42mil! That does NOT signify a "big year" as the article claims. That is DECLINE. This quote also gets a snicker...

"The success of the Get Closer world tour also helped Urban make the list of Music's Top 40 Money Makers in the US. Urban, who is married to actress Nicole Kidman, sits at number 27 on the annual Billboard list, pocketing $US6.6 million ($A6.27 million) in 2011,..."

...yeah...$6.6mil...that IS NOT impressive at all...as I'm sure it is also a decline for orb! So I hope orb is enjoying all this Oz acclaim...it will be all the acclaim he will no doubt get. And I'm sure this upcoming "World" tour will be about as "impressive" as all the rather paltry numbers mentioned in this article! My only question is...when or if...orb's "World" tour happens to make it back to the US...which I believe wont be till mid time next year...no doubt AGAIN a half year after his album MAYBE comes out...will be able to attract that 8,000 per show average he barely managed last year? 

Seems only an "Archaeologist" will be able to dig up kidman's career.

It seems I must now become a cinematic "archaeologist"...and try to dig up what remains of kidman's career. For truly it is been BURIED...and it seems rather deeply! 
It's been over 3 weeks since kidman's film, "The Paperboy," made it's debut at the Cannes Film Festival specifically looking for a distributor. This film cost $12.5 million. Now it's looking like as has been mentioned Millennium will HAVE to, if they hope to release this film in the US,distribute it all by themselves. That is if director Daniel's cannot himself "dig up" another rube to actually PAY to put this fiasco of a film in theaters. Certainly the recent news coming out about those involved in the "urine stained" film is not very postitive to it's eventual fate. The recent news that Matthew McConaughey is passing on director Lee Daniels next film of course does not bode well for "the Paperboy"...


http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Matthew-McConaughey-Play-JFK-Lee-Daniels-Butler-31307.html


 "Matthew McConaughey will not play JFK in Lee Daniels' The Butler" 


...now of course McConaughey says that the reaction to The Paperboy in Cannes  had NO effect on his decision NOT to do Daniels next film. It has also been rumored that kidman may have a role in Daniels' The Butler...we  shall see how that rumor turns out!
  Now, also in the news is that Daniels is taking the film to Ischia fest...


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-08/entertainment/sns-201206081133reedbusivarietynvr1118055232-20120608_1_vampire-hunter-pix-ups


"Ischia fest up Hollywood wattage: pix include 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' 


"Other titles now set for local launches from Ischia include "The Paperboy" with helmer  Lee Daniels and producer Avi Lerner set to make the trek;..."


...so I wonder...will ANY of the stars of the film make it to THIS premiere after the debacle of the Cannes premiere!? Now, my last observance onto the possible future of this film...if you go to kidman's own official website...you will find NOT ONE mention...NOT ONE photo of the "The Paperboy!" In fact the last "update" was back on May 9th and it was the posting of the trailer for HBO's "Hemmingway and Gellhorn"...and well all now know what a complete and utter failure that was for HBO...yes...a paltry 500k viewers!  It would certainly appear by this "scrubbing" of ANY association with "The Paperboy"...that kidman is "washing her hands" of Daniels' The Paperboy. Just as she did with her previous debacle...."Trespass"...and her past debacle..."The Invasion"....and "The Stepford Wives...and on and on! In fact, it seems kidman is back to her "charity work"...which she ONLY gets to when she has a film to shill. Unfortunately for kidman...the films she had on tap are UNSELLABLE!

The Descent into "Toilet humor"...or in other words...Kidman's career!

Although I have been pretty much loathing of commenting on ANYTHING that has to do with Nicole Kidman's career for the past year or so...current events only solidify my belief that she her career is over. 

The past weeks saw the premiere of not just one, but two of her current "films" at the Cannes Film festival..."The Paperboy" and HBO's "Hemingway and Gellhorn." A sneak peek of "The Paperboy" held on March 22 for "potential buyers and select critics" met with mixed reviews....

http://www.indiewire.com/article/cannes-buyers-attend-sneak-screening-of-the-paperboy-will-it-sell-before-its-thursday-premiere#

CANNES: Buyers React to Sneak Screening of Lee Daniels' Pulpy 'The Paperboy'

"Early reactions suggest the film has more in common with Daniels' "Shadowboxer," an arty action film that left critics' jaws agape, rather than the crowd-pleasing "Precious."

...yet as it's official premiere arrived 2 days later on the 24th...NO buyer for the film manifested itself as a result of the "preview" showing...DESPITE a twitter "claim" that the film got a "10 minute ovation"...which then turned into a "16 minute ovation"...to it's eventual "20 minute ovation. But it wasn't until it's official premiere was the scene that kidman "urinates on co-star Efron's face and chest" was revealed...and of course turned into the "sensation" of the festival. No, more like a "sideshow" of the festival! Sure there was talk for a day or two...but no win for the film or kidman...as the film WAS in competition. Now almost two weeks later...NOT much talk, just the usual "PR BS" being spread on the innertubes...BUT most importantly...STILL NO buyer or distributor! 

  Now, as to the other film that was also premiered at Cannes..."Hemingway and Gellhorn"...that film was   hyped by the torrid of "explicit sex scenes" by kidman and Clive Owen. Well, that filmed eventually debuted on HBO on May 28, memorial day at 9:00 PM...the same time as The History Channel's "Hatfields and McCoys!" Well, H&M drew a record 13 million viewers...and H&G? Well that went on to draw a VERY pathetic 500,000 viewers! And that IS bad...even for HBO...which "Made for HBO" films usually drawing at least 1 million viewers! So this film is an unmitigated failure. 

  So, the results of these two films are not very surprising to me. I had kidman through in the business years ago. She's gone from 100 million dollar budgeted films and $15mil to 17mil paydays....to $10-$15mil budgeted films and $65,000 paydays. She is reduced to getting son's of Bollywood producers...still attending UCLA film school to learn "film making" to finance her film about Grace Kelly. Kidman is like a hooked fish...thrown onto the dry land...and is simply flopping around trying to find the water again. Unfortunately, just as the orb is reduced to the "small pond"of Australian tv...that water for kidman will be mighty difficult to find!


UPDATE: 
Late last week I posted over at the E! orb thread the ratings for the HBO broadcast of "Hemingway and Gellhorn" from this webpage...


http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2012/05/30/mondays-cable-ratings-hatfields-and-mccoys-heat-celtics-big-for-history-espn-267510/cable_20120528/


...which revealed those ratings for H&G at a dismal 548,000 viewers. Since that number was SO ridiculously low, I was determined to find ANOTHER source...a confirmation. Well, ratings have been VERY scarce for the film. It's almost like there is a CONCERTED effort to IGNORE the numbers! Well, I've just now finally found another source...


http://www.vulture.com/2012/06/game-of-thrones-gets-its-biggest-ratings-yet.html

Game of Thrones Gets Its Biggest Ratings Yet

"Not everything on HBO does Iron Throne–worthy Nielsen numbers. If you haven't seen any ratings stories about last Monday's big HBO original film Hemingway & Gellhorn (the one with Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen), that's because the pay network didn't have much to brag about. Airing on Memorial Day, the film averaged a mere 548,000 viewers in its initial telecast. By comparison, earlier this spring, Game Change drew 2.1 million, HBO's best long-form numbers in 8 years."

As I also mentioned...those are EVEN worse numbers than orb's dismal album sales numbers! But...JUST barely. I take it that will be the first...AND LAST film kidman will star in for HBO! Well, there's always Australian tv...AND the orb already waiting for her...with UNbated breath! 

WOW...orb finally appears on singles sales report...and is mediocre!

Well, it's been quite a while since the orb has been able to appear on a sales report. As is quite apparent, his album petered out sometime last year...and hasnt been seen since. But today, orb's latest single, "For You" which was first released for sale on itunes back on Feb. 17th gets a mention over at Roughstock.com "Digital single" sales...

http://www.roughstock.com/blog/country-chart-news-top-30-digital-singles-the-week-of-may-30-2012

Country Chart News: Top 30 Digital Singles: The Week of May 30, 2012

"Keith Urban’s “For You” rises up the charts to #45 from #54 with roughly to have a 31% sales increase this week with sales now over 106,000. "

...so...orb's latest single has sold "now over 106,000" singles!? REALLY? Realize that the song has been out for 3 and a half months...or 102 weeks.  That's an average of ONLY 1,068 singles a week! And also recall that the first week it sold about 15k...so adjusting the average minus that first weeks sales...that's only an average weekly sales of 930 singles a week! That is PATHETIC when compared to sales of carrie underwood's  single, "Good Girl." Recall that underwood's single was released to itunes ONLY 3 days AFTER orb's single...and "Good Girl" has now sold 932,000 singles! That's a sales average of 9,137 singles a week. Yes, that's 9 times as many cds sold! So while underwood's single is already nearing Platinum of 1 million...orb IS NOWHERE near even Gold...AND will NEVER be near Gold sales! So there is the proof that orb IS a washed up hasbeen...which I am constantly harping on. No one can sell that weakly...and continue to stay in business. Orb's days as a viable, top tiered elite country "star" are simply numbered...and nothing he can do, concieve or manufacture is gonna change that.

The orb is #1...in Oz...

So, the aussie innertubes are alight with news that the orb's new "Greatest hits" cd is #1 on the ARIA  Country Album chart ...

http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_country.asp?chart=1F20

...the orb's OTHER "Greatest Hits: 18 kids" cd is currently at #5. This previous greatest hits cd was released in the states 5 years ago and has sold x2 platinum in Oz...so in aussie speak, that's cd sales of 140k. So taking a quick in depth look at those sales...this cd sold on average 538 cds per week for 5 years...or 260 weeks...for that total of 140k. I suppose for Oz that is somehow impressive! Recall..."big fish in little pond." Also showing on this week's ARIA country chart, orb's latest cd, "Get Closer,"  is currently at #19 and reveals sales of "Gold"...or 35k. Get Closer was released in the states a year and a half ago...or 78 weeks...and has sold an average of 448 cds a week in Oz. So, again...one can assume that orb's #1 album in Oz today probably sold between 448 cds to maybe 538 cds the past week. Clearly, one can also assume that this is OUTSTANDING for someone in orb's sales class. I am most assuredly convinced that things WONT be as OUTSTANDING for him when he decides to release his next album in the states. Orb  MAY be able to show a somewhat lessened performance in Oz...and SEEM to be accomplishing something impressive...but in the states it really is chump change. Orb CAN NO  longer compete in the US marketplace. I would surely say orb DOES see a promising new future...IN OZ! Which again, as I've maintained before, is what orb was looking to do. Orb is now in a "weight class" more to his speed. Orb can no longer compete with the Heavyweights...so go and compete with some Lightweights! Because...even in Oz...true "Heavyweights" can still out sell the orb. For, swifty's 4 year old album, Fearless,   has now sold x5 Platinum...or 350k...which is MORE than twice as many as orb's best showing.

orb reaches 3 mil "likes" on Facebook...barely.

So, I read at the orb's fawnsite that he has reached the milestone of 3 million "likes" on his facebook page.

http://www.keithurban.net/story/news/keith-reaches-3-million-facebook-fans

"

KEITH REACHES 3 MILLION FACEBOOK FANS"

It's just too bad that NOT EVEN half of those 3mil "fans...by the way, on Facebook it's referred to as "likes"...it's too bad for orb that not even half of them didnt bother to buy his album or any of his singles!  I calculate his album after being out for a year and a half now has only sold about 700,000 cds...about 300,000 LESS than his previous album. And clearly NONE of his singles will EVER get near "Gold" in sales...500k. I've long maintained orb is one of the worst perfroming in "new media" promo. A quick check of country acts Facebook pages...orb is near the bottom.

1. Swift- 31mil "likes"

2. Underwood- 7 mil 

3. Lady ant- 7mil

4. Aldean-5.7mil 

5.Rascal flatts- 4mil

6.Paisley- 4mil 

7. Chesney- 4mil

8. Sugarland- 3.7mil

9. Lambert- 3.4mil

10. orb- 3mil 

11. Shelton- 2.6mil 

Orb only ranks ahead of shelton on the top 11 country acts by 600k. It is NOT irrelevant that both orb and shelton are currently selling about the same amount of cds. Shelton's album is currently selling 687k cds. Orb also no doubt trails in Twitter followers...where he beats only Sugarland and the flatts. Surely this trailing most of the acts in "new media" outlets is part of the orb's problem with sales of his music...but ultimately his bland and superficial personality is the main reason he is faltering. Unfortunately for the orb...that IS NOT something you can buy!