Ciara's Career Crisis: Is She Done?

Ciara needs a big heaping dose of "magic" to revive her album sales

R&B singer Ciara had some admittedly tough competition for her album's release week (like Michael Jackson's Michael), but no one could have really anticipated just how badly she would do the first week. The numbers are in, and with sales of approximately 37,000 copies, Basic Instinct, her fourth studio album, debuted at #44 on the Billboard charts.

That's right, #44.

Without question, it is one of the worst launch weeks for an artist of Ciara's status ever. To put it in perspective, both Kylie Minogue and Robyn, relatively unknown in the US, peaked higher than Ciara did when they released, at #19 and #41 respectively. What's worse is that this during the holiday shopping season, when album sales are typically higher than usual. Had Ciara released earlier like she intended to, there is a good possibility she would have flopped even harder.

So, what happened to Ciara, who seemed to be doing well with "Ride" earlier this year, and is it too late for her to turn her career around?

I wouldn't say that Ciara's career is done, but I would certainly say that she needs to make some serious changes and decisions, and make them fast.

One of the biggest decisions she needs to make is whether or not to stay with Jive. Honestly, had I not been the pop music junkie that I am, I probably wouldn't have known she was releasing an album this week. The promotion for the album was pretty weak, even though she did perform on some TV shows. There needed to be a bigger push, especially after the mess that was the Fantasy Ride era in 2008. Jive, despite having Britney on their roster, is pretty much a floundering fish these days, with the American Idol catalog and all. Ciara would probably benefit a lot from a change of scene, as long as that scene isn't UMG, which is tempting to change over. With artists like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Kanye West over there, Ciara wouldn't see the light of day. Whether she moves or not, she needs to figure out her relationship with her label, because it's not working right now.

Ciara's biggest issue, in my opinion, is what I believe felled Christina Aguilera this year. I don't think Ciara really knows where she fits in the current music landscape. When she first burst onto the scene, she was girl from Atlanta riding the Crunk music wave. That was in 2005, and musical tastes have changed drastically. After her failed attempt at pop with Fantasy Ride, she's decided to go back to that image and style with Basic Instinct, especially with her latest single "Gimme Dat". What she may not realize is that people have long since moved on from crunk, and she isn't big enough to revive it. What she's releasing is music that is so radio-repellent that it's no surprise no one really knew her album was coming out.

I'm not saying she should book a flight to Sweden and release an album of dance-pop (although it could work). I understand her desire to remain in her field. However, she needs to try something new while keeping to her roots. To do that, she really needs to ditch The-Dream, the executive producer of her latest album. The truth is The-Dream is a hit-and-miss producer, and it's doubtful that he is saving his hits for Ciara when he's got bigger fish to fill, like Beyonce. He's quickly spiraling to irrelevant anyway; he can't even release a hit for himself. She needs fresh blood, fresh producers, to revive her artistic output. Maybe she should give Max Martin a call after all.

Speaking of artistry (a word that American Idol made me despise), Ciara needs to look at herself and decide who she is competing with. Back when she released "Goodies", she was the it girl who could move in the same lane as Beyonce, while Rihanna was just a girl from Barbados with a song made for one-hit wonder-dom. Fast forward a half decade, and Rihanna is a megastar while Ciara is not. What Rihanna did was that she improved her music to put herself in the superstar category. Had she continued releasing music like "Pon De Replay", she would be nothing. Ciara needs to do the same thing. If she wants to be global, she needs to act like it, and record music accordingly. If she wants to be a strictly Urban artist, like Keyshia Cole, than she needs to stick there. My problem is, for someone who has tasted worldwide success, that may not be, and should not be, enough for Ciara.

Ciara is a very nice woman and she is talented, so I don't want her to fail. To be frank, though, she is dangerously close to being irrelevant. The dismal performance of Basic Instinct is proof of that. I don't think she's done, but she needs to get it together. Fast.

The Snubulator: MTV Video Music Awards 2010 Edition

So, yesterday, the nominees for the 2010 VMAs were announced, and while some got some very good news, others didn't. In fact, some of the biggest videos of the year were completely ignored.

So, it's time to throw them in the Snubulator and see if they really got snubbed.

Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight

It was definitely one of the most talked about videos of the year, but for all the wrong reasons. It was virtually panned by everyone, and only increased the volume of those cruel "Xeroxtina" nicknames. No one was here for another "Dirrty". Plus, the single itself flopped pretty badly, and the album has virtually been forgotten.

     SNUBULATOR SAYS: Sorry, Xtina, but the snub was deserved. Better luck next album!


Rihanna - Rude Boy, Russian Roulette, and/or Hard

Rihanna is definitely one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and she was particularly visual with her music video output this year. "Russian Roulette" was dark and twisted, "Hard" was full-on military glam, and "Rude Boy" was colorful Island fun. So, what's with the pathetic nomination for "Best Editing"? If anything, "Russian Roulette" should've scored a nomination for Best Female Video. And while "Rude Boy" was the best video of the year, it could've scored a best pop nod. I mean, it went #1 for five weeks. Rihanna's videography deserved recognition, and with the 13-18 nods that Gaga received, MTV could've spared one of those to Rihanna.
    
     SNUBULATOR SAYS: SNUB, SNUB, SNUB! MTV really screwed her over this year.


Justin Bieber - Baby

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Bieber, and I'm pretty sure his fanbase might be a little too crazy about him, but even I was surprised by his sole nod for "Baby". I'm pretty sure I was annoyed by the whole bowling party (are you 10?), but it was a pretty big hit and it broke him into the mainstream. That said, I'm glad it wasn't in the Video of the Year category, because I know he would win, solely because of the "Beliebers".
     SNUBULATOR SAYS: Some snubbage detected. Don't worry though, Beliebers. He'll take BNA easy


Black Eyed Peas - Every video from THE E.N.D. 

What did will.i.am and co. do? They weren't nominated last year, and now this year they've been snubbed. Seriously, though. I figured the epic "Imma Be Rocking That Body" would've landed at least something, but no. This goes beyond snub. This reeks of an MTV ban
     SNUBULATOR SAYS: Out of control SNUBBING!


Miley Cyrus - Can't Be Tamed

Her single underperformed, her album is flopping, and her new image is killing her future career prospects. That all said, the whole bird in a cage thing was inspired. It deserved at least a technical award
     SNUBULATOR SAYS: Snub.


Lady Gaga - Alejandro

Yes. I know. EIGHTEEN nominations. But, didn't "Alejandro" deserve a few for it's German-esque cinematography and visceral imagery. Ummm.....yay "Bad Romance"!
    SNUBULATOR SAYS: Nope.


Shakira - She Wolf

Come on, MTV! "She Wolf" was easily the coolest, sexiest videos of the last twelve months! Did you see her in that cage? I didn't even know people could bend like that! It deserved a nomination, at least for Best Choreography, damn!
     SNUBULATOR SAYS: There is some sexy snubbage occurring here.


Britney Spears - 3

The third #1 single of her career deserved some credit, right? I mean, she's dancing, looking really pretty, some more dancing....okay, let's be honest. The original version (not the director's cut, that's a different story) was simple at best, and lazy at worst. However, her crown for Queen of MTV is left untarnished by this misstep.
     SNUBULATOR SAYS: Nope, not really.


Checking the videos out, do you think the Snubulator was right? Which videos do you think got snubbed? Leave comments below!

American Idol's Mess: Ellen and Kara Out, J.Lo In!

Jennifer Lopez is reportedly
joining American Idol this winter

After a terrible ratings season and Simon Cowell officially gone from American Idol, the show's producers have been scrambling to retool the show and save it from its inevitable cancellation.

The first step, completely shake up the judging panel.

Yesterday, Ellen Degeneres shockingly announced that she was leaving the show after one season. She claimed that she never really felt comfortable on the show and that she made the decision months ago, only announcing it once the producers found a suitable replacement.

But Ellen isn't the only one on her way out.

While it should have happened last year, singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi has been reportedly fired from the show as well, hours after Ellen's announcement. TMZ reportedly wants to go back to a three-person panel, after facing criticism for the change back in season 8.

So, with the two ladies gone, who will be on the panel?

Well, Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Jennifer Lopez has joined the show. She served as a mentor for season six's Latin Night (a.k.a., the night Sanjaya sang "Besame Mucho"). The news has yet to be confirmed by FOX, but rumors also suggest that the panel will be announced on Monday.

Another name floating around alongside Lopez's is Aerosmith's frontman Steven Tyler. There is no information about Randy Jackson's status on the show.

I'm sorry, but I still belong to the school of thought that this show should have been cancelled the minute Simon quit. Ratings are down, contestant sales and chart positions have been dropping, and frankly, the show is a joke now. Instead of ending it with dignity (and on top), it is clear the network is going to let this dying horse continue to ride until it's flat out dead.

Oh well, time for X Factor!

The Media Debacle That Is LeBron James and "His Decision"

NBA superstar LeBron James to join the
Miami Heat next season

Last night, NBA superstar Lebron James announced to the world that he was joining the Miami Heat, officially ditching the Cleveland Cavaliers after seven years with his hometown team.

He announced his decision on ESPN in a special called "The Decision", live from the Boys and Girls Club of America in Greenwich, Connecticut. After a good ten minutes of the interviewer building up unnecessary tension with pointless questions, LeBron finally dropped the bomb that broke the hearts of New Yorkers, Chicagoans, and Clevelanders alike.

Now, I will admit that I don't really follow basketball like my mother does. Frankly, LeBron James' decision wouldn't have made a difference to me at all, even if he came to New York. That said, I tuned in to see what the big deal was.

It was big, all right. A big disastrous mess.

What I witnessed in that forty minutes (I missed the first twenty) was one of the most narcissistic displays of star power I have ever seen. I simply don't understand why he went through all of this trouble, building all of the tension, hosting an hourlong special dedicated to what should've been a few words: "I chose (fill in the blank)". He should've just released a statement to splash over the front pages. Instead, we had to hear how emotional the decision was for him and how he was deciding even at the last minute, as if he was negotiating a nuclear arms treaty. The whole thing was frankly absurd in just that regard, but the heart of this lies in Cleveland. I wasn't aware of this until tonight, but apparently James is regarded as a hero in his hometown, even a king. People laid all of their basketball dreams on the superstar, and I would assume LeBron did his best to make his fans proud. So what puzzles me is why he would humiliate them so blatantly with this special. Yes, he's a massive sports star, but why go on national television to basically say "Sayonara" to the people who supported him for seven years? I believe he had the right to move on if he felt Cleveland wasn't going to deliver him victory, but he did it in such a classless, insulting way that I doubt he will ever be forgiven by his fans there.

Of course it wouldn't be a debacle if there was only one side, right?

The immediate response to LeBron's not so shocking announcement was utter disgust from his home state of Ohio. ESPN, after the initial interview, aired live footage of fans groaning as the decision came in. Then, in what I can only describe as insanity, they aired someone setting LeBron's jersey ablaze in the street, as they were talking to him. Twitter went into hyperdrive, with trending topics focusing on reactions, the burning jersey, and almost inexplicably instant comparisons to Scottie Pippen. In fact, he is still the top TT as I type. Anyone looking for a beacon of grace certainly wasn't finding it with majority owner of the Cavaliers Dan Gilbert. He shockingly blasted him in an open letter on the team's website, labeling him shameful, selfish, and a coward. He even went as far as to accuse "the formerly self-titled King" of quitting during the NBA playoffs last month.

His anger is understandable, sure, but the letter was so unsportsman-like, it makes one think that LeBron really did choose right.

Whether he chose the right team will be up for weeks of debate, but this media circus he created was certainly a huge bust. LeBron, who hours ago was labeled a hero and a king by many, is now facing backlash that ranges from being new teammate Dwayne Wade' second string (clearly LeBron has never heard Jay-Z's hit "Empire State of Mind") to being a selfish, self-obsessed traitor. Meanwhile, his grieving hometown looks like shamefully petty on national television and the Dan Gilbert looks like a tacky ass asking for a humiliating loss next season. Let's also throw the New Yorks Kncks in there for good measure, who have been preparing for LeBron for years, only to be snubbed. I can't wait for the morning papers about this one.

While he may be labeled as a king, it is hard to deny that his crown may be tarnished just a bit.

Good News, Bad News: iPhone 4 Reaches 600,000 Pre-Orders, New Orders Delayed to July 14th

Amidst the disastrous hot mess that was yesterday's iPhone 4 pre-order launch is some good news. Apple announced yesterday that the highly anticipated product has received an astonishing 600,000 pre-orders in the first 24 hours alone. According to AT&T, the demand was ten times higher than first day pre-orders for the iPhone 3GS released last year.

Which, of course, leads to the really sucky news.

If you are pre-ordering an iPhone today, you won't be getting it for a while. A long while. Apple and AT&T have completely sold out of their pre-order stock. The carrier has suspended all pre-orders for the time being, while Apple is reporting a ship date of July 14th, a near two week pushback from the original ship date of July 2nd. For those who don't want to wait a month, you might have better luck going to a retail store to get your new phone. Just prepare to brave the expectedly long lines as other people shut out by the iPhone 4 order failure join you.

Luckily for me, my upgrade doesn't come until March, and by that time, Apple will be prepping iPhone 5, and will have learned from this disastrous hot mess currently happening.

Emphasis on the disastrous hot mess.

Good News, Bad News: Christina Aguilera SLAYS National Anthem at NBA Finals, While Bionic Is a FLOP

It's good news, bad news for Christina Aguilera.

Bad news first.

Her comeback album Bionic has flopped on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, although it came in at #1, it had the lowest sales debut in history for a #1 album, with 24,000 copies sold. The results were worse in her home country, where her album will come in at #3, behind the Glee and Eclipse soundtracks. According to Hits Daily Double, she sold just over 110,000 copies, a massive drop from the opening week sales of her last studio album Back to Basics. That album sold 346,000 copies in its first week. With Drake releasing his album Thank Me Later this week, prospects don't look too good for a decent second week.

Now for good news.

Christina was absolutely brilliant at tonight's NBA Finals, where she sang the National Anthem. This performance is why we love Christina:

You win some, and you lose some apparently.

AT&T Meltdown! iPhone 4 Pre-Order Disaster Includes ANOTHER Security Breach

Things just went from bad to horrific with the scandal-plagued AT&T.

Just days after AT&T was hacked an thousands of iPad users had their information exposed, Gizmodo is reporting that people pre-ordering the highly anticipated iPhone 4 have been re-directed to another person's account, giving them access to tons of valuable, private information.

It is only a bit of the disaster that the iPhone 4 pre-order process has become. Since Apple and AT&T began allowing people to pre-order this morning, there have been numerous issues, all seeming to stem from AT&T's processing system. Apparently, the entire AT&T system has collapsed, resulting in failures on Apple's end as well. The problem has become so drastic that AT&T has temporarily prevented users from accessing their online accounts and closed some of their retail stores. While some orders were successfully processed, they were subsequently canceled due to an undisclosed error.

As I mentioned earlier, the security breach is the second in a matter of days. Last week, a group of hackers exploited a hole in AT&T's system to expose thousands of iPad 3G users' information. Among the hacked included Diane Sawyer, Michael Bloomberg, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. The company recently apologized for the security breach.

AT&T also threw a curve ball at its subscribers two weeks ago with the announcement of their new data plans, ultimately killing unlimited data for new users. If you remember, unlimited data was the big selling point at the iPad announcement in January, so it was a big slap in the face to the 3G adopters. Then there is iPhone tethering, which was delayed a year, only to be announced for an additional $20 a month, only with use of the 2GB data plan.

So, what the hell is going on with AT&T? While the company has always been plagued with embarrassments, especially regarding the iPhone, two major disasters within days of each other is not a good look for the company, especially concerning its tenuous relationship with Apple. Rumors continue to persist of Apple dropping the company when the exclusivity agreement ends, and with these latest embarrassments, they'll only grow bigger.

Ryan Tedder on Leona's "Happy": Flop Because of No Promotion and Gaga-Led Dance Craze

One of pop music's most ubiquitous songwriters, Ryan Tedder, has offered an explanation as to why Leona Lewis' single "Happy" was a flop in the United States.

The song, which served as the lead single for her album Echo, peaked at #31 on the Hot 100 last year, thanks in part to its appearance in the trailer for the film Precious. According to Tedder, who also co-wrote her #1 smash "Bleeding Love", it wasn't enough.

He told Digital Spy, "In the US, unless you're Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé, you cannot put out a song and not be in the country when it comes out. Leona was gone for six weeks when 'Happy' came out because she was promoting the record in other countries - it wasn't her fault; she couldn't be two places in once. I had radio stations telling me that they thought 'Happy' was the single biggest ballad they'd come across in ten years, but that if Leona didn't come over here and promote it, it was going to fall."

The song was released in September, and with sales of over 50,000 in its first week, it debuted at #50 in the US. It quick fell as iTunes sales dropped off as well, only receiving a resurgence with Precious and the album's release. She performed the song on America's Got Talent, Ellen, Dancing with the Stars, and VH1 Divas. Her album has sold 150,000 copies so far in the US, debuting and peaking at #13.

Tedder also referenced Lady Gaga and the boom of dance music on Top 40 radio as reason for the song's disappointing performance. "On top of that, America's consumed with Lady GaGa and dance music right now, so it's not the best time for ballads anyway," he said. "When everything on the radio is blasting out at 120 bpm, a song like 'Happy' almost sounds out-of-place."

In my opinion, the real reason why "Happy" flopped is because it wasn't that great, coupled with Leona's lack of promotion. I completely disagree with the dance music argument, and its interesting that he would make it, since "Halo" and "Already Gone", two songs he produced, were radio smashes. After a debut like "Bleeding Love", Leona needed a song far more transcendent that the one Tedder provided.

Her new single "I Got You" is out now.

Celebrating All My Children's 40th Anniversary, The Wrong Way

Today marked the 40th year that ABC soap opera All My Children has been on the air. With the dire straits the genre is in right now, reaching such a milestone is a really big deal. You would expect ABC to do it up right for their show's birthday, and it's exactly what they led us to believe. They brought back some very popular faces, including Eva La Rue (Maria Santos), Julia Barr (Brooke English), and of course Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos (Hayley and Mateo Santos). They even tracked down Taylor Miller, who last played Nina Cortlandt Warner fifteen years ago. With all of these popular characters back on set, it was expected to be one of the best anniversaries in the show's history.

Clearly, we were all wrong.

The anniversary show that aired today was an utter farce. While the format was pretty good (TV show host Hayley returned to do a Pine Valley documentary, interviewing her fellow townspeople), the actual content was a complete copout, and an insult to the show's rich, four decade history. Speaking of, you would need slow motion on your DVR to find any clips from before 2005, since they came and went so quickly they might as well have not been there. In some cases, clips were replaced with pictures of the characters and couples, making one question if the AMC producers even know where the show's archives are. What we did were lengthy recollections of head writer Charles Pratt's show-killing storylines, like the highly despised tornado of 2008 being passed off as a true Pine Valley rallying effort.

Remember all of the great returns I mentioned in the beginning? Window dressing, for the most part. Former major players like Brooke and Nina were relegated to 15 seconds or so of screentime, while JR was given at least 3 minutes to ramble about the loss of Babe. The most annoying part of it was that the originator of the role, Alexa Havins, wasn't featured at all, making us deal with random clips of the couple with the newer actress instead of the couple's best moments. It was the same deal with other re-casted roles, most notably Liza Colby, formerly played by Marcy Walker, now played by Jamie Luner. Other high profile characters missing from the show included Dimitri Marick, Grandma Kate Martin, Leo du Pres, and Anna Devane, among many others. Dixie Cooney was relegated to one mention by Tad and Palmer, while Maria's marriage to Edmund Grey was virtually ignored save for an indirect mention of her wedding. Don't even get me started about Gillian.

Amongst the dreck was some good moments. I choked up a bit as Mateo and a tearful Maria recalled their unreasonably dead sister Julia. Watching Adam trying to successfully remember his wives in chronological order was hilarious, as was Erica's dig at Brooke: "Brooke who?" The ending, where show creator Agnes Nixon recited that famous poem that the show was built on, was easily the best moment of the entire program.

Thankfully, Charles Pratt has been fired for attempted soapicide, but it is a shame that he was around long enough to leave this disappointment for fans wanting to remember the good times. A trip to YouTube would have been a better retrospective.

Microsoft to T-Mobile Sidekick Users: You're Getting It All Back (Most of You, Anyway)!

T-Mobile Sidekick users (including three of my friends; one of them has over 400 contacts) have been up in arms over the disastrous server crash two weeks ago that made them loose all of their data, including contacts, emails, and pictures. Before, Microsoft, the brains behind T-Mobile's Danger service, announced that the data was forever lost, forcing T-Mobile to offer $100 gift cards and a free month of data service to make up for it.

Now, Microsoft claims they have recovered most data and that it will be available as soon as possible, via a press release delivered today:

We plan to begin restoring users' personal data as soon as possible, starting with personal contacts, after we have validated the data and our restoration plan. We will then continue to work around the clock to restore data to all affected users, including calendar, notes, tasks, photographs and high scores, as quickly as possible.

There is still a possibility that some will not regain their data, although Microsoft say it's only a "minority".

There is no word if T-Mobile's deals are still in effect.

This Is... A Disaster! Sony Screws MJ Fans Over, Again!

Record labels have the tendency to screw up things some times, and the musical future of the late Michael Jackson appears to be no exception.

On Monday morning, Michael's website unveiled "This Is It", which was touted as his brand new single. Reports indicated, however, that it was actually a reject from the 1990-1991 sessions that led to the Dangerous album.

Almost immediately after its release, Paul Anka announced that the song was actually co-written by him and Michael for his 1983 duets album and that Michael "stole" it. The administrators of Michael's estate, John Branca and John McClain, admitted it and gave Anka 50 percent of the publishing rights. The song, which has had a lukewarm reception from the New York Times, is to be released on the This Is It album, which is nothing but another greatest hits album.

So, instead of the "hundreds" of songs that Michael allegedly recorded, they chose a co-written Paul Anka reject? And the only way fans can own it is by purchasing another greatest hits record, on top of the 3 million-selling Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson, and HIStory?

Great job, Branca.

Hannah Montana Beats Goku at the Box Office

This weekend, Goku's Kamehameha was no match for Hannah Montana's sparkly microphone.

Hannah Montana: The Movie took top spot at the box office, bringing in a respectable $34 million over Easter weekend. The total bested that of the Hannah Montana concert film, which brought in $31 million in its first weekend.

As for Dragonball: Evolution, bad reviews an little interest bogged the film down greatly. It brought in a weak $8 million over the weekend, coming in at #8 among all the films released. Considering the movie cost around $100 million, its safe to say that it is an "absolute, unmitigated disaster".

Dragonball: Evolution Is An "Absolute, Unmitigated Disaster", Says Anime News Network

See the difference?

Webster's Dictionary defines unmitigated as "being so definitely what is stated as to offer little chance of change or relief".

This means that, according to leading anime news source Anime News Network, the live-action version of the hugely popular Dragonball metaseries is so horrible, that there is no possibility for any kind of good to come from watching it.

Last week, the website, which specializes in bringing the latest information about anime to English-speaking audience, released their review of Dragonball: Evolution, the much-maligned film produced by 20th Century Fox. Originally blasting fans for criticizing the film before anything came from it, the website admits that the otaku turned out to be right in this case: the movie really did suck.

"It's clear that a metric ton of material was hacked out, but this thing would need another 30 minutes rise from 'unforgivably retarded' to 'only mostly retarded'", says reviewer Zac Bertschy. "[It] might be fun when you're hammered and surrounded by friends. Or suicidal, and need something to push you over the edge."

The scathing review isn't a good sign for the film, which, according to star Justin Chatwin, already has a sequel in the works. Then again, it was kind of expected. You could tell from the teaser posters this movie was going to be a tragedy.

Now, we just confirmation.

Dragonball: Evolution will be released on April 10th.

Jonas 3D Concert Movie Flops at Box Office: Is The Jonas Craze Dying?

Barbara Walters made an interesting point in her interview with the Jonas Brothers on her Oscar special: no one is a teen idol forever.

Many have calculated the expiration date of the three musical brothers: some said 2009 was their swan song, others proclaimed their future as limitless.

It seems like the former may have been right.

Jonas Brothers:The 3D Concert Experience, expected to top Miley Cyrus' 3D movie released last year, proved to be a colossal flop at last weekend's box office. The concert film brought in an abysmal $12 million in ticket sales, coming in second to Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail. Miley's Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour brought $31 million in its first week, with half the amount of theaters as her labelmates. Right behind the Jonases is the 8-time Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire, which was $500,000 short of usurping the #2 slot.

Disney was expecting a gross of $30-40 million, which makes the weekend results all the more shocking and disappointing, and begs the question, what happened?

Was it the $15+ ticket price, which is quite outrageous in these economic time (plus, why do people need to see a concert on film in 3D anyway)?

Were more interested in Madea's latest exploits?

Is the public shifting more towards Team Taylor Swift (her album Fearless sits atop the Billboard album charts for an astonishing tenth week, while "Love Story" enters the UK charts at #2)?

Or, has the inevitable ebbing of the Jonas tidal wave finally begun to take effect?