Ellen fans didn’t get the memo. Top 40 listeners didn’t get the memo. Kids age 4 to 5 didn’t get the memo either. If you have no clue what I’m talking about I’m talking about Nicki Minaj’s fan base. Even though Nicki’s brand is more popular than ever, thanks to the bonus cut Super Bass, people that actually buy albums didn’t bother with her latest.

Her first album sold 375k in its first week, her latest one 253k. So what gives?

Nicki’s core fans either (a) don’t know she has an album out (b) don’t want to buy it or (c) will buy it later when a song becomes popular. (C) is pretty much what happened with Nicki’s first album, so it’s likely that this is mindset of pop music buyers. Contrast this with hip hop, where the mindset is first week sales regardless of radio hits. It makes sense that those that consume pop music, will only buy what’s popular and right now Nicki’s music isn’t popular. I think she may have something with “Pound the Alarm” but the pop crowd is a fickle bunch.

This just goes to show that past popularity doesn’t translate into future success.