Jackson furor may hurt her CD
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- In Janet Jackson's case, sex may not sell.
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Singer Jackson embarked on a major promotional tour for her upcoming CD, "Damita Jo," with a halftime appearance at Sunday's Super Bowl ending with her breast being exposed. But the admitted stunt, meant to generate publicity, may end up hurting sales of her new project, experts said on Thursday.
After a day of uncertainty over her planned appearance at this coming Sunday's prestigious Grammy Awards, where global TV coverage raises a star's profile, the office of her publicist, Stephen Huvane, said on Thursday she was no longer attending the event. No explanation was offered.
Virgin Records, Jackson's label, hoped to cash in on the uproar by rushing her new single, "Just a Little While," to radio this week, but industry insiders believe her fans may be more turned off than turned on by the incident.
"I don't think it will boost sales of the CD. I don't think it was consistent with her image and the problem with it is that it came off looking just like a publicity stunt," said China Danforth, chief executive of DKG Music, an urban label.
Analysts note that similar publicity-generating efforts, like Madonna's much-celebrated kiss to Britney Spears, did not result in stronger sales for either of the stars, and that bodes ill for "Damita Jo," due to hit stores on March 30.
Country music stars The Dixie Chicks experienced a similar result when they saw a huge drop-off in CD sales after singer Natalie Maines publicly criticized U.S. President George W. Bush.
Simon Renshaw, who manages the Dixie Chicks, thinks the Jackson fallout is much ado about nothing.
"Being English, I cannot even begin to fathom what all the fuss is about. It's only a nipple and there are far more important things to talk about," Renshaw said.
In terms of the commercial impact, he said, "You can only evaluate these issues over long periods of time."
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