The news that Amy Winehouse has become the highest debuting British female artist in the history of U.S. charts has left us scratching our heads. Huh? What about Dido, Joss Stone, Corrine Bailey Rae, Lily Allen, Fergie — oh wait, she’s not British, she just sings about her London Bridge going down as a metaphor for . . . something.
Perhaps we have failed to look at the fine print. Seriously, ain’t no way Amy Winehouse beat out the fucking Spice Girls. Ms. Rehab might in fact be the highest-debuting- female-solo-British- tall-Jewish-black-haired -tattoed-with-a-birthmark -on-her-left-arm artist ever to make the U.S. Billboard charts. But of that more historic superlative, we’re not so sure. Let’s investigate, shall we?
All of the aforementioned female imports have scored Top Ten spots on U.S. charts, but none have had their first album released in the States debut in the Top Ten. Dido’s Life for Rent debuted in the Top Five, but that wasn’t her first album (that one debuted at #144). Joss Stone’s first disc, The Soul Sessions, debuted at #199; Lily Allen’s Alright, Still at Number Twenty; Corinne Bailey Rae came closest when her self-titled album debuted at Number Seventeen. The most recent British act to debut in the Top Ten was Dirty Vegas (remember them??) who scored a Number Seven slot in 2002. Then there was the Spice Girls, who hit Number Six with Spice World in 1997. But neither is a solo artist and we’re pretty sure that members of Dirty Vegas don’t qualify for the female category despite the ambiguous sexual orientation of their fan base. Nonetheless, Winehouse’s unexpected surge to the top, beating out all preceding fellow female Brits, is mind-boggling. Dear readers, do you know who held the title of best selling debut in the British female solo artist category previously? We’re dying over here.
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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
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