{"id":103036,"date":"2025-10-28T22:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T22:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/103036\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T22:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T22:01:08","slug":"how-big-was-its-first-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/103036\/","title":{"rendered":"How Big Was Its First Week?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSince its 2010 debut, Tame Impala<\/a> has been one of the biggest names in underground rock, garnering a cult fanbase and huge critical acclaim. But in the past decade, the Kevin Parker-led outfit has leveled up commercially to playing arenas, headlining festivals \u2014\u00a0and now even scoring crossover pop hits. <\/p>\n

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See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\tTame Impala\u2019s fifth album Deadbeat debuts at No. 4 on the Billboard 200<\/a> this week \u2014\u00a0one off the No. 3 peak for the project\u2019s best-charting album, 2020 predecessor The Slow Rush \u2014\u00a0while landing three songs on the Billboard Hot 100<\/a>, led by the pulsing \u201cDracula\u201d at No. 33. But while the commercial returns have been impressive, the critics have been less impressed, and fans seem divided on the clubbier, less-guitar-driven set. <\/p>\n

\n\tHow did Tame Impala manage such first-time Hot 100 success so deep into its career? And do we think the criticism of the set is fair? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below. <\/p>\n

\n\t1. Tame Impala\u2019s\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0debuts at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 70,000 in first-week units. Are those numbers higher, lower or about what you would have expected for it?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Bain: Speaking less to the number itself and more to what it cut through to land this No. 4 position, I think we\u2019ve got to consider it a pretty big win that\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0was able to hold its own among new-ish albums by Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Cardi B, along with the apparently indefatigable projects like the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack and Morgan Wallen\u2019s\u00a0I\u2019m the Problem. If I\u2019m Kevin Parker, I\u2019m feeling good right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEric Renner Brown: The No. 4 debut is about what I would have expected. Granted,\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u2019s last two albums \u2013 2015\u2019s\u00a0Currents\u00a0and 2020\u2019s\u00a0The Slow Rush\u00a0\u2013\u00a0debuted at Nos. 4 and 3, respectively, and the band went from headlining theaters to headlining arenas and festivals in that intervening decade (not to mention receiving a Rihanna co-sign and working with Dua Lipa). But something about the phrase \u201cTame\u00a0Impala\u00a0Billboard 200 No. 1\u201d just sounds weird. It\u2019s tough to be too disappointed finishing behind Taylor Swift, Kpop Demon Hunters and Morgan Wallen.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: This is around what I expected. Post-Currents, Tame Impala\u2019s profile has grown significantly, so I expected Deadbeat to at least match that album\u2019s first week. Nonetheless, the electronic bent of Deadbeat has proven relatively divisive among fans, which would account for a smaller first-week total than 2020\u2019s The Slow Rush.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh Glicksman: It\u2019s in the ballpark of what I would have expected. It\u2019s largely in line with what has been the norm for the psych-pop project over the past decade \u2014\u00a0Currents\u00a0reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in 2015;\u00a0The Slow Rush\u00a0hit a career best No. 3 in 2020. Predictably, it\u2019s another success on wax, becoming\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u2019s third consecutive full-length to debut at No. 1 the Top Vinyl Albums chart. Given that\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0contains some of his most popular hits (from a commercial standpoint, at least) I could have seen that first-week total creeping a touch higher, but it\u2019s not anything shocking to me.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: Around what I expected. Mostly, I\u2019m kinda stunned to look back and see that The Slow Rush had a six-digit first week, since in my memory that album had a much more tepid initial reception back in early 2020. (Perhaps it just seems that way in retrospect because the whole world shut down almost immediately afterwards.)<\/p>\n

\n\t2. Meanwhile, the album now has three Billboard Hot 100 hits \u2014 the first three of Tame Impala\u2019s career \u2014 led by \u201cDracula\u201d at No. 33 this week. What do you think is the biggest reason behind the outfit\u2019s newfound Hot 100 success after 15 years of recording?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Bain: I\u2019m sure there are more reasons than this, but it\u2019s not like\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0has been totally absent over the past few years. He was a huge part of Justice\u2019s \u201cNeverender,\u201d which also gave that duo some of the biggest chart successes of its career thus far. It\u2019s plausible that that song and its ubiquity arguably created a groundswell of new and\/or regenerated interest in\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala, especially a dance-focused project from\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala. I suspect that a lot of the Justice fans jumped on\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0and helped delivered it to this level of success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEric Renner Brown: These three Hot 100 hits are among the poppiest, danciest tracks that\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0has ever released. But moreso, this is the culmination of Kevin Parker\u2019s decadelong drift to the center of the pop music universe. Since\u00a0The Slow Rush,\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0has continued to bring its music to the masses, and the project now represents a certain flavor of in-the-know cool that attracts ravers, stoners, popheads and everyone in between.\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u2019s tent is a big one, and it makes sense that this broad audience connected with some of the most accessible\u00a0Tame\u00a0music to date.
\u00a0
Kyle Denis: I think it\u2019s a combination of \u201cDracula\u201d being a radio-friendly three-minute song that\u2019s in line with top 40\u2019s recent dance inclinations, the long-tail impact of Rihanna\u2019s 2016 \u201cSame Ol\u2019 Mistakes\u201d cover (the mainstream\u2019s guardian angel of cool gave her seal of approval to the \u201cindie\u201d symbol of cool)\u00a0and Tame Impala\u2019s graduation to the kind of live act that can play three arena dates in the same city on its latest tour. Tame Impala never really lost its cool factor over the past 15 years, and now it\u2019s reaping the benefits of remaining that signifier for a generation of consumers that values aesthetics above pretty much anything else.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh Glicksman: I don\u2019t know that there\u2019s always a cut-and-dried answer to these sorts of things. Sometimes an act just finds the right pocket of momentum on streaming services. That said, I would point to how prevalent Kevin Parker has been in working with A-listers in recent years, and particularly to his intensive behind-the-scenes efforts on Dua Lipa\u2019s\u00a0Radical Optimism. Of course, collaborating with star-studded artists is nothing new for him, but it\u2019s totally plausible to me that the exposure he got from producing such a large chunk of that album unlocked a totally new group of fans \u2014 and one that knows how to launch hits up the charts.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: A less-competitive streaming market in recent weeks certainly helps, but clearly Tame Impala has been majorly embraced by streaming audiences \u2014 basically, younger audiences \u2014 in a way folks probably never would\u2019ve guessed when the band was best known for its psychedelic guitar-rock mini-epics. Kevin Parker & Co. have been close to making this leap for a long while now, and the catchy, lightly spooky \u201cDracula\u201d is the right song at the right time to put them over the top.
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3. Does \u201cDracula\u201d seem like a long-lasting breakout hit to you, or do you think its performance will recede along with the momentum from the new album release?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Bain: \u201cDracula\u201d is a groovy little butt-shaker, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the best song on the album or even the best\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0song on the Hot 100 right now. For me that\u2019s \u201cMy Old Ways,\u201d which enters this week at No. 56 and is probably my favorite song on\u00a0Deadbeat. I\u2019ll be curious to see how the chart success of these two ultimately compare. \u201cDracula\u201d has the catchier melody, but I don\u2019t necessarily see it becoming part of the\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0canon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEric Renner Brown: Along with \u201cLoser,\u201d \u201cDracula\u201d is the catchiest song on\u00a0Deadbeat. It\u2019s also the most\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0song on\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0\u2013 something that would be legible to a\u00a0Currents-obsessed time traveler from 2015. Will those factors make for an enduring chart hit? Time will tell, though radio promotion and the just-begun\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0tour will likely continue to give this song juice. So will its savvy timing: props to Parker and his team for releasing an earworm of a single named after the most famous vampire just as spooky season ramped up.
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Kyle Denis: I think it\u2019s a lasting hit. The song was already steadily gaining traction across socials prior to the album\u2019s release, and between the full project\u2019s availability and the ongoing Deadbeat Tour, \u201cDracula\u201d should stick around on the Hot 100 for at least a few more weeks until the holiday songs start creeping in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh Glicksman: Really depends how you define long-lasting! I do see it sticking around on the Hot 100 at least until the usual surge of holiday hits take over the chart. It\u2019s a fun song and one that can very easily plant firm roots at alternative radio \u2014 and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see it cross over to a top 40 format, either. Do I think it\u2019s a breakout hit in the sense that it\u2019s ever going to be a top two or three song during his live set? Perhaps not. But commercially, I think this will have its fangs sunk into the charts for a lengthy bite of time.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: Yeah, this song is gonna be around for a while \u2014 not \u201cLose Control\u201d a while, certainly, but it\u2019s not gonna just drop off in the next few weeks. And just wait till it gets the Halloween weekend bump in a couple chart weeks! <\/p>\n

\n\t4. While Tame Impala has never had more of a chart presence, its mainstream popularity seems almost inversely related to its critical acclaim, which is possibly at its lowest point<\/a> on this new album. Does the music feel lesser or compromised to you, or are the critics being unfair or just misunderstanding the new album?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Bain: Quite a few critics really hate this album and have offered a plethora of well-reasoned arguments as to why. I\u2019m reticent to say that anyone is misunderstanding, and I agree that if this album was attempting to reflect a facet of the underground dance scene, the results are fairly middle-of-the-road. But I often like middle-of-the-road, and I\u2019m not offended by this album as an electronic music effort or otherwise. Would I like to see it go harder? For sure. Maybe there will be a remix album edition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEric Renner Brown: As someone who has been a\u00a0Tame\u00a0fan dating back to its 2010 debut, Innerspeaker, I feel comfortable saying that\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0is the weakest entry in its catalog to date. But, in a sterling catalog that ranks with the best of the last 15 years, \u201cweakest\u201d shouldn\u2019t be conflated with \u201cbad.\u201d\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0is a fine album where Parker tries out some new things \u2013 always commendable for an artist of his prominence.<\/p>\n

\n\tI think critics have been cold toward\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0for a few reasons. For one, many rock critics have long yearned for the band to return to its days as a true psych-rock group; over the weekend, Parker posted screenshots of a review of\u00a0Currents,\u00a0Tame\u2019s first true foray into dance-adjacent music that\u2019s now widely considered a classic, that\u2019s strikingly similar in tone to the critiques of\u00a0Deadbeat. Another driver:\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0is far from the first critical darling to have the music press turn against it once it cultivates a bigger audience and more widespread popularity. It\u2019s also possible that Parker\u2019s amalgam of psych-rock and dance music has deterred each genre\u2019s most intense fans \u2013 it\u2019s not psych-rock enough for the psych-rockers and it\u2019s not dance-fluent enough for the dance purists.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: I think critics are being unfair and a bit grumpy. Yes, Deadbeat is a notable sonic shift from Tame Impala\u2019s core sound, and, yes, the album is imperfect. But it\u2019s still a mostly enjoyable listen that demands new things from Tame Impala listeners, which is something I\u2019m never upset at an album for doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh Glicksman: I think there\u2019s some unfair groupthink at play here from critics: the highest highs of\u00a0Deadbeat\u00a0may not reach the same ceilings as his past work, but by and large, the album is really solid and plenty in line with what fans have come to love about Tame Impala. Again, working so intensively on a project like\u00a0Radical Optimism\u00a0may have tilted this album in a more pop-leaning direction than prior work, but I certainly don\u2019t think Parker made any compromises here worthy of hanging his head. Rising popularity can often initiate a footrace for who can be first to snub their nose; sometimes, it\u2019s okay if the mainstream thing is also good!<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: Album rules, calm down everyone.
\u00a0
5. The release schedule has been conspicuously quiet in the past three weeks, as seemingly no one has been interested in trying to make an impression in a pop landscape still so thoroughly dominated by the new Taylor Swift album. Does this Tame Impala first-week performance show to you that some artists might actually benefit from dropping new stuff at this point? Or would it have done even better without being in\u00a0Showgirl\u2019s shadow?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Bain: I mean, anything released in the same timeframe as a Swift album must innately be an exercise in\u00a0managed expectations. But releasing around\u00a0Life of a Showgirl\u00a0is also an opportunity, given that other artists are just entirely avoiding dropping albums.\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0was never going to win this matchup, but it follows logic that Deadbeat is doing as well as it is \u2014\u00a0given that, besides one giant competitor, the playing field is fairly empty. And I don\u2019t think there\u2019s necessarily a ton of crossover between Swift fans and\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0fans, so Parker can corner his own sector of the market, as we\u2019re seeing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEric Renner Brown: Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0could\u2019ve posted a career-best No. 3 debut if Swift wasn\u2019t in the equation. Then again, in this alternate reality, another higher-profile artist might have released the same week as\u00a0Tame, taking that top slot. Generally, I don\u2019t think an artist like Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0should worry too much about this type of gamesmanship.\u00a0Tame\u00a0Impala\u00a0is huge, but still a fraction as popular as the world\u2019s biggest pop acts, something I\u2019d expect Parker understands and has come to terms with.
\u00a0
Kyle Denis: I\u2019m not sure that there\u2019s enough overlap between the T-Swift and Tame Impala fan bases for that to even matter. I think Deadbeat would have probably performed the same a few more weeks removed from Showgirl. I think records like Demi Lovato\u2019s It\u2019s Not That Deep would likely have performed a bit better outside of Showgirl\u2019s shadow, since those two artists are fighting for a more similar sect of listeners than Swift and Tame Impala.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJosh Glicksman: Sure, steer clear of the same release date, but otherwise, I\u2019d say there\u2019s no reason to be shoving new releases back weeks and months. After all, new plans could easily be derailed by an unexpected surprise release, deluxe component, etc. It loosely reminds me of the success that \u201cdrivers license\u201d had several years ago: What was long thought to be a no-fly zone at the very start of year following the holidays became an enormous opening for Olivia Rodrigo, and one that changed the thinking behind January releases. Less competition, more opportunity!<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: Personally, I think this is a very good time for rising pop artists to get in the mix \u2014 less pressure to deliver a top debut, and plenty of opportunity to grab attention from fans who are ready to move on (or at least temporarily be distracted) from all the Taylormania. Just ask Olivia Dean. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since its 2010 debut, Tame Impala has been one of the biggest names in underground rock, garnering a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409,67815],"class_list":{"0":"post-103036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-trending-up"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}