Fantasia’s ‘The Side Effects of You’ album cover

Despite conducting an impressive promotional campaign, the humble sales predictions for Fantasia’s Side Effects of You were right on the money. Still, the album has debuted near the top of the Billboard 200 and secured the singer the third top ten entry of her nine-year career.

Side Effects of You sold 91K copies during its first week and landed at #2 on the Billboard 200, behind Michael Buble’s To be Loved, which sold 195K units. The record boasts Fantasia’s lowest opening sales to date, although it did match her highest chart peak clocked by 2010′s Back to Me.

The lead Side Effects of You single, “Lose to Win”, has yet to crack the Billboard Hot 100. Fantasia has thus far performed the song on several major platforms, such as American Idol, The View and Centric Live, but it hasn’t gained much momentum beyond Urban Adult Contemporary radio where it is currently ranked at #4.

However, it is important to note that Side Effects of You has garnered the biggest opening sales for any R&B album by a female artist since Alicia Keys’ Girl on Fire in December 2012. The latter set entered the Billboard 200 at #1 with 159K copies sold. Watch the video for Fantasia’s “Lose to Win” below:

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