The debate over if/how digital singles cannabilizes album sales came to a fever pitch recently. Victory Records' Tony Brummel bashed the strategy in a guest op-ed for Hits. Last week the Brummel side of the debate got its first poster boy -- Ne-Yo -- and some national press.

Was it premature?

In its second week of release, Hits predicts Ne-Yo's In My Own Words will drop over 60% to 110,000 (from 310,000 in its first week). Just last week the singer's debut album was heralded in some quarters as an example of the kind of stronger album sales that result when the lead single is held until the album is released. OK, so that was the first week. How does Island/Def Jam explain the second week and its massive drop? Second-week tapers are expected, but usually not by two-thirds. And if sales are equally low in weeks three and four, how then is the lack of a pre-release single going to be judged?