It's pretty rare for a solo artist to exceed the popularity of his initial band. Look at Chris Cornell. Euphoria Morning is a great album, but it didn't really sell well even though everyone knew who Cornell was.
MB20 wasn't real rock to begin with, so I 'm not sure Thomas' situation applies here. They always seemed pretty light to me. Creed were rock first, especially with MOP. HC definitely had more pop songs and Weathered had a few rock tunes, but more pop than HC.
And Steve, you're right about the editing and all. It was just nice to hear his voice sound good
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Titan, I would be shocked if it sold 20,000 the first week, but that's just me.