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The Church of England voted Monday to ordain women as bishops.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the church's spiritual leader, said before the vote that the public would find it "almost incomprehensible" if the church's General Synod did not approve the change.

A similar proposal was narrowly defeated in 2012. A revised proposal had been put to a vote and approved in 43 of the church's 44 dioceses, according to the BBC.

Under the revised plan, opponents can request male priests and bishops, but they are offered no guarantees.

Outside of England, more than 20 women serve as Anglican bishops in countries such as the United States, India and New Zealand. The most recently ordained woman is Bishop Melissa Skelton, who took over the Canadian diocese that includes Vancouver in March.

David Banting, a lay member of the church, complained to The Telegraph newspaper that the decision could leave churchgoers confused about gender roles.

"We live in a world which wishes to remove or minimize or disregard gender," Banting said. "The government has done so in regards to marriage already, now the church appears to be doing so in regard to the orders of ministry."

But the change had widespread backing, including support from British Prime Minister David Cameron. It comes more than 20 years after the Church first allowed women to serve as priests.

The proposal required two-thirds approval and passed in the House of Laity by a vote of 152 to 45, with five abstentions. The vote in the House of Bishops was nearly unanimous, with 37 in favor, two against and one abstaining.

NEW YORK (AP) — Robin Thicke may be pleading to get his wife back, but he needs to work on getting his fans back, too.

The crooner's new album, "Paula," sold only 24,000 units in its debut week in the United States. That's a far cry from the "Blurred Lines" album, which sold 177,000 units when it debuted last July.

The Pharrell-produced "Blurred Lines" smash was the No. 1 song of 2013, selling 7 million tracks.

"In some ways Robin Thicke had an incredible year in 2013 ... but I think there can be a downside to that fame overload. You can be too famous, too big," Rolling Stone senior editor Simon Vozick-Levinson said Wednesday. "There was a backlash to 'Blurred Lines,' and I think we're really seeing the aftermath of that backlash play out."

"Paula," which has had mixed reviews, was named after Thicke's estranged wife, actress Paula Patton. The 37-year-old is hoping to win her back with the album, which he's promoted with performances on morning TV programs and awards shows that have all led with reconciliation pleas.

Experts say his pleas may be turning off fans.

"Last year 'Blurred Lines' walked a really careful line between making people dance and creeping them out; the way he sort of sang about pushing boundaries of women made a lot of people really uncomfortable," Vozick-Levinson said. "And I think unfortunately his new album has only made that impression worse."

In Canada, "Paula" only sold 550 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's in contrast to "Blurred Lines," which sold 13,000 units when it debuted last year.

"Paula" is a return to Thicke's R&B roots. It doesn't feature high-profile producers like Pharrell and Dr. Luke like "Blurred Lines," which veered into pop and electro-tinged territory, earning Grammy nominations and selling 730,000 units. But Thicke hasn't created a splash with his latest single, "Get Her Back," which debuted at No. 82 this week on the Hot 100 chart two months after its release.

Despite weak sales, "Paula" debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 albums chart — just another sign of declining album sales in the music industry. M. Tye Comer, editor of Billboard.com, said he didn't expect the album to be a hit, but still thought the numbers were shocking.

"I was a little surprised that the numbers were so low, especially considering the fact that it hasn't been that long since 'Blurred Lines,'" said Comer.

Representatives for Thicke and his label didn't respond to requests for an interview.

Pre-album buzz crashed last week when Thicke attempted to chat with fans about "Paula" via Twitter. VH1 hosted the Q&A, where fans angrily tweeted about "Blurred Lines" and accused Thicke of misogyny. It was a reminder that the controversy surrounding "Blurred Lines," including a lawsuit claiming the song stole from Marvin Gaye and Thicke's disastrous MTV Video Music Awards performance with Miley Cyrus, is still strong.

Thicke's 2003 debut album was unsuccessful, but his 2006 sophomore album, "The Evolution of Robin Thicke," marked his official breakthrough. He had signed with Pharrell, hit the top of the R&B charts with "Lost Without U" and opened on a tour for Beyonce — all helping the album sell 1.7 million copies. What followed were gold-selling efforts and mediocre R&B hits, until "Blurred Lines" helped him tap into a younger audience and reach international fame.

"I think it's hard for any artist of any caliber to come back after a song that was sort of that big and that ubiquitous," Comer said. "The tone of his new music and the subject matter is the complete antithesis of what 'Blurred Lines' was."

Vozick-Levinson said Thicke is dealing with the repercussions of crossing over to the mainstream.

"Last year he kind of in some ways cashed that in and went for this mainstream, pop, Top 40 crossover, which worked for him in the short term, but there are long-term risks with doing that," he said. "You run the risk of alienating your first fan base or alternatively you run the risk of weirding out your new fan base when you go back to your more normal, typical sound."

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Online:

http://www.robinthicke.com/

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Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne have the Last Word in business.