Dead, but still living...
July 19, 2020

Juice WRLD scores posthumous number one album in the UK

US rapper Juice WRLD has topped the UK album charts, seven months after his death at the age of 21, caused by an accidental overdose. The star racked up 22,500 chart sales of 'Legends Never Die' this week, 97% of which came from streams, UK Official Albums Chart reports. Juice WRLD's 'Legends...' is the first posthumous number one since a re-release of George Michael's 'Listen Without Prejudice' in October 2017.

The Dalai Lama’s recently released debut album, 'Inner World', hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s New Age album chart with sales of 2,000 units in just its first week. The record also scored No. 8 spot on the World Albums chart, and No. 98 at Album Sales chart. 'Inner World' pairs the Tibetan spiritual leader’s mantras and chants alongside ethereal, new age music composed by New Zealand artists Junelle and Abraham Kunin, and music by Anuscha Shankar.

Pop Smoke hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for his debut album, 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon', which moved an impressive 251,000 equivalent album units. Of that total, 59,000 came from traditional albums sales, Billboard reports. This marks the first No. 1 posthumous album since XXXTentacion's 'Skins' album debuted at No. 1 in 2018. The debut album comes five months after the rapper was killed. The 19-track album was completed by 50 Cent. Also on the Billboard 200, the original Broadway cast recording of 'Hamilton: An American Musical' vaults from No. 14 to No. 2 after it earned 102,000 equivalent album units last week. The last cast recording to reach the top two on the chart was the original cast album of 'Hair', which spent 13 weeks at No. 1 in 1969, according to Billboard.

Lil Baby’s 'My Turn' spends a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with 72,000 equivalent album units earned last week - just under 71,000 are SEA units (equating to 110 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), while TEA units and album sales total a little less than 1,000 each. According to Billboard, a slight increase in sales (12%) was thanks in part to buzz generated by the release of Lil Baby’s new non-album single 'The Bigger Picture' - the track is not on album, but the set likely found increased streams and sales thanks to it.

Liam Gallagher’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ album has become the first release in the series to hit the top of the Uk album charts since Nirvana in 1994. Gallagher’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ record is also the first live album to top the charts since George Michael’s ‘Symphonica’ in 2014, according to the Official UK Albums Chart. It is the biggest selling vinyl release of 2020 so far, with 10,000 of its 21,000 first-week sales comprised of vinyl purchases. By now, Gallagher has spent a combined total of nearly six months at Number One with 11 chart-topping albums from his solo career and as a part of Oasis.

Rage Against the Machine music was streamed over 11 million times in the last week, a 62% increase, caused by the renewed interest for their music amid the protests in the U.S., Billboard reports. The band’s 1992 single 'Killing in the Name' accounts for 2.4 million of those streams alone, which places the song at No. 3 on Hard Rock Digital Songs Chart and No. 21 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs Chart. 'Bulls on Parade', meanwhile, has been streamed 1.4 million times in the last week. The band’s catalog, which features four studio albums released between 1992 and 2000, earned 11,000 equivalent album units in the June 5-11 tracking week, a boost of 24%.

Lil Baby returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with his latest release 'My Turn', with 65,000 equivalent album units earned, Billboard reports. It’s the second week at No. 1 for the album, following its debut atop the chart in March. 'My Turn' tallies the smallest sum for a No. 1 album in over a year, in a slow week for new albums - there were no debuts inside the top 40 of the new chart. Last week, the Atlanta rapper released the song 'The Bigger Picture' in response to the national protests over police brutality.

age Against the Machine's music has proven to be relevant now, decades after it was released - politically charged band’s 1992 self-titled debut is back at No. 174 on the Billboard 200 chart, Forbes reports. The debut LP features the classic 'Killing in the Name', which was written in the wake of Rodney King’s beating at the hands of the LAPD and the subsequent riots that followed. In addition to that, all three of RATM’s original studio albums - the 1992 debut, 1996’s 'Evil Empire', and 1999’s 'The Battle of Los Angeles' - climbed to the Top 30 of Apple Music’s Rock Albums chart.

Lady Gaga's new album 'Chromatica' has entered the UK charts at number one, after outselling the rest of the top 10 combined. The record sold 53,000 copies, the biggest opening week of the year so far. According to the Official Charts Company, 'Chromatica' was the week's most popular album in every format - physical, streaming, and downloads - as well as the year's fastest-seller on vinyl, with 8,500 copies sold.

"Wealthy unapologetic nigga naturally authentic"
June 01, 2020

Gunna scores his first No. 1 album on Billboard 200 chart with 'Wunna'

Gunna earned his first chart-topper at the Billboard 200 with 'Wunna', which sold in 110,000 equivalent album units, mostly through streaming - 106,000 units, equating to 143.6 million on-demand streams - 4,000 units are credited to album sales. Other debuts on the chart include The 1975‘s 'Notes on a Conditional Form', which enters this week at No. 4 with a total of 54,000 equivalent album units including 39,000 from album sales, Billboard reports.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again climbed the Billboard 200 chart with his latest release, '38 Baby 2', sold in 67,000 equivalent album units (in 63,000 SEA units, equaling 96.9 million on-demand streams, and 4,000 in album sales). It was actually a weak week on Billboard as '38 Baby 2' collects the smallest unit total for a No. 1-debuting album since 2017. '38 Baby 2' is the rapper’s second No. 1, following 'AI YoungBoy 2', which debuted at No. 1 less than seven months ago with 110,000 units earned in its first week.

DaBaby has debuted at No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with 'Blame It on Baby', with 124,000 equivalent album units in the USA last week, Billboard reports. Of those units, 110,000 were from steams, 12,000 from album sales, and 3,000 were in track equivalent units. 'Blame It on Baby' marks the eighth week in a row that an R&B/hip-hop project has led the Billboard 200, marking the longest such stretch in more than a year.

The Weeknd's 'After Hours' remains atop the Billboard 200 in its second week on the charts with 138,000 equivalent album units, while 6 new albums enter the Top 10, as Billboard reports. Australian pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer scores its fifth top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart as 'Calm' surges from No. 62 to No. 2 with 133,000 equivalent album units (up 1,159%). UK pop singer Dua Lipa lands her first top 10 album, as her second effort, 'Future Nostalgia', debuts at No. 4 with 66,000 equivalent album units earned. Grunge veterans Pearl Jam return to the Billboard 200 with their first studio album since 2013, as 'Gigaton' jumps in at No. 5 with 63,000 equivalent album units earned (14,000 copies sold on vinyl, the second-largest week on vinyl for a 2020 release). Canadian r'n'b singer PartyNextDoor lands at No. 8 with 50,000 equivalent album units earned with 'PartyMobile'. American rapper Joyner Lucas makes his chart debut with his first studio album, 'ADHD' selling in 39,000 equivalent album units, enough for No. 10 spot.

The Weeknd’s latest album 'After Hours' has topped the Billboard 200 with 444,000 equivalent album units, which made it the biggest debut week for an album in 2020 thus far, Billboard reports. 'After Hours' had 275,000 album sales, and 163,000 SEA units, which amounts to 220.7 million on-demand streams of the project's tracks in its first week. There was a chance that The Weeknd's album wasn’t going to release during the coronavirus pandemic - TMZ reports that music executives wanted the singer to hold off, fearing the album would flop.

Lil Uzi Vert had an exceptionally good second week his album 'Eternal Atake' - it earned 247,000 equivalent album, down just 14% compared to its debut atop the list a week ago with 288,000 units, Billboard reports. The small second-week decline is owed to the album’s surprise reissue on March 13, when a new deluxe edition arrived with 14 additional songs, expanding upon the original 18-song set. Also, 'Eternal Atake' is the first album to spend its first two weeks at No. 1 since Harry Styles’ 'Fine Line' held at No. 1 for two weeks at the turn of the year.

Lil Uzi Vert debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 'Eternal Atake', with the biggest streaming week for an album since 2018 - the album starts with 288,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in last week, with 278,000 of it in SEA units, which translates to a whopping 400 million on-demand streams for the set’s 18 tracks, the Billboard reports. That’s the fourth-largest streaming week ever for an album, and the largest week for any album since Lil Wayne’s 'Tha Carter V' started with 433 million clicks in October 2018. Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, Jhené Aiko scores her highest charting album ever, as 'Chilombo' debuts at No. 2 with 152,000 equivalent album units. Korean pop group NCT 127 lands its first top 10 effort, as 'NCT #127: Neo-Zone, The 2nd Album' debuts at No. 5 with 87,000 equivalent albums. Closing out the top 10 is Megan Thee Stallion, who scores her second top 10 effort with 'Suga'; 41,000 equivalent album units earned.

Lil Baby's new album 'My Turn' sold in 197,000 equivalent album units last week in the U.S., big majority of it by streaming activity - 184,000 are in SEA units (equating to 261.6 million on-demand streams for the album’s songs in its first week), 4,000 in TEA units, and just under 10,000 in copies. It was the most-streamed debut of 2020. Bad Bunny lands a historic debut on Billboard 200, as the Puerto Rican artist’s 'YHLQMDLG' bows at No. 2 with 179,000 equivalent album units earned, the highest-charting all-Spanish-language album ever on the chart.

Korean boy band BTS have debuted on top of Billboard 200 chart, with their newest album 'Map of the Soul: 7' sold in 422,000 equivalent units (347,000 actual purchases, and 75 million streams). It is their fourth No. 1 album in the U.S., the biggest debut of 2020, and BTS' third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in less than 12 months, which is a feat that had last been managed by The Beatles over half a century before. Back on the new Billboard 200, rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again bows at No. 2 with 'Still Flexin, Still Steppin', which steps in with 91,000 equivalent album units, and Ozzy Osbourne’s 'Ordinary Man' debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 77,000 equivalent album units.

Justin Bieber's 'Changes' earned 231,000 equivalent album units in the U.S last week (126,000 in album sales, 101,000 are in SEA units, and 4,000 are in TEA units), which landed him on top of Billboard's album chart. At 25, Bieber is the youngest solo artist to achieve seven No. 1 albums (previously, the record was held by Elvis Presley, who was 26 at the time of his 7th No. 1 album). Three more albums reached the top 10 at Billboard 200 - A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s 'Artist 2.0' debuts at No. 2 with 111,000 equivalent album units (nearly all from streaming activity), Tame Impala achieves its highest charting album ever on the Billboard 200, as 'The Slow Rush' bows at No. 3 with 110,000 equivalent album units (with 80,000 of that in album sales), and Monsta X rounds out the new arrivals in the top 10, as the six-member South Korean vocal group makes its Billboard 200 chart debut at No. 5 with its 'All About Luv', sold in 52,000 equivalent album units (50,000 of that sum comprising album sales).

Please Excuse Me for Being Wellsold
February 17, 2020

Roddy Ricch back on No. 1 on Billboard 200 for the fourth week

Roddy Ricch‘s 'Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial' returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a fourth nonconsecutive week, moving up one spot and opening with 79,000 equivalent album units. Other new debuts on this week’s Billboard 200 chart include Green Day‘s 'Father of All Motherfuckers' who enter at No. 4 with 48,000 equivalent album units. Pop Smoke gets his first top 10 with 'Meet the Woo, V.2' debuting at No. 7, gaining 36,000 equivalent album units.

For the fifth time in his career, Lil Wayne has reached the top of Billboard 200, the American album chart - his 13th album 'Funeral' debuts at No. 1 with 139,000 equivalent album units earned. Four more albums debut at the Top 10 - Russ’s 'Shake the Snow Globe' bows at No. 4 with 65,000 equivalent album units earned, Kesha snares her fourth top 10 album, as 'High Road' bows at No. 7 with 45,000 equivalent album units, Louis Tomlinson’s debut 'Walls' bows at No. 9 with 39,000 albums, and closing out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 is Yo Gotti’s 'Untrapped', with 35,000 albums.

No big new albums were out last week, so "older" albums took a chance to rise to the top of Billboard 200 chart. Roddy Ricch’s 'Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial' returned to No. 1 on the American albums chart for a third nonconsecutive week, after earning a little under 95,000 equivalent album units with vast majority of 92,000 SEA in units (streaming equivalent albums). Billie Eilish climbed to the No. 3 spot with her album 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' sold in 62,000 equivalent album units, thanks to her big night at the Grammys. Eminem’s 'Music to Be Murdered By' falls to No. 2 with 89,000 equivalent album units in its second week.

Eminem climbs the Billboard 200 chart for the historic 10th time with his latest release, 'Music to Be Murdered', with 279,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 23. Of the total starting sum 154,000 are in SEA units, 117,000 are in album sales, and 8,000 are in TEA units. Eminem is just the sixth act with at least 10 No. 1 albums. He joins The Beatles (with a record 19), Jay-Z (14), Bruce Springsteen (11), Barbra Streisand (11) and Elvis Presley (10). Back on the new Billboard 200, Halsey’s 'Manic' debuts at No. 2, with 239,000 equivalent album units earned, and Mac Miller’s first posthumous album, 'Circles' debuts at No. 3 with 164,000 equivalent album units earned.

Selena Gomez climbs for the third time to the top of Billboard 200 chart, with her third solo album 'Rare'. The album starts with 112,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. last week - 56,000 were in SEA units (equating to 79.3 million on-demand streams for album’s tracks), just under 53,000 in album sales, and a little over 3,000 in TEA units (track equivalent albums).

Last year's phenomenon Billie Eilish had the biggest-selling album of last year in the USA with 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' selling in 2.5 million total album-equivalent units in 2019, 400,000 more units than any other album.

Travis Scott-led project Jackboys debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart with their first EP 'Jackboys, a seven-track set 21 minutes long. It started with 154,000 equivalent album units sold, and of that sum, 79,000 were in album sales. Jackboys comprise Scott, Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, and Chase B. Billboard...

British pop star landed his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as his 'Fine Line' earned 478,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 19, Billboard reports. 'Fine Line' had the biggest week for a pop album by a male artist in over four years, and the third-biggest […]

The British singer rose to the top of UK's album chart with his new album 'You're In My Heart', orchestral reimagining of his biggest hits. Stewart's new album was released on November 22, but it rose to the top spot this week in a close race - with a difference of just 750 in sales […]

Ed Sheeran's albums spent 41 weeks in total at the top of UK album chart this decade, his singles spent 38, making a total of 79 weeks – more than any other artist, the Official Charts Company announced. No other artist meanwhile has spent more time in the Top 40 UK singles chart than Sheeran’s […]