Billboard 200: 11/3/12: Jason Aldean No. 1 409K

[HolidayGuy]

First, the Aldean newsbite:

www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/111768/jason-aldean-s-night-train-debuts-at-top-spot-on-t
Jason Aldean’s ‘Night Train’ Debuts At Top Spot On Top-200
October 24, 2012 at 6:39 AM (PT)

Congrats to the staff at BBR (BROKEN BOW RECORDS), as JASON ALDEAN scores the #1 spot on the BILLBOARD (SOUNDSCAN) Top-200 all-genre album sales chart. ALDEAN’S fifth studio album, “Night Train” sold 409.303 copies in its first week.

"This past week was beyond anything I ever expected," said ALDEAN.. "The 'Night Train' has already been a crazy ride for me. We flew around making TV appearances and stadium announcements all over the country, fueled by little more than coffee and adrenaline… so many fans jumped on board with us, and I couldn't be more thankful. I'm really looking forward to finishing out the tour this weekend and getting back to NASHVIILE for the CMAs next week."

And, info from Hip Hop DX, which posts Current Albums rankings:

11. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist - 18,000 (97,000)

22. Machine Gun Kelly (as MGK), Lace Up: 15,000 (65,000)

29. G.O.O.D. Music, Cruel Summer: 13,000 (320,000)

35. 2 Chainz, Based On A T.R.U. Story: 12,000 (342,000)

62. Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1: 7,000 (128,000)

68. Rick Ross, God Forgives, I Don't: 6,300 (438,000)

94. Jay-Z, Live In Brooklyn: 4,400 (16,000)

114. DJ Drama, Quality Street Music: 3,600 (33,000)

119. K'Naan, God, Country Or The Girl: 3,500

144. Nas, Life Is Good: 2,900 (316,000)

[Deleted]

Jason Aldean's 'Night Train' Rolls to No. 1 On Billboard 200
by Gary Trust, N.Y. | October 24, 2012 11:00 EDT


The country star motors to his first No. 1, while two other country males -- Scotty McCreery and Jamey Johnson -- also net top five debuts

As forecasted a week ago, Jason Aldean's "Night Train" chugs to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart, opening atop the ranking with 409,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The Broken Bow-released album not only secures the country superstar his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 but also the second-largest debut of the year. Only Mumford & Sons' "Babel," which moved 600,000 in its first week (Oct. 13), started with a bigger number. (The staff at RED Distribution can celebrate both achievements, as both "Babel" and "Night Train" are distributed by the indie company.)

As "Night Train" pulls into the No. 1 spot, Aldean bests his previous biggest sales week, tallied when his last album, "My Kinda Party," debuted with 193,000 in November 2010. The set bowed and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, blocked from No. 1 by Taylor Swift's "Speak Now," which was in its second week at No. 1.

Aldean doesn't have Swift to deal with this time around, as his album arrives one week before Swift's new "Red," which hit retail Monday night (Oct. 22). Aldean is, however, set to step aside next week when "Red" makes its expected massive debut, possibly breaking the 1-million sales barrier in its first week.

"Night Train" also stations itself atop Billboard's Country Albums chart, marking Aldean's third leader on the list, following "My Kinda Party" (12 weeks at No. 1, 2011) and "Relentless" (one week, 2007). The new album is led by first single "Take a Little Ride," which spent two weeks at No. 1 on Country Songs earlier this month. New track "The Only Way I Know How," with Luke Bryan and Eric Church, enters Country Airplay this week at No. 47.

As Aldean arrives, Mumford & Sons' "Babel" slips to No. 2 (74,000, down 23%) after three weeks atop the Billboard 200. The set has sold 938,000 in its first four frames.

Brandy scores her first top 10 on the Billboard 200 in more than eight years, as "Two Eleven" debuts at No. 3 (65,000). The R&B crooner, who first appeared on the list 18 years ago this month, had last ranked in the top 10 with "Afrodisiac," which also began at No. 3 the week of July 17, 2004. "Two Eleven" is Brandy's fourth Billboard 200 top 10. It opens as her second No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, following 2002's "Full Moon." Current single "Put It Down," featuring Chris Brown, has reached No. 3 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

"American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery enters the Billboard 200 at No. 4 with "Christmas With Scotty McCreery" (41,000). The teen country singer debuted at No. 1 with his first studio album, "Clear as Day," a year ago. And, a have-you-started-your-holiday-shopping-yet alert: the new set marks the first top 10 holiday album this season.

A third country singer starts in the Billboard 200 top five this week, as Jamey Johnson starts at No. 5 with "Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran" (32,000). Johnson's second top five, following 2010's "The Guitar Song" (No. 4), includes such high-profile guests as Elvis Costello, Alison Krauss and Willie Nelson and serves as an ode to the late Cochran, who penned such country classics as Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces."

P!nk's former No. 1 "The Truth About Love" rises 8-6 (31,000, down 15%) on the Billboard 200, followed by Miguel's "Kaleidoscope Dream" (11-7; 22,000, down 28%) and Little Big Town's "Tornado" (14-8; 22,000, down 6%).

Adele's former 24-week leader (the longest reign for a set by a woman in the chart's 56-year history) "21" rebounds 15-9 (21,000, down 5%), marking the album's return to the top 10 after six weeks between Nos. 12 and 15, while Dethklok's "Metalocalypse: Dethalbum III" soundtrack debuts at No. 10 (20,000). The first two soundtrack editions of the Adult Swim series peaked at Nos. 21 and 15 in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Over on the Digital Songs chart, PSY's "Gangnam Style" returns for a second week at No. 1 after three weeks ranked between Nos. 2 and 4. The song registers a 1% decline to 229,000 downloads sold. Taylor Swift roars in at No. 2 with "State of Grace" (209,000). The song is the fifth and final track that the country/pop star has released in advance of "Red." Three of those titles entered Digital Songs at No. 1 ("We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "Begin Again" and "I Knew You Were Trouble."), while the title cut began at No. 2.

Swift's "Trouble" falls 1-4 (156,000, down 62%), above Ke$ha's "Die Young," which lifts 5-3 (156,000, up 13%), while Maroon 5's "One More Night" descends 4-5 (151,000, down 6%).

Fun.'s "Some Nights" holds at No. 6 on Digital Songs (125,000, down 9%), followed by Rihanna's "Diamonds" (118,000, up 10%) and Swift's "Never" (112,000, down 10%). Following his well-received double duties as host and musical guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" (Oct. 20), Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven" ascends 22-9 with Greatest Gainer honors (106,000, up 99%). The lead single from Mars' sophomore album, "Unorthodox Jukebox," due Dec. 11, debuted at No. 11 two weeks ago.

T.I.'s "Ball," featuring Lil Wayne, enters Digital Songs at No. 10 (94,000). The song's video premiered on VH1 Monday (Oct. 22). "Ball" previews T.I.'s album "Trouble Man," due Dec. 18.

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Oct. 21) totaled 5.26 million units, up 3% compared with the sum last week (5.09 million) and up 9% compared with the comparable sales week of 2011 (4.82 million).

Year-to-date album sales stand at 234.14 million, down 4% compared with the same total at this point last year (243.67 million).

Digital track sales this past week totaled 22.07 million downloads, essentially even compared with last week (22.08 million) and up 8% stacked next to the comparable week of 2011 (20.48 million). Year-to-date track sales are at 1.076 billion, up 6% compared with the same total at this point last year (1.014 billion).

Next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2011 when Coldplay's "Mylo Xyloto" launched at No. 1 (447,000), followed by new arrivals in Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" at No. 2 (163,000) and Michael Buble's "Christmas" (141,000).

www.billboard.com/news#/news/jason-aldean-s-night-train-rolls-to-no-1-1007988562.story

[Caviar]

Solid numbers for Brandy. But she NEEDS to go gold at least.

[HolidayGuy]

^It will go gold if the label ships enough units and it sells enough digital copies to qualify for 500K units and ther label applies for a certification. :)

Of note: Album sales up from the same week a year ago.

[forg]

Chart News ‏@chartnews

Billboard 200: @officialadele's former 24-week leader "21" rebounds 15-9 (21,000 copies | 9,918,000 total).

[areyoureadytojump]

Look:

Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" debuts at No. 2 (163,000)

This album is about to scan 1 million even with a "low" debut.

[areyoureadytojump]

Most weeks in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 since 1963:

109 The Sound of Music Sdtk.
84 Bruce Springsteen, Born In The USA
80 Adele, 21 - #9 this week
78 Michael Jackson, Thriller
78 Def Leppard, Hysteria
72 Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill
71 Dr. Zhivago Sdtk.
64 Paula Abdul, Forever Your Girl
61 Herb Alpert, Whipped Cream & Other Delights
61 Celine Dion, Falling Into You

[HolidayGuy]

Clarkson has enjoyed good legs with her albums (barring My December).

Of course, Thriller has additional weeks in the list of overall top-10-selling albums in a given week. ;)

[grandelf]

This week's #10 ties the lowest sales for the #10 album, right? It never dipped below 20k so far, has it?

[areyoureadytojump]

Week Ending Oct. 21, 2012. Albums: Aldean’s Fast Train To #1
By Paul Grein | Chart Watch – 38 minutes ago

Jason Aldean's Night Train sold 409K copies in its first week. That's the second biggest opening of the year, trailing only Mumford & Sons' Babel, which opened three weeks ago with sales of 600K. But another, faster train is coming down the track. Taylor Swift's Red, which was released on Monday, is on target to sell 1 million copies in its first week.

Night Train is Aldean's first #1 album on The Billboard 200. It's his fourth to crack the top five, following Relentless (#3 in 2007), Wide Open (#4 in 2009) and My Kinda Party (#2 in 2010).

The tally for Night Train constitutes the biggest sales week for a country album since Swift's previous album, Speak Now, opened with sales of 1,047,000 in October 2010. It's the biggest sales week for a country album by a male solo artist since Kenny Chesney's The Road And The Radio sold 469K in its first week in November 2005.

Aldean's total is more than twice as many copies as he sold in his previous best sales week, set when My Kinda Party debuted with sales of 193K in November 2010. That album has sold 2,787,000 copies, which is more than all but one "current" album (as distinct from albums that have become catalog titles.) That album, of course, is Adele's 21 (which has sold 9,918,000 copies.)

So with such potent sales, what kept My Kinda Party from the #1 spot? Speak Now, which was then in its second week at #1.

Night Train sold 199K digital copies. Only one country album has ever sold more digital copies in one week. That's also Speak Low, which sold 278K digital copies in its opening week. Will Red set a new record next week? I'll say that's a safe bet.

Night Train also enters Top Country Albums at #1. It's Aldean's third #1 on that chart. Relentless topped the chart for one week; My Kinda Party for 12 weeks in 2012 (after Speak Now had receded).

Brandy's Two Eleven debuts at #3. It's her fourth album to reach #2 or #3; she has yet to hit #1. All six of Brandy's studio albums have made the top 20. She first cracked the top 20 in March 1995 when her debut album, Brandy, peaked at #20. Brandy, 33, has been a star most of her life. She was just 15 when she landed her first top 10 hit song, "I Wanna Be Down," in November 1994.

Scotty McCreery's Christmas With Scotty McCreery debuts at #4. It's his third top 10 album, following American Idol Season 10 Highlights (#10 in 2011) and Clear As Day (#1 in 2011). McCreery is the second American Idol alum to crack the top 10 with a holiday album. He follows Clay Aiken, who took Merry Christmas With Love to #4 in 2004. (David Archuleta's 2009 album Christmas From The Heart stalled at #30.) This is the first holiday album to crack the top 10 this season, but it won't be the last. Lady Antebellum's On This Winter's Night is due on next week's chart. Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas Baby and Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Dreams Of Fireflies (On A Christmas Night) are other upcoming releases with a shot at the top 10.

Jamey Johnson's Living For A Song: Tribute To Hank Cochran debuts at #5. It's Johnson's second top 10 album, following The Guitar Song, which reached #3 in October 2010. Hank Cochran is a renowned country songwriter whose biggest hits include Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" (which he co-wrote with Harlan Howard), Burl Ives' "A Little Bitty Tear" and Eddy Arnold's "Make The World Go Away." Many top stars, from Willie Nelson to Elvis Costello, join Johnson on the album.

Other tribute albums to songwriters that have made the top 10 include Barbra Streisand's What Matters Most: Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics Of Alan And Marilyn Bergman (#4 in 2011) and the Supremes' The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (#6 in 1967).

There have also been top 10 tribute albums to songwriters who double as artists, including Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles (#3 in 1993) and So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute To Luther Vandross (#4 in 2005).

Adele's 21 returns to the top 10 (at #9) after a six-week absence. This is its 80th week in the top 10. Only two albums can match that since 1963, when Billboard merged separate mono and stereo charts into one comprehensive listing: The Sound Of Music soundtrack (109 weeks) and Bruce Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A. (84 weeks).

Metalocalypse: Dethlok's DethAlbum III debuts at #10. It's the first top 10 album for Dethlok, a death metal band whose music is featured on the animated TV series Metalocalypse. The show, which premiered in August 2006, airs on the Adult Swim channel. It's #1 on Top Soundtracks.

PSY's "Gangnam Style" returns to #1 on Hot Digital Songs (229K). This is its second week on top. Taylor Swift's "State Of Grace" debuts at #2 (209K). Will "Gangnam Style" finally dethrone Maroon 5's "One More Night" from the #1 spot on the Hot 100? You'll find out later today when we post Chart Watch: Songs.

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

The Top Five: Jason Aldean's Night Train debuts at #1 (409K). It's his fourth top five album… Mumford & Sons' Babel dips from #1 to #2 in its fourth week (74K)….Brandy's Two Eleven debuts at #3 (65K). It's her fourth top five album…Scotty McCreery's Christmas With Scotty McCreery debuts at #4 (41K). It's his third top 10 album…Jamey Johnson's Living For A Song: Tribute To Hank Cochran debuts at #5 (32K). It's his second top 10 album.

The Second Five: P!nk's The Truth About Love rebounds from #8 to #6 in its fifth week (31K)… Miguel's Kaleidoscope Dream rebounds from #11 to #7 in its third week (22K). This is its second week in the top 10…Little Big Town's Tornado rebounds from #14 to #8 in its sixth week (22K). This is its fifth week in the top 10… Adele's 21 rebounds from #15 to #9 in its 87th week (21K). This is its 80th week in the top 10… Metalocalypse: Dethlok's DethAlbum III debuts at #10 (20K). It's the band's first top 10 album.

Eight albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist drops from #2 to #11, Kiss' Monster drops from #3 to #14, MGK's Lace Up drops from #4 to #22, Coheed and Cambria's The Afterman: Ascension drops from #5 to #40, All Time Low's Don't Panic drops from #6 to #58 (on second thought, maybe it is time to panic), Barbra Streisand's Release Me drops from #7 to #19, Ellie Goulding's Halcyon drops from #9 to #26, and Muse's The 2nd Law drops from #10 to #17.

Donald Fagen's Sunken Condos, his fourth studio album as a solo artist, debuts at #12. It's his eleventh top 20 album (counting eight albums with Steely Dan). Fagen first cracked the top 20 in early 1973 when Steely Dan's debut album, Can't Buy A Thrill, peaked at #17.

The Pitch Perfect soundtrack dips from #12 to #13 in its fourth week. It's the top-ranking soundtrack to a theatrically-released movie for the fourth week. The movie dropped from #6 to #8 in its fourth weekend at the box-office. (Paranormal Activity 4 debuted at #1 at the box-office over the weekend.)… Anberlin's sixth studio album, Vital, debuts at #16. It's the band's fourth consecutive top 20 album.

Carrie Underwood's Blown Away rebounds from #33 to 25 in its 25th week. The album has sold 864K copies, which makes it #6 for the year-to-date. It swaps places with Whitney Houston's Whitney: The Greatest Hits, which has sold 862K copies so far this year (almost all since her death on Feb. 11). Blown Away is the year's second best-seller by a female artist, topped only by Adele's 21, which has sold 4,095,000 copies so far this year.

Journey's 1988 album Greatest Hits leaps from #162 to #64. It's #1 on Top Catalog Albums for the 12th week; the third time this year.

One Direction's Up All Night—The Live Tour holds at #1 on Top Music Videos for the 19th week in its 21-week chart run….Speaking of 1D, their Up All Night album this week becomes the first album by a boy band to sell 500K digital copies. It has sold 1,302,000 copies total.

Coming Attractions: Taylor Swift's Red will blow in at #1 next week. Kendrick Lamar's debut album, good kid m.A.A.d. city, could open at #2 with sales in the 200K range. Also due: Lady Antebellum's On This Winter's Night, Gary Clark Jr.'s Blak And Blu, Tony Bennett's Viva Duets (a collection of duets with Latin music stars), Bridgit Mendler's Hello My Name Is…, Swedish House Mafia's Until Now and Stone Sour's House Of Gold & Bones, Part One.

[meuirmao]

"Night Train sold 199K digital copies."
Almost half of the total, a huge digital sales number for him and country artists overall. Very impressive.

[when the pawn...]

Adele is now 82,000 away from 10 million. Should be 5 more weeks (I believe that 5th week is Black Friday week, ensuring a small spike, at least).

Great for Jason Aldean, Mumford & Sons, Pink, Little Big Town & Miguel.

The Lumineers are one to watch. If they get a hit out of a second single and/or Grammy attention, I wouldn't be shocked to see them go platinum.

[meuirmao]

More numbers from Idol Chatter:

Idol albums

Scotty McCreery, Christmas With Scotty (41,000, debut, 41,000) (#4 Billboard 200)
Carrie Underwood, Blown Away (14,000, +8%, 864,000) (#25 BB200)
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger (3,000, +3%, 946,000) (#145 BB200)

Idol-related albums

One Direction, Up All Night (15,000, -16%, 1.302 million) (#21 Billboard 200)
Various, WOW Hits 2013 (feat. tracks from Mandisa and Jason Castro) (10,000, -3%, 43,000) (#41 BB200)
Soundtrack, Rock of Ages (8,000, +22%, 215,000) (#48 BB200)
Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party (7,000, +27%, 2.787 million) (#57 BB200)
David Guetta, Nothing but the Beat (3,000, -37%, 407,000) (#133 BB200)

[areyoureadytojump]

From lightup:

Albums over 400k sold:

2011

(1) Born This Way – Lady Gaga – 1.108
(1) Watch The Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West – 436
(1) Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne – 964
(1) Mylo Xyloto – Coldplay – 447
(1) Take Care - Drake - 631
(1) Christmas - Michael Bublé - 479
(1) Christmas - Michael Bublé - 448
(1) Christmas - Michael Bublé - 467

2012

(1) 21 – Adele – 730
(1) Babel – Mumford & Sons – 600
(1) Night Train - Jason Aldean - 409

[cartman2002]

My awards for this week's album chart

Based On A T.R.U. Story-2 Chainz (Gold)
Best Days-Tamela Mann (gold)
Doo-Wops & Hooligans-Bruno Mars (3x Platnium)
Blood-In This Moment (Gold)
Hands All Over=Maroon 5 (3x Platnium)