Billboard 200: 8/27/16: Suicide Squad Sdtk. #1 (182k/128k)

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www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7469577/suicide-squad-soundtrack-tops-billboard-200-chart

'Suicide Squad' Soundtrack Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
8/14/2016 by Keith Caulfield

The all-star Suicide Squad soundtrack roars in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, earning 182,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 11, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 128,000 were in traditional album sales — the best sales debut for a soundtrack in a year-and-a-half.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Aug. 27-dated chart (where Suicide Squad is No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Aug. 16.

The Suicide Squad soundtrack was released on Aug. 5 (the same day as its parent film’s theatrical bow) through WaterTower Music/Atlantic Records. The album is the first No. 1 soundtrack in a year on the Billboard 200. A soundtrack last crowned the list on the Aug. 22, 2015-dated chart, when Disney Channel’s Descendants opened at No. 1. The last theatrical film soundtrack before Suicide Squad to top the list was Pitch Perfect 2, on the May 30, 2015 chart.

The Suicide Squad album — which features new recordings by Twenty One Pilots, Skrillex & Rick Ross, Panic! at the Disco and more — is also the top-selling album of the week, and bows at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart. Its start of 128,000 copies sold is the best sales frame for any album in a month, since Blink-182’s California launched with 172,000 sold (on the July 23-dated list).

Further, Suicide Squad posts the biggest debut sales week for a soundtrack in 18 months, since the Fifty Shades of Grey album launched at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 210,000 sold (Feb. 28, 2015).

Of Suicide Squad’s total unit figure for the week — 182,000 — traditional album sales represent 70.5 percent. The rest of the sum is comprised of TEA (17.6 percent) and SEA (11.9 percent).

The album’s streaming equivalent album unit total for the week on the Billboard 200 was nearly 22,000 units, which equates to 32.6 million streams for the album’s tracks. That’s the largest streaming week for a soundtrack album, ever, on the chart. It handily beats the 10,000 SEA units (14.4 million streams) logged by the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack in its second chart week (March 7, 2015).

Below Suicide Squad on the new Billboard 200, Drake’s Views holds at No. 2 with 73,000 units (down 9 percent).

Rock band Skillet starts at No. 3 with Unleashed (62,000 units; 58,000 in pure album sales) — scoring the group its third top 10 album. The act has previously visited the top 10 with two more top five-charting sets: Rise in 2013 (No. 4) and Awake in 2009 (No. 2).

The new set also enters at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart, giving Skillet its third chart-topper on that tally, following Rise and Awake.

Back on the Billboard 200, Blake Shelton’s If I’m Honest continues to climb thanks to a 99-cent sale tag in the Google Play music store, as the album vaults 9-4. It earned 49,000 units (up 72 percent) and 44,000 in album sales (up 93 percent).

The new Now 59 compilation debuts at No. 5 with 48,000 units — all from traditional album sales. The set continues the Now That’s What I Call Music brand’s hot streak in the top 10, as every one of the numbered Now albums in the main series have reached the top 10, from the very first Now album in 1998 up through Now 59. The series has also clocked top 10s with some of its genre-specific titles, like Now That’s What I Call Christmas, Now That’s What I Call Country and Now #1s.

Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface slips 3-6 with 46,000 units (though it’s up 19 percent). Like Shelton’s album, Blurryface gains thanks to a 99-cent promotion in the Google Play store. Blurryface’s sales were up 53 percent for the week, rising to 25,000 copies sold.

Last week’s No. 1, DJ Khaled’s Major Key, drops to No. 7 in its second week, with 43,000 units (down 54 percent).

DJ Snake starts at No. 8 with with his debut album, Encore, earning 32,000 units (8,000 in pure album sales). Much of the album’s units are driven by TEA (13,000) and SEA (11,000), owed to the popularity of its song “Let Me Love You,” featuring Justin Bieber.

Rounding out the top 10 on the Billboard 200 are Rihanna’s Anti (5-9 with 29,000 units; down 9 percent) and Adele’s 25 (8-10 with 27,000 units; down 8 percent).

[HolidayGuy]

Nice sales sum for the SS soundtrack.

[ILLUSION]

Any word on Nick Fradiani's numbers? Pathetically low, I'm sure

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roughstock.com/news/2016/08/40733-top-10-country-albums-sales-chart-august-15-2016

Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: August 15, 2016
Posted By Matt Bjorke

CNTRY Artist Album Week Total Scans

1 Blake Shelton If I'm Honest 43,700 400,900
2 Cody Johnson Gotta Be Me 22,700 22,700
3 Chris Stapleton Traveller 12,000 1,512,000
4 Hillary Scott & Family Love Remains 12,000 39,600
5 The Cadillac Three Bury Me In My Boots 11,000 11,000
6 Elvis Presley WayDown in the Jungle Room 7,100 7,100
7 Jake Owen American Love 7,000 36,400
8 Chris Lane Girl Problems 6,200 6,200
9 Luke Bryan Kill The Lights 5,200 1,026,800
10 Keith Urban Ripcord 5,100 230,800
11 Various Artists Now Country 9 4,600 71,300
12 Dierks Bentley Black 4,500 168,300
13 Sam Hunt Montevallo 4,200 1,197,200
14 Thomas Rhett Tangled Up 3,800 447,300
15 Joey+Rory Hymns 3,500 438,800

-- Cole Swindell You Should Be Here 3,500 168,800
-- Maren Morris Hero 3,500 85,600
-- Steven Tyler We're All Somebody From... 3,300 30,000
-- Carrie Underwood Storyteller 3,200 635,300
-- Eric Church Mr. Misunderstood 3,200 413,600
-- Kelsea Ballerini The First Time 3,100 170,600
-- LACS/HardTarget Welcome To Dodge City 3,100 3,100
-- Jon Pardi California Sunrise 2,900 52,200
-- Old Dominion Meat and Candy 2,500 322,700
-- Tim McGraw Damn Country Music 1,900 137,700
-- Jennifer Nettles Playing With Fire 1,800 207,200
-- Sturgill Simpson Sailor's Guide To Earth 1,700 118,900
-- David Nail Fighter 900 17,000
-- LOCASH The Fighters 900 13,300
-- Lori McKenna The Bird & The Rifle 800 3,500
-- Alan Jackson Genuine: A/J Story 800 30,700
-- Granger Smith Remington 700 63,200
-- Vince Gill Down To My Last Bad Habit 600 65,600
-- Don Henley Cass County 600 259,400
-- Home Free Country Evolution 600 39,300
-- Margo Price Midwest Farmer's Daughter 500 26,800

Mark O'connor Band Coming Home 500 500
Kacey Musgraves Pageant Material 400 177,500

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www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7476971/american-idol-new-low-nick-fradiani-billboard-200-chart-moves

Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'American Idol' Reaches New Low for Winner's Debut Album
8/18/2016 by Keith Caulfield

Plus: "Now That's What I Call Music" claims its 120th charting album.

On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 27), the Suicide Squad soundtrack debuted atop the list, marking the first soundtrack to lead the chart in a year. Elsewhere in the top 10, Skillet’s Unleashed arrived at No. 3, the Now 59 compilation bows at No. 5 (see item, below) and DJ Snake’s Encore launched at No. 8.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the week’s most popular albums based on their overall consumption. That overall unit figure combines pure album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).


Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the action on the latest Billboard 200 chart:

— Various Artists, Now 59 - No. 5 — The Now That’s What I Call Music brand claims its 119th and 120th charting albums, as Now 59 (No. 5) and Now That’s What I Call Party Anthems 3 (No. 65) debut on the list. The compilations launch with 48,000 and 8,000 units, respectively, all in traditional album sales.

In total, 65 Now albums have reached the top 10, including all 59 of the numbered titles in the main collection. (The other six top 10 sets are genre-specific titles, like Now That’s What I Call Christmas and Now That’s What I Call Country.) The Now series -- which launched in 1998 -- has also generated a whopping 17 No. 1s, most recently with Now 50 in 2014.

— Disturbed, Immortalized - No. 17 — Disturbed’s Immortalized profits from a 99-cent sale tag in the Google Play store, as the set rockets 43-17 with 18,000 units (up 60 percent) and 14,000 in pure album sales (up 102 percent). The album notches its highest chart rank since its second week on the list, way back on Sept. 19, 2015 (when it fell from No. 1 to No. 10). The set continues to reap the benefits of its popular single, “The Sound of Silence,” which ranks as the biggest selling digital hard rock song of 2016 (910,000 downloads sold).

— O.A.R., XX - No. 34 — The band scores its fifth top 40-charting album on the Billboard 200, as XX starts at No. 31 with 13,000 units (12,000 in traditional album sales). The compilation set commemorates the 20th anniversary of the band’s formation in 1996, and features fan favorites, hits, live tracks and two new songs (“Follow Me, Follow You” and “I Go Through”).

The group previously hit the top 40 with its last four studio albums: The Rockville LP (No. 13 in 20014), King (No. 12, 2011), All Sides (No. 13, 2008) and Stories Of a Stranger (No. 40, 2005).

— Elvis Presley, Elvis: Way Down in the Jungle Room - No. 79 — 2016 marks Elvis Presley’s 50th year on Billboard 200 chart, and the King of Rock & Roll celebrates the anniversary with his first debut of the year on the list: Elvis: Way Down in the Jungle Room. The album is described in press materials by RCA Records and Legacy Recordings as “the most complete and comprehensive collection of Presley’s final studio recordings ever assembled in one anthology.” It starts with 7,000 units, of which nearly all are in traditional album sales. (The album was also available on vinyl LP, and bows at No. 13 on the Viny Albums chart with 1,000 copies sold.)

Presley made his debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart (then-named Best Selling Popular Albums) dated March 31, 1956 with his self-titled set. It eventually reached No. 1 and spent 10 weeks atop the list.

— Nick Fradiani, Hurricane - No. 121 — Nick Fradiani, the winner of the 14th season of American Idol, arrives on the Billboard 200 with his first post-Idol album, Hurricane. The set blows at No. 121 with just over 5,000 units (of which 5,000 are pure album sales).

The first 14 winners of American Idol have now all reached the chart with their debut albums. The 15th (and final) season winner, Trent Harmon, is currently at work on his first effort. Harmon was crowned the winner of Idol’s farewell season on April 7.

Fradiani’s debut marks the lowest debut for an Idol winner’s first album, both in terms of position and sales. See list, below.

History of American Idol Winners' First Albums on Billboard 200 Chart:

Artist - Title - Debut Position - Debut Sales – Year

Kelly Clarkson - Thankful - No. 1 - 297,000 - 2003

Ruben Studdard - Soulful - No. 1 - 417,000 - 2003

Fantasia - Free Yourself - No. 8 - 240,000 - 2004

Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts - No. 2 - 315,000 - 2005

Taylor Hicks - Taylor Hicks - No. 2 - 298,000 - 2006

Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks - No. 10 - 119,000 - 2007

David Cook - David Cook - No. 3 - 280,000 - 2008

Kris Allen - Kris Allen - No. 11 - 80,000 - 2009

Lee DeWyze - Live It Up - No. 19 - 39,000 - 2010

Scotty McCreery - Clear As Day - No. 1 - 197,000 - 2011

Phillip Phillips - The World From the Side of the Moon - No. 4 - 169,000 - 2012

Candice Glover - Music Speaks - No. 14 - 19,000 – 2014

Caleb Johnson – Testify – No. 24 – 11,000 – 2014

Nick Fradiani – Hurricane – No. 121 – 5,000 - 2016

[Deleted]

Yikes, that decline for American Idol is pretty depressing.  I used to watch that show so much growing up.  Those last few winners probably would've been better off just signing onto some indie label with how their albums have sold. How much is Trent Harmon gonna sell? 1000 first week?

Also, I'm surprised Jordin Sparks' sales were so low considering how many hits that album spawned.

[Choco]

Jordin eventually sold over a million copies. Her next albums on the other hand...

The franchise as a whole did really well but aside from Phillip Phillips and Scotty McCreery's first albums it died when Simon left.

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roughstock.com/news/2016/08/40756-country-albums-sales-chart-august-22-2016

Country Albums Sales Chart: August 22, 2016
Posted By Matt Bjorke

Justin Moore knocks off Blake Shelton from #1 on this week's chart. See the entire Top 10 and more here!

CNTRY Artist Album Week Total Scans

1 Justin Moore Kinda Don't Care 37,300 37,300
2 Blake Shelton If I'm Honest 16,200 417,100
3 Chris Stapleton Traveller 11,800 1,523,800
4 Cody Jinks I'm Not The Devil 11,300 11,300
5 Dylan Scott Dylan Scott 9,200 9,200
6 Eric Church Mr. Misunderstood 8,800 422,500
7 Hillary Scott & Family Love Remains 7,800 47,400
8 Keith Urban Ripcord 7,500 238,300
9 Dierks Bentley Black 5,100 173,400
10 Various Artists Now Country 9 4,200 75,500
11 Luke Bryan Kill The Lights 4,100 1,030,900
12 Sam Hunt Montevallo 3,900 1,201,200
13 Thomas Rhett Tangled Up 3,800 451,100
14 Cole Swindell You Should Be Here 3,600 172,400
15 Elvis Presley WayDown in the Jungle Room 3,500 10,600

-- Jake Owen American Love 3,400 39,800
-- Joey+Rory Hymns 3,300 442,100
-- Maren Morris Hero 3,300 88,900
-- Kelsea Ballerini The First Time 3,200 173,700
-- Jon Pardi California Sunrise 3,000 55,200
-- The Cadillac Three Bury Me In My Boots 2,900 13,900
-- Upchurch Chicken Willie 2,800 2,800
-- Carrie Underwood Storyteller 2,700 638,000
-- Cody Johnson Gotta Be Me 2,700 25,400
-- Old Dominion Meat and Candy 2,500 140,100
-- Dan+Shay Obsessed 2,300 56,000
-- Tim McGraw Damn Country Music 1,700 208,900
-- Chris Lane Girl Problems 1,600 7,800
-- Chris Young I'm Comin' Over 1,400 225,300
-- LOCASH The Fighters 900 14,200
-- David Nail Fighter 700 17,700
-- Granger Smith Remington 700 63,900
-- Martina McBride Reckless 600 35,400
-- Cam Untamed 600 137,600
-- Lori McKenna The Bird & The Rifle 600 4,100
-- William Michael Morgan EP 500 13,600

Brandy Clark Big Day In A Small Town 400 15,500
Koe Wetzel Noise Complaint 400 400

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www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7487760/billboard-200-chart-moves-stranger-things-soundtrack

Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'Stranger Things' Soundtrack Makes Strong Debut
8/26/2016 by Keith Caulfield

On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Sept. 3), the Suicide Squad soundtrack held firm at No. 1 for a second week, while PARTYNEXTDOOR, Justin Moore and Rae Sremmurd debuted in the top 10 with their latest albums.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the week’s most popular albums based on their overall consumption. That overall unit figure combines pure album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the action on the latest Billboard 200 chart:

— Soundtrack, Stranger Things, Volume One - No. 24 — The first soundtrack to Netflix’s buzzy Stranger Things TV series debuts on multiple charts, including the Billboard 200, where it bows at No. 24 (14,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 18, according to Nielsen Music).

The atmospheric score, composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, also starts at No. 13 on Top Album Sales (13,000 sold), No. 3 on Alternative Albums and No. 2 on Soundtracks (behind Suicide Squad). Stranger Things is currently exclusively available via Apple Music’s streaming services and the iTunes Store.

The arrival at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 is particularly high for a TV series outside of Disney Channel, Nickelodeon or one of the major broadcast networks (ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS, etc.) In general, only a handful of series from outside of those above-mentioned networks have gone as high as Stranger Things. Those include artist-driven sets like Foo Fighters’ Sonic HIghways (for HBO), The Robertsons’ Duck the Halls (tied to the act’s Duck Dynasty show for A&E), Dethklok’s Metalocalypse: Dethalbum III (from Metalocalypse for Cartoon Network), Flight of the Conchords’ I Told You I Was Freaky (for the act’s eponymous show for HBO).

A second Stranger Things album, Stranger Things, Volume Two, was released on Aug. 19 and is due to arrive on the Sept. 10-dated charts.

Another Netflix series, The Get Down, also arrives on the Bilboard 200. The compilation enters at No. 186 with 4,000 units.

— Eric Church, Mr. Misunderstood - No. 37 — The album is lifted (12,000 units; up 70 percent) by sales generated through Church’s official webstore (pure album sales rise by 177 percent) tied to promotion of his upcoming concert tour.

— Various Artists, The RCA-List - No. 44 — The streaming-exclusive album The RCA-List starts at No. 44, earning 12,000 equivalent album units — all from streams. The set follows another label-branded streaming-only compilation, Epic AF (which descends 49-64). Both albums highlight songs from their respective labels — many that don’t have a home on an artist’s album. For example, The RCA-List houses Snakehips’ “Cruel” and Betty Who’s “I Love You Always Forever,” and neither appear on an album by those acts.

— The Beatles, 1 - No. 113 — The best-of rises 173-113 (6,000 units; up 32 percent) after its inclusion in the iTunes Store’s “Greatest Hits: Pop” promotion. Other gainers featured include Journey’s Greatest Hits (92-73, up 18 percent) and Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (196-82, up 90 percent).

— The Monkees, Good Times! - No. 164 — The Monkees’ Good Times! returns to the Billboard 200, following its release on 180 gram vinyl LP on Aug. 12 (4,000 units; up 347 percent). The album debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart with 4,000 LPs sold.

Elsewhere on the Vinyl Albums chart, Daryl Hall and John Oates’ The Very Best of Daryl Hall John Oates starts at No. 16 with 1,000 sold. The set also made its vinyl debut on Aug. 12 – and as a 2-LP set printed on grey and blue vinyl (mirroring the colors seeing on the album’s cover). The album, which was released in 2001, has sold 1.1 million copies in total.

Also on Vinyl Albums, Madonna’s 1994 release Bedtime Stories makes its vinyl debut (and on 180 gram vinyl), as the album enters at No. 19 with nearly 1,000 copies sold. It’s one of a number of Madonna albums getting the vinyl treatment in 2016. Like a Virgin and her self-titled debut were reissued in June. In July, a series of 180 gram vinyl releases followed: True Blue and Like a Prayer that month, Bedtime Stories and Erotica in August, and the best-of ballads collection Something to Remember is due on Sept. 13.