Billboard 200 - 1/21/17 - The Weeknd

[Gary]

The Weeknd Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200, 'Moana' Soundtrack Zooms to No. 2

News

By Keith Caulfield | January 09, 2017 8:30 AM EST
The Weeknd

After two weeks of Pentatonix ruling the Billboard 200 with its holiday effort A Pentatonix Christmas, the vocal group steps aside, to let The Weeknd return to the top slot with Starboy. The latter set climbs from No. 2 to No. 1 (for a second week in the penthouse) with 69,000 equivalent album units (down 26 percent) earned in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 18,000 were in traditional album sales (down 46 percent).

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 Jan. 21, 2017-dated chart (where The Weekend jumps back to No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The Weeknd’s Starboy debuted at No. 1 six weeks ago, fell to No. 2 in its second week, but has been within the top three of the list each week since. It’s the first album to return to No. 1 in three months, since Drake’s Views spent its (so far) 13th and final week at No. 1, jumping from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Oct. 8, 2016-dated list — after having spent the previous seven weeks not at No. 1.

Meanwhile, last week’s leader, Penatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmas, falls to No. 41 (12,000 units; down 88 percent). It is the only holiday album within the top 100 of the chart. The next highest-ranking seasonal set is Pentatonix’s previous holiday effort, That’s Christmas to Me, which falls from No. 9 to No. 112.


The Moana film soundtrack rises from No. 6 to No. 2 with 64,000 units (up 21 percent) and 44,000 in traditional album sales (up 37 percent — it is the best selling album of the week). It’s the only title in the top 10 to post a gain in either total units or sales, so, for the most part, albums with a small decline in units will rise up the list. That is typical for the first tracking week after the holiday shopping season and Christmas — when the chart adjusts to normal non-holiday business. And, soundtracks to music-heavy films popular at the beginning of the year ­— like Moana — tend to profit on the chart in January.

For example, two years ago this month, the soundtracks to both Into the Woods and the remake of Annie jumped into the top 15 for the first time. Back in January of 2013, the Les Miserables soundtrack rose to No. 1, while the Pitch Perfect soundtrack hit the top 10 for the first time (on its way to a No. 3 peak in February of that year). Other stunning January jumps for soundtracks include when Titanic sailed from No. 11 to No. 1 on the Jan. 24, 1998 chart and Dreamgirls zoomed from No. 31 on Jan. 6, 2007 to No. 1 just two weeks later.


Moana isn’t the only soundtrack basking in that post-holiday glow in the latest top 10: three more soundtracks populate the region: Sing (rising 21-8 with 28,000 units; though its down 9 percent), Suicide Squad (10-9 with 27,000 units; down 36 percent) and Trolls (14-10 with 26,000 units; down 28 percent). For Sing, the soundtrack hits a new peak, as it has climbed steadily since its debut at No. 113 on the Dec. 31, 2016-dated list. It then jumped to No. 70, then to No. 21 and now to No. 8. (While Moana, Sing and Trolls are all still currently in theaters, Suicide Squad was released in August and closed in November. However, the movie was issued on DVD and blu-ray on Dec. 13, which aids in its popularity this month.)

With four soundtracks inside the top 10, that’s the most concurrently charting soundtracks in the top tier in more than 18 years. It last happened on the Sept. 5, 1998-dated list when the soundtracks to Armageddon (No. 4), Dr. Dolittle (No. 7), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (No. 8) and City of Angels (No. 10) populated the top 10.

Farther up the top 10, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic is steady at No. 3 with 45,000 units (down 44 percent) and Drake’s Views climbs 8-4 with 41,000 units (down 17 percent). J. Cole’s former No. 1, 4 Your Eyez Only, slips one rung to No. 5 with 39,000 units (down 48 percent), the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton falls a step to No. 6 with 32,000 units (down 41 percent) and Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface is a non-mover at No. 7 with 30,000 units (down 42 percent).

[Gary]

1. The Weeknd - 69,000
2. Moana - 64,000
3. Bruno Mars - 45,000
4. Drake - 41,000
5. J.Cole - 39,000
6. Hamilton - 32,000
7. 21 Pilots - 30,000
8. Sing - 28,000
9. Suicide Squad - 27,000
10. Trolls - 26,000





1-41 Pentatonix 12,000
9-112 That's Christmas To Me - Pentatonix

[areyoureadytojump]

The link to the article above:

www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7647928/the-weeknd-returns-to-no-1-on-billboard-200-moana-soundtrack-no-2

[rimetm]

For a Pentatonix one-to-one, or technically one-to-two, comparison

That's Christmas to Me (Jan 9 - Jan 23, 2016)
4-23-144

That's Christmas to Me (Jan 7 - Jan 21, 2017)
5-9-112

A Pentatonix Christmas (Jan 7 - Jan 21, 2017)
1-1-41

Both in comparing the latest album and the same album between years, Pentatonix appears to be performing better than before.

[Zach]

Pretty cool to see all these soundtracks in the top 10, plus a cast recording. 21P continue to hang on in the top 10 too.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Jan 9, 2017 9:51:53 GMT -5 rimetm said:

For a Pentatonix one-to-one, or technically one-to-two, comparison

That's Christmas to Me (Jan 9 - Jan 23, 2016)
4-23-144

That's Christmas to Me (Jan 7 - Jan 21, 2017)
5-9-112

A Pentatonix Christmas (Jan 7 - Jan 21, 2017)
1-1-41

Both in comparing the latest album and the same album between years, Pentatonix appears to be performing better than before.

I agree with your point. Pentatonix is now a better know act. A Pentatonix Christmas has been helped to some extent by Hallelujah's TEAs and SEAs this time around. Plus the album sales market is not what it was a year before.

[Enigma.]

1->41 is actually very good for album that nobody should be paying any attention to in January.

[Gary]

Jan 9, 2017 14:01:04 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

1->41 is actually very good for album that nobody should be paying any attention in January.

The drop though is pretty close to a record fall from #1

Only the recent Bon Jovi album fell further

[Enigma.]

The fact that Bon Jovi album fell further than a Christmas album in January says quite a lot about the Bon Jovi album

[Enigma.]

And so Garth Brooks is gone from top 100. He's like a christmas act these days

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Jan 10, 2017 7:24:17 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

And so Garth Brooks is gone from top 100. He's like a christmas act these days

The Ultimate Collection fell out of the BB 200 from #22 last week, from Top Album Sales from #10 and fell in Top Country albums from #1 to #18. I wonder if these are records for dropping out or falling in those charts, or there's a mistake somewhere.

[Gary]

If The Top Album Sales has more than 100 positions, the Garth Ultimate Collection would be at #147

Not a record, occasionally there are limited regional releases that make the top 10 one week, gone the next.

[areyoureadytojump]

theawl.com/who-is-marconi-union-ab86a7f660be#.6rw7bcmjn

Soundscan Surprises
by Silvia Killingsworth

Back-catalog sales numbers of note from Nielsen SoundScan.

The definition of “back catalog” is: “at least 18 months old, have fallen below №100 on the Billboard 200 and do not have an active single on our radio.”

4 MICHAEL*GEORGE FAITH 5,172 copies
7. PENTATONIX THAT'S CHRISTMAS TO ME 4,650 copies
25. MICHAEL*GEORGE TWENTY­-FIVE (2CD) 2,935 copies
26. MICHAEL*GEORGE LADIES & GENTLEMEN-­BEST OF GEO 2,765 copies
45. CHICAGO VERY BEST OF: ONLY THE BEGINNING 2,334 copies
84. GUARALDI*VINCE TRIO CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS 1,585 copies
90. MARCONI UNION WEIGHTLESS (AMBIENT TRANSMISSION) 1,555 copies
105. PENTATONIX PTXMAS 1,487 copies
164. MICHAEL*GEORGE SYMPHONICA 1,155 copies
198. BUBLE*MICHAEL CHRISTMAS 1,066 copies
200. DYLAN*BOB THE ESSENTIAL (2014 REVISED) 1,059 copies

[areyoureadytojump]

Metal Albums sales numbers this week are here:

www.metalinsider.net/columns/metal-by-numbers/metal-by-numbers-111-sales-play-it-safe

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7655130/billboard-200-hamilton-cast-album-james-arthur-taylor-swift

Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'Hamilton' Cast Album Surpasses 1 Million in U.S. Sales
1/13/2017 by Keith Caulfield

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

— Original Broadway Cast Recording, Hamilton: An American Musical - No. 6: The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical has now surpassed 1 million in U.S. album sales, according to Nielsen Music. The set sold another 16,000 copies in the week ending Jan. 5, which brings its total sales sum to 1.005 million since its release on Sept. 25, 2015.

Further, Hamilton is only the ninth cast recording to sell a million since Nielsen began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. The top selling cast album in Nielsen’s history is the highlights edition of the original London cast recording of The Phantom of the Opera, with 4.97 million sold. (The complete recording of The Phantom of the Opera — which is tracked and charts separately — has sold 503,000 since 1991.)

Aside from The Phantom of the Opera (Highlights) and Hamilton, here are the other million-selling cast albums of the Nielsen era: the original Broadway cast recordings of Wicked (2.67 million), Les Miserables (1.65 million), Jersey Boys (1.44 million), Rent (1.28 million) and The Lion King (1.04 million), along with the original cast recording of Mamma Mia! (1.71 million) and the highlights edition of the complete symphonic recording of Les Miserables (1.03 million).

— James Arthur, Back From the Edge - No. 69 — As the singer’s song “Say You Won’t Let Go” breaks into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 (rising 50-37 on the Jan. 21-dated chart), the tune’s parent album jumps into the top 100 of the Billboard 200 for the first time. It climbs 159-69 with 9,000 units (up 14 percent). Arthur won the ninth edition of the TV series The X Factor in the United Kingdom. Of the 13 winners of the U.K.’s The X Factor, he’s the second to notch a top 40 hit on the Hot 100, following Leona Lewis, who claimed three top 40-charting singles (including the No. 1 smash “Bleeding Love”).

— Maren Morris, Hero - No. 67 — Four-time Grammy Award nominee Maren Morris bolts up the list, rising 131-67 with her major label debut album Hero (9,000 units; up 8 percent). Her single “80s Mercedes” drives 45-44 on the Radio Songs airplay chart (25.9 million in audience, in the week ending Jan. 8) and hits a new peak on the Hot Country Songs chart, rising 16-12.

— Travis Scott, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight - No. 19 — As the Billboard 200 adjusts back to business as usual after the busy holiday season, most albums on the chart see a decline in overall points earned in the past week. Only 10 albums on the list this week, that were also on the chart a week ago, see unit increases. Thus, even albums that have decreases in units — like Travis Scott’s album — can climb up the chart. Scott’s Bird in the Trap Sing McKnight eroded by 8 percent for the week (down to 20,000 units), but rises up the list 39-19.

— Taylor Swift, 1989 - No. 88 — In the week ending Dec. 29, Taylor Swift’s 1989 album broke the 6 million threshold, and its sales (as of the week ending Jan. 5) now stand at 6.005 million. 1989 remains Swift’s second-biggest selling album, behind only Fearless, with 7.08 million. In total, Swift’s catalog of albums have sold 29.92 million.