Billboard 8/25-18 - Travis Scott - week 2

[Gary]

Nicki Minaj's 'Queen' & Travis Scott's 'Astroworld' in Race for No. 1 on Next Week's Billboard 200 Albums Chart

News

By Keith Caulfield | August 14, 2018 8:46 PM EDT

Plus: Trippie Redd & Jason Mraz are aiming for debuts in the top 10.

On next week’s Billboard 200 albums chart, Nicki Minaj’s new Queen and Travis Scott’s reigning champ Astroworld are vying for No. 1, according to industry forecasters.

Those in the know suggest that the two sets could each earn around 160,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 16.

Queen was released Aug. 10 via Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records. Astroworld, which dropped on Aug. 3 through Cactus Jack/Grand Hustle/Epic Records, debuted atop the chart dated Aug. 18 with 2018’s second-largest week for an album: 537,000 units earned in the week ending Aug. 9, according to Nielsen Music.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the Aug. 25-dated Billboard 200 chart (where Queen and Astroworld are battling for No. 1) is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Sunday, Aug. 19. 

If Queen debuts at No. 1, Minaj will make rap history, as she’ll become the first female rap artist with three No. 1 albums. She previously hit the top with her second studio release, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (in 2012), and her debut studio set, Pink Friday (in 2011). Her third album, The Pinkprint, debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Jan. 3, 2015-dated chart. Currently, Minaj and Foxy Brown (who happens to be featured on a Queen track) both have two No. 1s. Brown led the list with Chyna Doll in 1999 and the collaborative album The Firm in 1997 (with Nas, AZ and Nature). Only three other female rappers have led the list: Cardi B (Invasion of Privacy, 2017), Eve (Let There Be Eve… Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, 1999) and Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998).

While the bulk of Queen’s units will be generated from streaming activity, the album will also benefit from sales generated by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with her upcoming tour, as well as a range of merchandise/album bundles sold through Minaj’s official online shop. As for Astroworld, the album will have a natural second-week decline, but will still reap handsome streaming figures, as well as sales supported by a bevy of merchandise/album bundles.

Outside of the Minaj and Scott action on next week’s list, watch for rapper Trippie Redd to bow in the top five with his debut studio album Life’s a Trip. It could earn around 65,000 units and grant the artist his first top 10 set. Meanwhile, singer-songwriter Jason Mraz might notch his fifth top 10 effort, as Know could start with over 25,000 units earned.

[ILLUSION]

Both debuting with around 160k? So, upped predictions for Nicki?

[areyoureadytojump]

@chartdata on Twitter:

Travis Scott's 'ASTROWORLD' repeats at #1 on the Billboard 200 (via Billboard). More info coming soon.

Billboard 200: #1(=) @trvisxx, ASTROWORLD 205,000 (78,000 pure sales | 348,000 total sales). *second week at #1*

Billboard 200: #2(new) @nickiminaj, Queen 185,000 (78,000 in pure sales).

[thegreatdivine]

Let the madness begin.

[Mayman]

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8470929/travis-scott-astroworld-no-1-second-week-billboard-200

Travis Scott's 'Astroworld' Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
8/19/2018 by Keith Caulfield

Plus: Nicki Minaj, Trippie Redd and Jason Mraz debut in the top 10, while Aretha Franklin re-enters at No. 7.

Travis Scott’s Astroworld notches a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set earned 205,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 16 (down 62 percent), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, a little over 78,000 were from traditional album sales (down 71 percent).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Aug. 25-dated chart (where Astroworld is steady at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on Tuesday, Aug. 21.

Astroworld continues to do big streaming business, as the album tallied 125,000 SEA units, which translates to 167.5 million on-demand audio streams for the album’s songs during the tracking week. (Astroworld also netted 2,000 in TEA units.)

At No. 2, Nicki Minaj’s Queen arrives, granting the artist her fourth top-two charting album -- extending her own record for the most of any female hip-hop artist. She previously hit the top two rungs with The Pinkprint (No. 2 on the Jan. 3, 2015-dated chart), Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (No. 1, April 21, 2012) and Pink Friday (No. 1, Feb. 19, 2011).

Queen launches with 185,000 equivalent album units earned, of which 78,000 were in traditional album sales. Queen, like Astroworld, saw its sales bolstered by an array of merchandise/album bundles sold via Minaj’s official website. Queen also benefits from sales generated by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with her upcoming co-headlining tour with Future.

Queen’s debut unit sum is the second-largest week for an album by a female artist in 2018, following the opening frame of Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy (255,000 units, chart dated April 21).

Queen bows with 97,000 SEA units, which equates to 128.7 million on-demand audio streams for the set’s songs during its debut frame -- Minaj’s largest streaming week ever for an album.

Drake’s former No. 1, Scorpion, slips one spot to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 102,000 units (down 13 percent).

Both Queen and Scorpion were released through Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records. In turn, with both titles in the top three at the same time, Young Money and Cash Money have two concurrent albums in the top three for the first time. Cash Money first visited the top three on the Nov. 20, 1999-dated chart, when Lil Wayne’s Tha Block Is Hot (Cash Money/Universal) debuted and peaked at No. 3. Young Money first hit the top three on July 3, 2010, when Drake’s Thank Me Later (Young Money/Cash Money/Republic) bowed at No. 1.

For Republic, the label’s hot streak continues: In 15 of the last 19 weeks, the label has placed at least one title among the weekly top three.

At No. 4, rapper Trippie Redd scores his highest charting effort yet, as his debut studio album Life’s a Trip arrives with 72,000 units (of which 15,000 were in traditional album sales). He previously visited the chart with a pair of mixtapes: A Love Letter to You 2 (No. 34, Oct. 28, 2017) and A Love Letter to You (No. 64, Jan. 27, 2018).

Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys slips 4-5 with 56,000 units (down 3 percent), while Juice WRLD’s Goodbye & Good Riddance holds at No. 6 with 39,000 units (up 4 percent).

Aretha Franklin’s 30 Greatest Hits jumps back onto the chart, as it re-enters at No. 7 with 35,000 units (with 13,000 of that sum in album sales) following Franklin’s death on Aug. 16. The Hits package is up 13,048 percent in units earned, while the album’s sales soared 12,693 percent. The album’s surge comes largely from one day of reaction to Franklin’s passing, as she died on the final day of the tracking week. In turn, we’ll likely see further gains next week following the first full chart tracking frame after her death.

30 Greatest Hits is Franklin’s highest charting album since 1972, when her landmark gospel release Amazing Grace peaked at No. 7 on the July 22, 1972-dated tally. All told, 30 Greatest Hits is Franklin’s seventh top 10 effort on the Billboard 200, and first since Amazing. Franklin has gone as high as No. 2, twice, with I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967) and Aretha: Lady Soul (1968).

30 Greatest Hits was released in 1985, but didn’t chart until 2012, when it spent two weeks on the list (then-peaking at No. 117).

One step below 30 Greatest Hits is Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, which shifts 7-8 with 34,000 units (down 3 percent).

Jason Mraz collects his fifth top 10 album, as his sixth full-length studio effort Know bows at No. 9 with 33,000 units (26,000 in traditional album sales). The set is his fifth consecutive full-length studio album in a row to reach the top 10, following Yes! (No. 2, 2014), Love Is a Four Letter Word (No. 2, 2012), We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (No. 3, 2008) and Mr. A-Z (No. 5, 2005). His debut studio set, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, peaked at No. 55 in 2003.

Rounding out the new top 10 is XXXTentacion’s ?, which falls 8-10 with 33,000 units (down 1 percent).

[rimetm]

POS. Title / Artist - Move - SPS/Sales/TEA/SEA

1. ASTROWORLD / Travis Scott - DEBUT - 205k/78k/0/125k
2. Queen / Nicki Minaj - DEBUT - 185k/78k/10k/97k
3. Scorpion / Drake - DOWN 1 - 102k/?/?/?
4. Life's a Trip / Trippie Redd - DEBUT - 72k/15k/?/?
5. Beerbongs & Bentleys / Post Malone - DOWN 1 - 56k/?/?/?
6. Goodbye & Good Riddance / Juice WRLD - HOLD - 39k/?/?/?
7. 30 Greatest Hits / Aretha Franklin - RE-ENTRY (NEW PEAK) - 35k/13k/?/?
8. Invasion of Privacy / Cardi B. - DOWN 1 - 34k/?/?/?
9. Know / Jason Mraz - DEBUT - 33k/26k/?/?
10. ? / XXXTentacion - DOWN 2 - 33k/?/?/?

[thegreatdivine]

#FakeNews. #RealNumbersComeOutMonday.

[fhas]

I'm crying...

[Mayman]

Nicki nooo

[korbel16]

She needs to stop.. girl all 4 of ur albums went top 2 let it go ur still the biggest female rapper in billboard history..FIX IT .

[Gary]

Which album got the sales #1 - looks like Travis Scott but can't tell

[Mayman]

Aug 19, 2018 15:57:50 GMT -5 Gary said:

Which album got the sales #1 - looks like Travis Scott but can't tell

Travis did

[wavey.]

Everyone should get tips from Kris J.

[kierz7]

LORD HAVE MERCY!

Minaj is literally having a mental breakdown on Twitter as we speak.

Somebody please confiscate her phone... and tell her to STFU!

[His Holiness]

So as it turned out, instead of claiming to have a No 1 based on some technicalties (eg No 1 digital album), the Queen of Rap just decided to claim that her album is the legitimate No 1 no matter what the fake news media say...

I guess when you're the soverign you can do whatever you want. Long live the Queen!



Aug 19, 2018 16:09:09 GMT -5 kierz7 said:

LORD HAVE MERCY!



Minaj is literally having a mental breakdown on Twitter as we speak.



Somebody please confiscate her phone... and tell her to STFU!



You can't rob the Crown! That's treason! #SheIsYourLeader

[J. Rob]

Aug 19, 2018 15:49:34 GMT -5 fhas said:

I'm crying...

Is this real? Lol

[Kinney]

Sold her soul to a pedophile, but still couldn't cop that #1 single or album. Poor her.

Her twitter feed right now is going after Spotify, Drake, Travis Scott, Kylie Jenner, #Sexism, #FakeNews, and among others...Stormi. Truly the Trump of music.

[Deleted]

Twitter is a MESS rn.

The fact that she’s trying to attack Travis and lowkey invalidate his numbers is not cool. Yes he had Kylie tweet, but her label got BTS to tweet out “Queen”.

He was selling shirts, and so was she.

[Choco]

Not the real Wendy but I still laughed:

[jayhawk1117]

Wow this is messier than I thought. Just take the L gracefully lol.

Its not like the album flopped. 185k is still great.

Its just sad, desperate and pathetic at this point

[wavey.]

It's all a mess. And she'll still be here at the end of the day🤴

[forg]

What is this Spotify teaching her a lesson? A little intriguing

[kanimal]

Aug 19, 2018 18:01:17 GMT -5 forg said:

What is this Spotify teaching her a lesson? A little intriguing

Her album did not receive great placement on Spotify.  She didn't have a song in the Top 5 on New Music Friday (whereas big releases sometimes have two or three songs in the Top 5), she didn't "own" any of the major playlists, and there was little in the way of promo / notifications / banners / etc.  It was honestly treated more like a release from a decent-level country act than a major hip-hop force.

She's basically claiming that Spotify penalized her for doing the extra stuff with Apple Music (Queen Radio, the slightly early release, etc).

The lackluster Spotify placement is objectively true ... she has a valid gripe about not being showcased the way people like Drake and even Ariana got showcased. The question is whether it was TRULY retaliation over Apple, or if it was just because her album hadn't been tracking like a streaming behemoth and thus didn't feel big enough to warrant Drake-level exposure.

And even if it WAS retaliation, I feel like that's the kind of thing you have to consider when you decide to give exclusives to Spotify's main competitor.  Like, yes, Spotify doesn't snub Drake ... but Drake' s a different animal.  

[Keelzit]

Aug 19, 2018 17:53:38 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

Wow this is messier than I thought. Just take the L gracefully lol.

Its not like the album flopped. 185k is still great.

Its just sad, desperate and pathetic at this point

Nicki is the kind of artist who'd prefer a #1 album with 100k units instead of a #9 with half a million. Where you been? All she cares about is literally being #1 and better than anyone so she can shove it down our throats. Not like she doesn't do it already but this time around the facts are against her. I honestly feel bad for her. I can only imagine the fumes once Queen inevitably drops below Invasion of Privacy in 2-3 weeks, especially with the alleged re-release of the latter coming in September. GOD HELP HA!!11! 😩😘😘😘

[owenlovesmusic]

If she had kept that June date, she would've been #1  :sip2:

[Caution]

Aug 19, 2018 15:49:34 GMT -5 fhas said:

I'm crying...

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

So Queen is official the messiest album rollout since The Life of deleted. That said, the latter was eventually certified platinum.

[His Holiness]

Aug 19, 2018 20:30:27 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

So Queen is official the messiest album rollout since The Life of deleted. That said, the latter was eventually certified platinum.

Rihanna's ANTi? Or even Mariah Carey's very lengthy named album?

[Mayman]

Aug 19, 2018 20:44:15 GMT -5 His Holiness said:

Aug 19, 2018 20:30:27 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

So Queen is official the messiest album rollout since The Life of deleted. That said, the latter was eventually certified platinum.

Rihanna's ANTi? Or even Mariah Carey's very lengthy named album?

That was before TLOP.