Billboard 200 - 4/1/2023 - Morgan Wallen

[Gary]

Will Morgan Wallen ‘Surrender’ No. 1 to U2 Re-Recordings?
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' career-revisiting set is the week's highest-profile new release.


BY ANDREW UNTERBERGER

www.billboard.com/pro/u2-taylor-swift-morgan-wallen-no-1-album/

WWelcome to The Contenders, a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated April 1), Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time juggernaut faces competition from a new U2 album of old U2 songs, as well as a rising star from the Latin world and a pop icon coming to a stadium near you.

U2, Songs of Surrender (Island/Interscope). The members of U2 are no strangers to the top of the Billboard 200, having reached No. 1 eight times in their 43-year recording history, most recently in 2017 with the debut of Songs of Experience. Many of the songs from those albums can be found on Songs of Surrender — a collection of reinvented re-recordings spanning the band’s entire career.

Released on St. Patrick’s Day (March. 17), the collection is also available in 16-track standard, 20-track deluxe and 40-track super deluxe editions (with the later divided into four 10-track discs each named after a band member). Sales will also be helped by a dozen vinyl variants of the album, including exclusives for Target, Amazon and independent retailers — and even a Boston Celtics Limited Edition vinyl, with team-inspired packaging containing an exclusive poster.

Eladio Carrión, 3men2 Kbrn (Rimas). An international swimmer turned social media influencer turned Latin trap hitmaker, Eladio Carrión has become one of this decade’s breakout stars from Rimas Entertainment, home to global superstar Bad Bunny. If his name isn’t yet familiar to you, some of the A-list features on his latest album 3men2 Kbrn will be – they include 50 Cent, Future, Lil Wayne, and of course El Conejo Malo himself, who appears on the set’s lead single “Coco Chanel.”

Taylor Swift, Lover (Republic). As you may have heard, Taylor Swift recently launched her first U.S. tour in six years – and It’s not just the more than 100,000 fans in attendance at the first two dates in Glendale, Ariz. over the weekend who are psyched to see her, Swift’s sales and streams have spiked across her catalog, but the album poised to benefit most on the Billboard 200 is her 2019 set Lover. It’s appropriate, given how it’s the Swift album fans have waited the longest to see on tour, as she was forced to cancel immediate support plans during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

IN THE MIX

EST Gee, Mad (CMG/Interscope). Louisville rapper EST Gee has long seemed to be on the verge of a mainstream breakthrough, in the wake of high-profile early-decade guest appearances on Billboard Hot 100 hits like Lil Baby’s “Real as It Gets” and Jack Harlow’s “Backstage Passes.” He’s reached the Billboard 200’s top 10 three times already, most recently with official debut LP I Never Felt Nun in Sept. 2022, and looks to go for four with last Friday’s Mad mixtape – though outside of southern rap stalwart Boosie Badazz, the set is light on big-name guests.

100 Gecs, 10,000 Gecs (Dog Show/Atlantic): The hyperpop paragons lean more into thick guitar riffs while maintaining their absurdist sense of humor on second album 10,000 Gecs, their first since making the jump to Atlantic. The critically acclaimed set — supported by their first Alternative Airplay-charting hit single, “Hollywood Baby” — is likely to give the duo its highest-charting entry yet on the Billboard 200, following the No. 92 peak of its debut album, appropriately titled 1,000 Gecs.

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[radio2009]

Jesus, not one mention of Depeche Mode's new album?

[Darkest Hour]

Mar 23, 2023 20:43:12 GMT -5 radio2009 said:

Jesus, not one mention of Depeche Mode's new album?

This week's chart reflects of activities of albums from March 17th to March 23rd. Depeche Mode's album is just released/about to be released depending on timezones.

[radio2009]

Mar 23, 2023 22:16:43 GMT -5 Darkest Hour said:

Mar 23, 2023 20:43:12 GMT -5 radio2009 said:

Jesus, not one mention of Depeche Mode's new album?

This week's chart reflects of activities of albums from March 17th to March 23rd. Depeche Mode's album is just released/about to be released depending on timezones.

Whoops, for some reason I thought the album was released last week.

[Gary]

CHART BEAT
Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Notches Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200
Plus: U2 collects its 13th top 10-charting album with "Songs of Surrender."

By Keith Caulfield
www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/morgan-wallen-one-thing-at-a-time-number-one-third-week-billboard-200-chart-1235292802/
03/26/2023


Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time notches a third straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 1). The set earned 209,500 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending March 23 (down 19%), according to Luminate. It debuted at No. 1 with 501,000 units, then tallied 259,000 in its second frame.

In the last 12 months, only two albums have exceeded 200,000 units in each of their first three weeks: One Thing at a Time and Taylor Swift’s Midnights (which surpassed 200,000 in each of its first four weeks).

The last album by a male act to spend its first three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 was Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, which also spent its first three frames atop the list (Sept. 18-Oct. 2, 2021-dated charts).

Further, in the last 10 years, only two country albums have clocked at least three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and both are by Wallen: One Thing at a Time, his last album, Dangerous: The Double Album (10 weeks at No. 1 in 2021). (Country albums are considered those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 chart, U2 collects its 13th top 10-charting effort, as Songs of Surrender debuts at No. 5. The retrospective sees U2 revisiting its own catalog, re-recording and re-interpreting familiar hit songs from the band’s career. Among the tracks including on the project: “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “One,” “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “I Will Follow.”

Plus, U2 becomes only the fourth group with a newly-charting top 10 title on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now the ‘20s.

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, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 1, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 28. For all chart news, follow billboard and billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 209,500 equivalent album units earned in the week ending March 23, SEA units comprise 194,000 (down 17%, equaling 256.13 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 12,500 (down 41%) and TEA units comprise 3,000 (down 12%).

SZA’s chart-topping SOS climbs 4-2 on the Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned (though down 5%), while Swift’s former leader Midnights jumps 6-3 with 61,000 units (up 31%) following her Eras Tour launch on March 17. Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation falls 3-4 in its second week with 49,000 units (down 59%).

U2’s Songs of Surrender debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 46,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 42,000, SEA units comprise 4,000 equaling 4.99 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 500. The retrospective re-records project is available in multiple editions, including a standard 16-track edition, a 20-track deluxe and a 40-track super deluxe (with the latter divided into four 10-track chapters named after each band member: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.). Sales were also aided by a dozen vinyl variants of the album, including exclusive editions sold by Amazon, Target and independent retailers.

U2 is the fourth group to achieve a newly-charting top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now the ‘20s. The quartet joins AC/DC, Def Leppard and Metallica.

Rounding out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 are five former No. 1s: Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito (5-6 with 45,000 equivalent album units earned; down 15%); Dangerous: The Double Album (a non-mover at No. 7 with 42,000; down 2%); Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (holding at No. 8 with 40,000; up 3%); Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss (10-9 with 38,000; up 12%); and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (9-10 with 37,000; up 1%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

[Gary]

1. Morgan Wallen 209,500 (sales 12,500)
2. SZA 72,000
3. Taylor Swift 61,000
4. Miley 49,000
5. U2 46,500 (sales 42,000)
6. Karol G 45,000
7. Morgan Wallen 42,000
8. Metro Boomin 40,000
9. Drake 38,000
10. Bad Bunny 37,000

[onebuffalo]

So far, 970,000 SPS for Morgan Wallen.

[areyoureadytojump]

HITS has been posting the YTD Luminate numbers here:

hitsdailydouble.com/ytd_project_activity

They include pre-release SPS.

1 MORGAN WALLEN | ONE THING AT A TIME BIG LOUD/MERCURY/REPUBLIC (UMG) 1,342,000

[SPRΞΞ]

Dangerous back up to 42k. Guess that little blip was nothing.

[areyoureadytojump]

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Taylor Swift Has 7 Albums in the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 Chart for the First Time in Her Career

3/27/2023

By Keith Caulfield

Since 1963, the feat has happened just twice, by two different acts.

For the first time in her career, Taylor Swift has seven albums in the top 40 at the same time on the Billboard 200 chart (dated April 1).

Since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo LP charts into one all-encompassing list in August 1963, Swift is only the second act — and first living artist — to have at least seven albums concurrently in the top 40. Previously, the feat was achieved only once in that span, after the death of Whitney Houston, when the late superstar also had seven in the top 40 on the chart dated March 17, 2012.

In the top 40 of the April 1-dated Billboard 200 chart, Swift holds the following titles:

No. 3 – Midnights
No. 13 – Lover
No. 14 – Folklore
No. 19 – 1989
No. 22 – Red (Taylor’s Version)
No. 26 – Reputation
No. 31 – Evermore

For good measure, Swift has two further albums on the April 1 chart: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) at No. 52, and Speak Now, at No. 69.

The Swift domination on the latest chart, which reflects the tracking week of March 17-23, coincides with the launch of her massive The Eras Tour on March 17 in Glendale, Ariz. The stadium tour is promoted as a career-spanning retrospective. On opening night, Swift played more than three hours, and the show’s setlist contained more than 40 songs.

As previously reported, Midnights, released in October 2022, jumps 6-3 on the Billboard 200 with 61,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending March 23 (up 31%), according to Luminate.

Earlier in 2023, Swift had 10 concurrently charting albums on the Billboard 200 for the first time – a rarity in the list’s lengthy history.

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, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 1, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 28. For all chart news, follow billboard and billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

U2’s ‘Songs of Surrender’ Starts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart

'

3/27/2023

By Keith Caulfield

The covers retrospective of the band's own songs is also No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums & Vinyl Albums.

U2’s Songs of Surrender debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated April 1), selling 42,000 copies in the United States in the week ending March 23, according to Luminate. 

The retrospective covers album – which see U2 reinterpreting its own catalog of songs – also arrives at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Top Current Album Sales. It also bows at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. (On the latter list, U2 becomes only the fourth group to have a new top 10 album in every decade from the 1980s onwards.) 

Notably, of the set’s first-week sales, vinyl accounted for 19,500 copies sold. That marks U2’s biggest sales week on vinyl since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991.

Songs of Surrender’s is available in multiple configurations, including a standard 16-track version, a 20-track deluxe and a 40-track super deluxe (with the latter divided into four 10-track chapters named after each band member: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.). Sales were also helped by a dozen vinyl variants of the album, including exclusive editions sold by Amazon, Target and independent music stores.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new April 1, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 28. For all chart news, follow billboard and billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums rank the week’s most popular rock and alternative albums, rock albums and alternative albums, respectively, by equivalent album units. Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales.

Of Songs of Surrender’s 42,000 copies sold, physical sales comprise 33,500 (19,500 on vinyl; 13,500 on CD; and 500 on cassette) and digital downloads comprise 8,500.

TWICE’s Ready To Be: 12th Mini Album falls 1-2 on Top Album Sales in its second week (29,500; down 80%), Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights climbs 5-3 (12,500; up 22%) and Morgan Wallen’s former leader One Thing at a Time dips 3-4 (11,000; down 41%). Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation descends 2-5 with nearly 11,000 (down 80%).

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s chart-topping The Name Chapter: Temptation falls 4-6 (almost 11,000; down 4%). 100 gecs’ 10,000 Gecs debuts at No. 7 with 7,000 – marking the first chart entry for the duo.

NCT 127’s Ay-Yo: The 4th Album Repackage falls 6-8 on Top Album Sales with 6,000 sold (down 35%), Tyler, the Creator’s Flower Boy vaults 44-9 with nearly 6,000 (up 151%) after the set was reissued on vinyl LP and Stray Kids’ former No. 1 MAXIDENT descends 9-10 with nearly 6,000 sold (down 1%).

In the week ending March 23, there were 1.832 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 6.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.492 million (down 7%) and digital albums comprised 340,000 (down 4.2%).

There were 627,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 23 (down 14.5% week-over-week) and 855,000 vinyl albums sold (down 0.9%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 7.552 million (up 1.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 10.532 million (up 25.3%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 22.442 million (up 7.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 18.197 million (up 14%) and digital album sales total 4.245 million (down 12.8%).

[WolfSpear]

MOST #1's: TOP ALBUM SALES
19: The Beatles (1964-2021)
14: Jay-Z (1998-2017)
12: Bruce Springsteen (1980-2020)
11: Barbra Streisand (1964-2016)
11: Kenny Chesney (2002-2020)
11: Taylor Swift (2008-2023)
10: Elvis Presley (1956-2002)
10: Paul McCartney & Wings (1970-2021)
10: Madonna (1985-2022)
10: Eminem (2000-2022)
9: The Rolling Stones (1965-1981)
9: U2 (1987-2023)
9: Garth Brooks (1991-2013)
8: Kanye West (2005-2019)
8: Drake (2010-2018)