Billboard 200: Morgan Wallen week 9

[Gary]

Will Seventeen Finally Be the Act to Edge Out Morgan Wallen On the Billboard 200?

In this week's The Contenders, boy band SEVENTEEN are the latest Korean pop stars to square off for No. 1 with Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time.





BY ANDREW UNTERBERGER






TThe Contenders is 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 May 12), after sets from a pair of BTS alums fall just short of matching the totals of Morgan Wallen’s Billboard 200 juggernaut, a 13-strong K-pop group looks to take their crack at it.


SEVENTEEN, 10th Mini Album ‘FML’ (Pledis/YG Plus): It’s a showdown we’ve seen time and time again on the Billboard 200 in recent years: a lengthy album from an artist who dominates streaming vs. a much shorter set from an artist who sells an exceptional amount of physical copies. Many of the albums from the latter category are from K-pop, and we have another entrant this week in the form of the 13-member boy band SEVENTEEN’s latest mini-album, FML.



The group has climbed closer to the Billboard 200’s apex with each successive release, including a pair of top 10 efforts last year with 4th Album: Face the Sun (No. 7 in June) and that set’s extended repackaged reissue, Sector 17 (No. 4 in August). Helping their sales numbers this time will be an array of different CDs — 14 total, including different exclusives for the act’s official webstore, Barnes & Noble, Target and the Weverse store; all with a standard set of items packaged inside and additional randomized items like postcards, mini posters, bookmarks and stickers. There are also 17 different alternative digital albums on their webstore, each with a different cover. Four of them have two bonus tracks – one instrumental version, one voice member from certain group members – that are different on each album. The remaining 13 alternative digital albums all have the standard tracklist, just with a different cover (one for each of the group members).



The bar for SEVENTEEN to hit No. 1 might be slightly lower than it was for BTS alums Jimin and Suga last month, as Morgan Wallen’s mighty One Thing at a Time slips below 150,000 equivalent album units for the first time in its eight weeks at No. 1 with its 149,000 May 6 chart (reflecting the tracking week ending April 27). If they can accomplish the feat, SEVENTEEN would become the second Korean pop group to top the Billboard 200 in 2023, following TOMORROW X TOGETHER, which did so in February with The Name Chapter: Temptation in February.



Jack Harlow, Jackman. (Generation Now/Atlantic): Louisville rapper Jack Harlow made the leap to pop stardom last year with his Billboard Hot 100-topping, Fergie-sampling crossover smash “First Class,” which was followed by the album Come Home the Kids Miss You. Though the star-studded affair – featuring appearances from A-listers Drake, Lil Wayne, Pharrell and Justin Timberlake – peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, it was poorly received critically and failed to produce a second hit on the level of “First Class.”



Harlow went in a different direction for last week’s semi-surprise-released Jackman., announced just days earlier and titled after his full first name. The set includes just 10 tracks, with no guests or any big pop samples or interpolations that littered his prior album. The currently digital-only set – Harlow’s webstore also has a pre-sale of limited-edition green vinyl version available for August – may not quite do the kind of robust streaming numbers as its predecessor with no big features or previously released hits, but it is drawing much better reviews.




The National, First Two Pages of Frankenstein (4AD): Cincinnati-via-Brooklyn indie rock vets The National are regular visitors to the Billboard 200’s top 5, having reached there with four consecutive albums dating back to 2010’s High Violet, most recently with 2019’s No. 5-peaking I Am Easy to Find. A not-so-secret weapon on the new First Two Pages of Frankenstein could help make it five straight: Taylor Swift, now a regular collaborator of band co-founder Aaron Dessner, who features on the album’s “The Alcott.”



Grateful Dead, Dave’s Picks Volume 46 (Rhino): Another season, another transmission from the live archives of rock’s most storied jam band. This three-disc set – available in a limited edition of 25,000 copies, as usual for Dave’s Picks – is taken from the Grateful Dead‘s 1972 gig at the Hollywood Palladium, with some copies also including a bonus fourth disc of songs from ‘72 shows in Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey and Folson Field in Colorado.



Illenium, Illenium (Warner): The star EDM DJ-producer is better known for his impressive live show – which he’s taking to arenas and stadiums this summer – but Illenium has also had three Billboard 200-charting albums, with the most recent (2021’s Fallen Embers) peaking at No. 49. His new self-titled album is more rock-influenced, and the chart returns so far have been positive, with all seven of its pre-release advance tracks reaching the top 20 of Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Rules Billboard 200 for Ninth Week

5/8/2023

By Keith Caulfield

Plus: SEVENTEEN, Eslabon Armado and Jack Harlow debut in top 10.

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time continues to lead the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 13) for a ninth consecutive, and total, week on top. The set earned 138,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending May 4 (down 8%), according to Luminate. The album bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated March 18 and has yet to depart the top slot. 

The last album to spend nine weeks in a row at No. 1 was Wallen’s last release, Dangerous: The Double Album, which spent its first 10 weeks at No. 1 (its total run atop the list), from the Jan. 23-March 27, 2021-dated charts. 

Meanwhile, thanks to extended runs at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in recent months by both One Thing at a Time and SZA’s SOS, there have only been four No. 1 albums in the 21 weeks since the Dec. 24, 2022-dated list.

For the seven weeks from the Dec. 24, 2022, through Feb. 4 charts, SOS was No. 1. Then, on the Feb. 11, 2023 chart, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation debuted at No. 1 and spent one week on top. SOS returned to No. 1 for three weeks (Feb. 18-March 3) and then Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito debuted at No. 1 and spent one week in the lead (March 11). From March 18 onwards, One Thing at a Time has been No. 1.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, SEVENTEEN, Eslabon Armado and Jack Harlow all see their latest releases debut.

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 May 13, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 9. For all chart news, follow billboard and billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 138,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 13, SEA units comprise 130,000 (down 8%, equaling 174.18 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 5,500 (down 7%) and TEA units comprise 2,500 (down 10%).

SEVENTEEN notches its highest charting album yet on the Billboard 200, as 10th Mini Album FML debuts at No. 2. It’s the third top 10, all earned consecutively, for the 13-member Korean pop ensemble. The set bows with 135,000 equivalent album units earned, of which album sales comprise 132,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week, with the fourth-largest sales week of 2023), SEA units comprise 3,000 (equaling 4.36 million on-demand official streams of the set’s six tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FML was issued in collectible CD packages (14 total, including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (postcards, mini posters, bookmarks and stickers). It was also available as a standard digital download album, as well as via 17 digital download variants that were sold exclusively through the act’s official webstore, each with alternate cover art. Four of them have two bonus tracks — one instrumental track and a voice memo from certain group members — that are different on each album. The remaining 13 alternate digital albums all have the album’s standard tracklist, just with a different cover (one for each of the group members). Of FML’s first-week album sales, 98% were CDs, while the remaining 2% were digital album downloads. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights rises 4-3 on the Billboard 200 with 57,000 equivalent album units (though down 7%), while SOS climbs 6-4 (56,000; down 5%) and Dangerous skips 7-5 (47,000; down 2%).

Eslabon Armado’s Desvelado debuts at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting regional Mexican album ever on the list. It’s only the second regional Mexican set to reach the top 10, following the act’s No. 9 debut and peak of Nostalgia on the May 21, 2022-dated list. (Regional Mexican albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart.)

Desvelado bows with 44,000 equivalent album units earned, with 43,500 of that sum in SEA units (equaling 63.51 million on-demand streams of the set’s 16 tracks) and album sales and TEA units comprise the remaining 500 units.

The album contains the hit single “Ella Baila Sola,” a co-billed collaboration with Peso Pluma, which ranked at No. 4 on the most recently published all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart (dated May 6). The track — which initially garnered notoriety because of its popularity on TikTok — marks the first regional Mexican song to reach the top 10 on the Hot 100.

Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old bumps 8-7 on the Billboard 200 with 37,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).

Jack Harlow achieves his third top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 albums chart as Jackman. enters at No. 8. The set starts with 35,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 33,500 (equaling 43.37 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 10 tracks), album sales comprise 1,500 and TEA units comprise 500.

Jackman. was released with little warning, as it was announced on April 25, just before its April 28 release.

Two former No. 1s round out the top 10 on the new Billboard 200, as Metro Boomin’ Heroes & Villains is a non-mover at No. 9 (34,500 units; down 6%) and Swift’s Lover is stationary at No. 10 (just over 34,000; down 5%).

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.

[renfield75]

Cue "#BillboardRacist" trending on Twitter again...

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

FYI, Ella Baila Sola ended up having 54.4% of the weekly streams of Eslabon's Armado's album.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

[onebuffalo]

I was hoping Seventeen would rule the roost, even for only a week. Does anyone know who could potentially knock Morgan Wallen from the top? Merci.

[Music Fan]

Glad Morgan is going to at least tie the 10 weeks at #1 of Dangerous!! That will have him pull ahead of Taylor with most weeks at #1 in the 2020's correct (20 to 19? Which I'm sure Taylor will surpass this year again.)

May 8, 2023 16:29:49 GMT -5 onebuffalo said:

I was hoping Seventeen would rule the roost, even for only a week. Does anyone know who could potentially knock Morgan Wallen from the top? Merci.

Probably Jonas Brothers' album coming out this Friday.

[KeepDeanWeird]

Crazy Postie's 'The Diamond Collection' hasn't charted because of the way streaming get allocated based on physical sales. We've seen this most recently with The Weeknd's 'The Highlights' bouncing up and down the chart.

Obviously, the label doesn't care because there's been minimal effort to promote TDC - even on Streaming/iTunes the 'Chemical' single is featured rather than swapping it with album version.

Wouldn't have been better to just add it to TCT? Bizarre.

[musiclife]

I'm glad Seventeen didn't get it.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

I just realized how slow 2023 for album releases in general. There have been only 4 albums at #1 in the Billboard 200 for the charts dated this year. Other than Morgan and SZA, the only other artists to have #1s for a week each this year have been albums by Together X Together and Karol G.

[Deleted]

Can anyone explain this? Why would it be moved to the catalog chart now?

[areyoureadytojump]

^It hasn't been moved. It's still charting on the BB200:

20 21 438 1989 ‒ Taylor Swift ( 1 )


Catalog Albums
Week of May 13, 2023
TW LW WOC Title Artist ( Peak )

1 2 306 1989 - Taylor Swift ( 1 )
2 1 127 Starboy - The Weeknd ( 1 )
3 3 77 reputation - Taylor Swift ( 3 )
4 5 37 Evermore - Taylor Swift ( 4 )
5 4 5 Call Me If You Get Lost - Tyler, The Creator ( 1 )
6 6 464 Rumours - Fleetwood Mac ( 1 )
7 9 872 Greatest Hits - Queen ( 1 )
8 28 501 Curtain Call: The Hits - Eminem ( 1 )
9 7 395 good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar ( 1 )
10 10 147 DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar ( 2 )

11 8 223 Ctrl - SZA ( 1 )
12 11 17 Fearless (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift ( 11 )
13 15 1207 Chronicle The 20 Greatest Hits - Creedence Clearwater Revival ( 1 )
14 13 87 IGOR - Tyler, The Creator ( 6 )
15 12 49 Meteora - Linkin Park ( 1 )
16 16 16 Flower Boy - Tyler, The Creator ( 16 )
17 21 65 Speak Now - Taylor Swift ( 2 )
18 17 151 ANTI - Rihanna ( 1 )
19 20 360 Take Care - Drake ( 1 )
20 19 393 Greatest Hits - 2Pac ( 2 )

21 23 306 2014 Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole ( 2 )
22 14 152 Born To Die - Lana Del Rey ( 3 )
23 24 19 Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon - Pop Smoke ( 8 )
24 27 207 Views - Drake ( 4 )
25 18 140 Blonde - Frank Ocean ( 2 )
26 25 24 Savage Mode II - 21 Savage & Metro Boomin ( 15 )
27 22 1559 Legend: The Best Of... - Bob Marley And The Wailers ( 1 )
28 29 114 Graduation - Kanye West ( 7 )
29 30 1397 Journey's Greatest Hits - Journey ( 1 )
30 32 20 Hamilton: An American Musical - Original Broadway Cast Recording ( 20 )

31 35 14 I Will Always Love You: The Best Of Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston ( 22 )
32 37 21 SoulFly - Rod Wave ( 21 )
33 NEW 1 Gord's Gold - Gordon Lightfoot ( 33 )
34 34 835 Greatest Hits - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers ( 1 )
35 33 59 Swimming - Mac Miller ( 14 )
36 Re-Entry 259 Greatest Hits - The Notorious B.I.G. ( 1 )
37 39 539 Gold: Greatest Hits - ABBA ( 1 )
38 43 612 Greatest Hits - Guns N' Roses ( 1 )
39 Re-Entry 107 ÷ (Divide) - Ed Sheeran ( 9 )
40 NEW 1 Legends Never Die - Juice WRLD ( 40 )

41 38 324 Nevermind - Nirvana ( 1 )
42 31 21 Channel Orange - Frank Ocean ( 6 )
43 40 602 Thriller - Michael Jackson ( 1 )
44 Re-Entry 464 The Essential Michael Jackson - Michael Jackson ( 1 )
45 42 108 Stoney - Post Malone ( 7 )
46 45 420 Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars ( 1 )
47 49 74 Teenage Dream - Katy Perry ( 1 )
48 Re-Entry 148 50 Number Ones - George Strait ( 1 )
49 Re-Entry 323 All Time Greatest Hits - Lynyrd Skynyrd ( 2 )
50 Re-Entry 48 Indigo - Chris Brown ( 2 )

[Darkest Hour]

May 9, 2023 12:28:44 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

I just realized how slow 2023 for album releases in general. There have been only 4 albums at #1 in the Billboard 200 for the charts dated this year. Other than Morgan and SZA, the only other artists to have #1s for a week each this year have been albums by Together X Together and Karol G.

Slow might not be the correct word here as there are many albums doing over 100k SPS but blocked from #1 by Morgan Wallen. You are thinking of dominance.

[HolidayGuy]

The catalog chart's become a meh chart to follow since catalog titles became eligible for the Billboard 200 in late 2009, especially since all 50 positions have been charting on the main chart for quite a while now.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

May 9, 2023 18:04:17 GMT -5 Darkest Hour said:

May 9, 2023 12:28:44 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

I just realized how slow 2023 for album releases in general. There have been only 4 albums at #1 in the Billboard 200 for the charts dated this year. Other than Morgan and SZA, the only other artists to have #1s for a week each this year have been albums by Together X Together and Karol G.

Slow might not be the correct word here as there are many albums doing over 100k SPS but blocked from #1 by Morgan Wallen. You are thinking of dominance.

The problem with many of those albums is that they debuted during their first week with those numbers mostly due to pure sales.

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/pro/disney-100-billboard-album-charts/

‘Disney 100’ Tops Billboard Album Charts
BY KEITH CAULFIELD
05/10/2023

Walt Disney Records' new retrospective album, celebrating 100 years of the Walt Disney Company, opens atop Billboard's Compilation Albums & Kid Albums charts.

Walt Disney Records’ new Disney 100 album launches at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Compilation Albums and Kid Albums charts (dated May 13). The 29-track multi-artist set, boasting familiar Disney favorites from decades of film, TV and theme park attractions, is part of the ongoing celebration of 100 years of the Walt Disney Company.

Disney 100 was released on April 28 and exclusively available as a vinyl release (a two-LP set priced at $34.98). In the tracking week ending May 4, it sold a little over 2,000 copies in the United States, according to Luminate.

Disney 100 includes previously released songs from Disney’s films, TV programs and theme parks. Among the selections: “Whistle While You Work” (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), “When You Wish Upon a Star” (from Pinocchio), “Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” (from the Disney Parks attraction Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room), “It’s a Small World” (from the attraction of the same name), “Mickey Mouse March” (from The Mickey Mouse Club), “We’re All In This Together” (from High School Musical), “Under the Sea” (from The Little Mermaid), “Let It Go” (from Frozen) and the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (from Encanto).

The Disney 100 celebration continues at No. 2 on both Kid Albums and Compilations, as a 23-song Walmart-exclusive alternative edition of the Disney 100 debuts (2,000 sold). The Walmart variant, also only on vinyl LP, has the same title but a different tracklist than the general market edition at No. 1, and thus it charts separately.

The wide-release Disney 100 and the Walmart-exclusive iteration also debut at Nos. 60 and 62 on the Top Album Sales chart, respectively, and at Nos. 31 and 33 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.

The Disney 100 albums are one part of Disney’s company-wide celebrations, which includes festivities in Disney Parks and Disney100: The Exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, among other activations.

Billboard’s Kid Albums and Compilation Albums charts ranks the week’s top-selling children’s albums and all-genre compilations, respectively. Top Album Sales rank the week’s overall top-selling albums, and Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s top-selling current albums (excluding any older, catalog titles – generally those that are at least 18 months old).

[Gary]

SEVENTEEN Scores Fifth Straight No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart
Plus: The National, Grateful Dead and ILLENIUM debut in top 10.


By Keith Caulfield
www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/seventeen-scores-fifth-straight-number-one-top-album-sales-chart-1235328105/
05/12/2023

SEVENTEEN keeps up its perfect track record on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated May 13) as the act’s SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album: FML debuts atop the list – the 13-member Korean pop ensemble’s fifth consecutive No. 1, of five total entries. All have also bowed at No. 1. The title sold 132,000 copies in the United States in the week ending May 4, according to Luminate – the fourth-largest sales week for an album in 2023 and SEVENTEEN’s best sales week yet.

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FML was issued in collectible CD packages (14 total, including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (postcards, mini posters, bookmarks and stickers).

FML was also available as a standard digital download album, as well as via 17 digital download variants that were sold exclusively through the act’s official webstore, each with alternate cover art. Four of them have two bonus tracks – one instrumental track and a voice memo from certain group members – that are different on each album. The remaining 13 alternate digital albums all have the album’s standard tracklist, just with a different cover (one for each of the group members). Of FML’s first-week album sales, 98% were CDs, while the remaining 2% were digital album downloads. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, The National, Grateful Dead and ILLENIUM arrive with their latest releases.

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. For all chart news, follow billboard and billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Agust D’s D-Day falls to No. 2 (25,000; down 79%) after debuting at No. 1 a week ago.

The National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein starts at No. 3 with a little over 24,000 copies sold (with a little more than 15,000 of that sum powered by vinyl sales). It’s the fifth top 10-charting effort for the act.

Grateful Dead’s Dave’s Picks, Volume 46: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – 9/9/72 bows at No. 4 with 21,000 sold. It’s the latest in the group’s long-running archival concert series.

A trio of former No. 1s is next on Top Album Sales, as Metallica’s 72 Seasons falls 3-5 (13,000; down 49%), Taylor Swift’s Midnights dips 5-6 (11,000; down 30%) and Melanie Martinez’s Portals shifts 6-7 (just over 7,000; down 47%).

ILLENIUM’s self-titled album debuts at No. 8 with 7,000 sold, largely from vinyl sales (nearly 6,000). It’s the second top 10 for the dance/electronic act.

Rounding out the top 10 on the new Top Album Sales chart is TWICE’s former leader Ready to Be: 12th Mini Album (rising 22-9 with nearly 7,000; down 10%) and Swift’s Folklore (14-10 with 6,500; down 26%).

In the week ending May 4, there were 1.827 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 37.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.482 million (down 42.6%) and digital albums comprised 344,000 (down 1.6%).

There were 712,000 CD albums sold in the week ending May 4 (down 6.3% week-over-week) and 762,000 vinyl albums sold (down 57.9%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 11.936 million (up 5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 17.058 million (up 27.3%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 35.534 million (up 10.3% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 29.181 million (up 17%) and digital album sales total 6.353 million (down 12.7%).