Billboard 200: 10/07/2023

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Will Doja Cat Score Her First No. 1 Album This Week?

9/27/2023

By Andrew Unterberger

The 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 Oct. 7), the latest effort from crossover superstar Doja Cat leads a pack of new releases aiming to succeed Olivia Rodrigo and Rod Wave at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. 

Doja Cat, Scarlet (Kemosabe/RCA): In the rankings of the biggest pop stars right now without a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 to their credit, Doja Cat may very well be atop the list. Her last album, 2021’s Planet Her, debuted at No. 2 on the chart (behind Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me if You Get Lost) but ultimately notched a stunning five singles into the Billboard Hot 100’s top 20 – an ‘80s- or ‘90s-style blockbuster, one that impacted the pop world for well over a calendar year. She didn’t get a Hot 100 No. 1 off that album, but she’s also got two of those for her career: most recently “Paint the Town Red,” the Dionne Warwick-sampling advance track from new set Scarlet, released last Friday (Sept. 22).

Huge pop track record, excellent-performing last album, smash hit lead single: Seems like it should be a recipe for an automatic No. 1 debut this time around, right? Well, maybe, but not definitely: While Doja has always performed well on a single-for-single basis, she’s never had the kind of whole-album-bomb streaming numbers that many artists on her commercial level tend to post in 2023 – trends that seem to be continuing with Scarlet, as most of the album’s tracks have already fallen off the big DSPs’ daily charts. And she doesn’t usually sell tremendous numbers in physical formats, with Scarlet not even being available yet in vinyl: just the standard album for sale on digital and CD, as well as a deluxe edition with two bonus cuts.

So even as “Paint” continues to dominate on streaming and radio, Doja may have her work cut out for her climbing past a pair of prior No. 1s on the chart: Rod Wave’s Nostalgia and Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts, which hold the top two spots on this week’s Billboard 200 (dated Sept. 30) and are still littering the streaming charts with essentially their entire tracklists. One thing that might give her a valuable late-week boost: “Agora Hills,” released as the new single along with the whole set, has already caught on TikTok (and YouTube, with its eye-popping music video), and seems likely to be ready to supplant “Paint” in the Hot 100’s top tier once that single starts to slow down – if not earlier.

Zach Bryan, Boys of Faith (Belting Bronco/Warner): Speaking of prior No. 1s on the Billboard 200 – the artist who reigned just before Wave and Rodrigo also is contending for the top spot again this week. Zach Bryan has followed up his best-selling self-titled album (which topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in September) with the surprise-released new five-songs EP Boys of Faith, featuring guest appearances from fellow acclaimed alt-folk singer-songwriters Noah Kahan and Bon Iver. With no physical release and only a handful of tracks, Faith isn’t likely to put up Zach Bryan numbers – but given Bryan’s streaming prowess lately, and with Kahan collab “Sarah’s Place” off to a particularly dynamite start on DSPs, you can bet it’ll be heard from in the 200’s top tier next week.

Lil Tecca, Tec (Galactic/Republic): New York rapper Lil Tecca hasn’t scored a major Hot 100 hit since his irresistible breakthrough smash “Ran$om” went all the way to the chart’s top five in 2019, but he’s continued to perform well on the Billboard 200, with both of his two 2020s studio albums (2020’s Virgo World and 2021’s We Love You Tecca 2) debuting at No. 10 on the chart. That might be about where third album Tec shows up, as the 16-track set is off to a strong start on streaming, with advance single “500lbs” looking on pace to potentially become his biggest hit since “Ran$om.” The set is also for sale on CD and digital, and in four deluxe boxed sets sold through Tecca’s webstore, each with a branded T-shirt and a copy of the CD.

IN THE MIX

Kylie Minogue, Tension (Darenote/BMG): Lead single “Padam Padam” gave Kylie Minogue her biggest pop culture moment in at least a decade when it became a cult favorite this spring and summer, and the pop legend is looking to capitalize on that momentum this week with the release of 16th studio album Tension. Physical sales would be the key to her first top 20 entry on the 200 since 2010’s Aphrodite, as Tension is available in six CD variants, five vinyl variants, four cassette tapes and three digital album iterations (including an artist webstore deluxe with five bonus tracks).

Staind, Confessions of the Fallen (BMG): It’s been awhile for nu-metal veterans Staind, who we last got a full album from back in 2011, with their self-titled effort. In the years since then, frontman Aaron Lewis has become better known for his pivot to country, even scoring a top 20 Hot 100 hit with the conservative screed “Am I the Only One?” Still, Confessions lead single “Lowest in Me” proved they were still welcome on rock radio, becoming their fifth Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1 this August – and you’d have to go back to their 1999 sophomore effort Dysfunction for their last album that failed to reach the top five of the Billboard 200.

[areyoureadytojump]

Chart Data says the Billboard 200 is delayed.

[ccchui]

Now the Hot 100 chart is already out....and there is still no Billboard 200 chart yet at this point. Wonder what causes all this delay.

[fridayteenage]

Oct 2, 2023 14:23:46 GMT -5 ccchui said:

Now the Hot 100 chart is already out....and there is still no Billboard 200 chart yet at this point. Wonder what causes all this delay.

[Choco]

Why would Doja cause a delay? She ain't even a contender for #1 from what we know.

[recordyear]

Rod Wave is #1.

Doja Cat debuts at #4.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Rod Wave was #1 by 500 equivalent albums over Olivia.

Rod Wave’s ‘Nostalgia’ Notches Second Week Atop Billboard 200 Chart

10/20/2023

By Keith Caulfield

Plus: Doja Cat and Zach Bryan debut in top 10.

Rod Wave spends a second week atop the Billboard 200 chart (dated Oct. 7) with Nostalgia, after debuting at No. 1 a week ago. The set earned 88,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 28 (down 36%) according to Luminate. It’s the first of his three No. 1s to have led for multiple weeks.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Doja Cat’s Scarlet starts at No. 4 while Zach Bryan’s new Boys of Faith bows at No. 8. 

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 Oct. 7, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 3. For all chart news, follow billboard and billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Nostalgia’s 88,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Sept. 28, SEA units comprise 87,500 (equaling 124.51 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 18 songs), album sales comprise 500, and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Nostalgia’s 88,000 sum is the smallest total for a No. 1 album in seven months, since SZA’s SOS led the list dated March 4 with 87,000 units.

Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Guts holds at No. 2 on the new Billboard 200 (87,500 equivalent album units; down 34%) and Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time climbs one rung to No. 3 (73,000; down 3%).

Doja Cat captures her third top 10 album on the Billboard 200, all notched consecutively, as her new studio set Scarlet starts at No. 4 with nearly 72,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 65,000 (equaling 88.35 million on-demand official audio and video streams of the set’s 17 songs), album sales comprise 6,000 (the set was only available as a digital download, CD and in a deluxe boxed set with a T-shirt and CD) and TEA units comprise 1,000. The digital and streaming edition of the album was available in a standard 15-song edition and a deluxe 17-track version.

Scarlet was preceded by three charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100: “Demons,” “Paint the Town Red” and “Attention.” “Paint the Town Red” became her second No. 1 on the Hot 100 on the Sept. 16-dated chart (following 2020’s “Say So,” featuring Nicki Minaj).

Doja Cat previously hit the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with Planet Her (No. 2 in 2021) and Hot Pink (No. 9 in 2020).

Zach Bryan’s chart-topping self-titled album falls 3-5 on the new Billboard 200 (66,000 equivalent album units; down 16%), SZA’s SOS dips 5-6 (49,000; down 7%) and Travis Scott’s former leader Utopia descends 6-7 (just over 44,000; down 6%).

A second Bryan album appears in the top 10, as his new five-song Boys of Faith project bows at No. 8 with 43,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 39,000 (equaling 50.35 million on-demand official audio and video streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 4,000 and TEA units comprise 500. Boys of Faith is the third top 10-charting effort for Bryan, and second in 2023, following his self-titled No. 1, which debuted at the summit just four weeks earlier. He has also hit the top 10 with the No. 5-peaking American Heartbreak in 2022.

Rounding out the top 10 on the new Billboard 200 is Peso Pluma’s Génesis (moving 7-9 with 43,000 equivalent album units earned; down 7%) and Taylor Swift’s former leader Midnights (8-10 with 42,000; up less than 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.

[fridayteenage]

Oh, rod did 4k better than hdd expected, olivia did 2k less than expected.
88k vs. 87.5k.

Guess they wanted to triple check given the tiny margin.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Doja Cat Is One of the World’s Biggest Pop Stars — Why Does She Still Not Have a No. 1 Album?

By Stephen Daw, Kyle Denis, Rylee Johnston, Jason Lipshutz, Andrew Unterberger
10/3/2023

This week's Five Burning Questions looks at the No. 4 debut of Doja Cat's Scarlet, which is below what many fans would have expected of the superstar's new album.

While Doja Cat‘s blockbuster 2021 LP Planet Her never topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, there were understandable reasons why — it was blocked at No. 1 in its first week by another A-lister’s acclaimed new set in Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost, and its massive success from there was more of an extended slow burn than a one-week supernova. Now, however, her new set Scarlet has also debuted short of the top spot, and the reasons why are less immediately obvious. 

Despite coming off the momentum of Planet Her‘s year-long top 40 dominance, and despite boasting a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit of its own — something her last set never even managed — in lead single “Paint the Town Red,” Scarlet debuts at No. 4, with an underwhelming 72,000 first-week units. And it’s not blocked by a spate of big-name new releases, either: The three albums above it are all prior No. 1s on the chart, and none that post units in the six digits this week.

Why does Doja Cat’s album success not seem to match her success in other key pop areas? And will the album still be able to grow from here? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. After Planet Her debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 109,000 first-week units, Scarlet bows at No. 4 with 72,000. On a scale from 1-10, how surprised are you by the album’s first-week performance?

Stephen Daw: I’m at a 7. While I understand why some fans might have been turned off to new music from an artist who was openly dissing them, I’m still a little shocked that Scarlet didn’t chart better. The hype leading into the album was amply stoked, with a series of well-selected singles and a blockbuster performance at the VMAs — while a No. 4 debut is certainly not bad, it’s much lower than I’d anticipated.

Kyle Denis: Probably around a 4. This is pretty much what I expected given the shaky rollout and her contentious relationship with her fans. Planet Her had two pre-release songs that legitimately connected with audiences – and one of them ended up being one of the biggest all-female collaborations in Billboard chart history. Comparatively, only “Paint the Town Red” landed with audiences of the advance Scarlet cuts, and that came after weeks of controversy regarding how Doja spoke about her fans and her previous two albums. The numbers for this album were never going to truly hold a candle to Planet Her’s — at least in terms of their respective first weeks.

Rylee Johnston: I’d rate my surprise level at a 7 – while Doja Cat continues to dominate the rap music sphere, I think her controversial statements (especially about her own fans) works against her. She’s undeniably talented and uses social media to her advantage when it comes to marketing her singles and upcoming projects, but that’s also where things come back to bite her. This time headlines about her as a person seemed to dominate the news, which ultimately could have overshadowed the release of her new album.

Jason Lipshutz: An 8. Doja Cat is clearly an A-list artist, she’s collected plenty of new hits and listeners since her last album, and Scarlet was preceded by a legitimate smash in “Paint the Town Red”; the fact that this album debuted lower than Planet Her, and with a smaller equivalent album units total, is a bit mystifying. Yet I don’t think this debut is disappointing, exactly, considering just how well “Paint the Town Red” is performing — misfires simply do not include hits as big as this one. So while a No. 4 bow is somewhat startling, I’d still be pretty thrilled with this era so far if I were Doja.

Andrew Unterberger: Like a 7.5 maybe? I definitely thought it was possible it would fall a little short of No. 1, but a first-week number in the low 70s — not even high enough to beat out Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time in what feels like its 327th week on the 200 — is pretty stark. I get some of the reasons why it might be the case, but none of them feel totally satisfying to me yet.

2. While Scarlet comes short of the top spot on the Billboard 200, “Paint the Town Red” returns for a second week at No. 1 on the Hot 100. Why do you think Doja has found more success with the lead single of this era of hers than with its parent album?

Stephen Daw: Simply, you can’t keep a good song down! “Paint the Town Red” is a perfect bridge between the pop-leaning sensibilities of Planet Her and the darker, hip-hop focused stylings of Scarlet, allowing Doja to flex her skills as a singer, a rapper and a provocateur. For all the big swings she takes on her album, “Paint the Town Red” is a surefire win-win for old and new fans alike.

Kyle Denis: With an evolved fashion sense that featured a shaved head accompanied by horrorcore and punk aesthetics, the Doja of Scarlet is very far removed from the way she presented herself during the Planet Her era. Given that Doja went out of her way to lambast her previous two records – the most successful ones in her catalog – as “cash grabs,” it makes sense that audiences would gravitate to the Scarlet song that most closely recalls the Doja they fell in love with in 2020. “Paint the Town Red” isn’t a carbon copy of any of the songs on Amala or Hot Pink, but it’s certainly closer to that sound than Scarlet cuts like “Demons” or “WYM Freestyle.”

Rylee Johnston: She knows how to market her work on social media, and you can see the positive effects, especially with “Paint the Town Red.” Her skill and proficiency on TikTok ultimately helped skyrocket the single to a top performing position — but it’s a lot harder to do the same with an entire album.

Jason Lipshutz: Within the compelling hip-hop potpourri of Scarlet, “Paint the Town Red” stands out as the most immediate pop-crossover entry point. I don’t believe that the rap slant of Scarlet is less accessible than the pop overtures of Planet Her (which still had a ton of rap DNA in there, to be honest), but it’s also not shocking that “Paint the Town Red” has stood out from the pack, and made define the entire Scarlet era. Doja Cat has turned into one of top 40’s most consistent hit-makers, and as she continues patiently establishing her reputation as an albums artist, she’s still scoring smashes in the meantime.

Andrew Unterberger: I think we’re seeing more and more that hit singles in the TikTok era do not necessarily correlate to hit albums — it helps, sure, but the things that make one song go viral and the things that inspire a fanbase to stream an album millions and millions of times over don’t really seem to be the same. (For the record, this used to be a much more common phenomenon — artists like Pitbull and Flo Rida who scored pop smashes regularly without ever seriously threatening the top of the 200 — but they feel rarer in a streaming-dominated landscape, where the biggest albums artists and the biggest pop stars are generally one and the same.)

3. While the album has not really been streamed in bulk — only one song from it debuts on the Hot 100 this week — that one song, new focus track “Agora Hills,” is off to a pretty good start on the chart, debuting at No. 18. Do you think the song will have legs as another long-lasting hit of Doja’s?

Stephen Daw: I think so, but with a few caveats. “Agora Hills” is an immediate standout from Scarlet, and fans unanimously chose it as one of their favorites of the collection. But with the music video already out, and a bonafide streaming and radio hit already guaranteed in “Paint the Town Red,” I’m not quite sure if “Agora” will ascend that much further into the chart’s upper echelons. But I think it’s definitely in for a good, long stay in the 10’s and 20’s.

Kyle Denis: I hope so! “Agora Hills” is easily one of the strongest songs on Scarlet, and it’s definitely well on its way to replicating – or even expanding on – the success of “Need to Know,” a similarly sultry R&B-rap hybrid from Planet Her. The song has tons of meme potential, is ridiculously catchy, and has genuine multi-format appeal. Whether or not it can reach higher than No. 18 depends on timing more than anything else.

Rylee Johnston: It has the potential to, but she would need to continue keeping everyone talking about her album. Especially with more artists releasing new music, the less people are listening to her album and talking about the focus track, then the easier it is for the song to continue descending on the chart. Her album is still fresh on people’s minds and she needs to use that to her advantage.

Jason Lipshutz: Any track from Scarlet that has longevity as a single will have to wait a few weeks (or more likely, months) for “Paint the Town Red” to slow down a bit, but Doja Cat has demonstrated an ability to effortlessly spin multiple hits off of a project dating back to her Hot Pink days. The vibe of “Agora Hills” is radically different than that of “Paint the Town Red” — one is a sensual rumination on private romance, the other is a galactic chest-thump — and I think that will work in its favor as radio programmers move on from her current smash, onto something a bit softer from a proven brand. I foresee a slow-growing top 10 hit here.

Andrew Unterberger: I don’t know if it’ll threaten the top spot, but it certainly feels on pace to mirror some of the long-tail hits from the Planet Her era. It might not be the radio catnip that “Woman” or “Need to Know” proved to be, but it’s such a vibe that it seems likely to be regular fodder for playlists and TikTok videos for months to come still. And just generally speaking, when a Doja Cat song debuts well, that means it’s going to be around for a long time.

4. Planet Her had a very good first week, but was far more impressive in terms of its endurance, continuing to spawn new hit singles nearly a year into its release. Do you think Scarlet will ultimately follow a similar trajectory?

Stephen Daw: I don’t think so, and I think that’s perfectly fine. The ethos behind Scarlet, from what I can tell, was for Doja to re-establish herself as a hip-hop superstar while also dabbling in some darker, horror-fueled imagery. She did that with ease, and the album stands out as a singular artistic statement in her discography. Barring some high-profile features on A-list remixes, I don’t see Scarlet becoming the enduring smash that Planet Her was — but it doesn’t really need to be that, either.

Kyle Denis: I think Scarlet has the potential to follow a similar trajectory. There’s definitely a scenario where songs like “Gun,” “Agora Hills,” “Go Off,” and “Can’t Wait” build Scarlet into a years-long behemoth. Nonetheless, because the album campaign has been so rocky — and there aren’t any songs as immediately accessible as those that have already been named radio singles or focus tracks — I think it’s more likely that the Scarlet era ends up being a bit briefer than the Planet Her era.

Rylee Johnston: It very well could especially if Doja Cat uses the horror element to her advantage. Listeners seem to have positive reactions to her new album and if she enters October, which is also spooky season, with the same amount of drive that she had while promoting her singles, then it could definitely hit more singles. Whether it’s bringing back the demon memes she made while promoting that single, she should really lean into the scary, horror vibes while everyone’s thinking about it.

Jason Lipshutz: Yeah, I think that this might just be Doja Cat’s singular lane, as a cerebral pop star whose songs take a few minutes for the rest of the world to catch up to them. A good example is “Vegas” from the Elvis soundtrack last year, which started slow but gained momentum before eventually reaching the top 10 and radio ubiquity; a similar fate may await Scarlet, which strikes a lot of bold poses, chart performance be damned. “Paint the Town Red” is already enormous, and I think there will be two or three more hits from the project (let’s hope “F–k the Girls (FTG)” is one of them!)

Andrew Unterberger: I wouldn’t necessarily bet on it, but it absolutely could happen. Each of Doja’s last two albums spawned multiple smashes well after their initial release — due to a combination of her being a promotional savant and her having a surfeit of great songs whose charms take a while to fully reveal themselves. If eight months from now we looked foolish for this discussion prematurely framing Scarlet as a commercial disappointment, I couldn’t say I’d be shocked.

5. Doja Cat has been one of the decade’s biggest and best-performing commercial artists — our staff named her one of the top 10 pop stars of each of the last two calendar years, and she’ll have a pretty good case for a third straight spot this year. But unlike most of the other artists at her level, she has yet to score a No. 1 album, and she seems to be moving in the wrong direction. How much do you think that matters in gauging her pop star resumé?

Stephen Daw: Not much at all. You can’t seriously look at artists like Dua Lipa, Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion and say that they haven’t achieved superstar status because their albums haven’t hit No. 1, so you shouldn’t do so with Doja either.

Kyle Denis: I don’t think it matters much that Doja has yet to score a No. 1 album. Rihanna didn’t reach the summit of the Billboard 200 until her seventh try, and by that point, no one was genuinely doubting her place at the top of the pop ecosystem. I think what’s most important for Doja’s — and what she’s already proving – is consistency. Doja’s true mainstream breakthrough arrived in 2020 during the pandemic, and a number of artists who also broke through during that time have struggled to maintain that momentum. With a third consecutive top 10 album, her first unaccompanied No. 1 single (also her first to spend multiple weeks at the top), and a headlining arena tour kicking off at the end of the month – Doja is in a really good place right now. By the year’s end she’ll have filled in a couple blanks on her pop star resumé that are probably more important than a No. 1 album right now.

I don’t doubt her ability to reach No. 1 – it’s likely that Planet Her would’ve gotten there in a slightly less crowded week – but the lack of a chart-topping album isn’t make or break for her right now. For an artist as chameleonic as she is, it’s far more important and impressive that she continues to carry swaths of fans through each iteration of her artistry – no matter how different each one may be from the last.

Rylee Johnston: Doja Cat continues to be talked about — and since she has such a strong presence on social media, I don’t think it matters. Most artists have had at least one album that’s not as successful as the rest and I don’t think it discounts the success she has received, so far. What could come to hurt her in the future, is the rift between her and her fans. If that continues, then the downward descend will most likely continue.

Jason Lipshutz: My take is that this specific achievement doesn’t hinder Doja Cat as a modern pop star, but that if and when she does score a No. 1 album, it will represent a new level of her stardom. Although Doja has plenty of hit singles and a one-of-a-kind persona — a combination that is driving arena ticket sales as we speak — once she becomes the type of artist that put out an album and automatically earn blockbuster numbers, she’ll be even more unstoppable as a cultural force. It’s been a whirlwind few years for Doja, and there’s nothing lacking in her arsenal right now — but often, checking every single box of superstardom takes time, and this specific one might have to wait a few more years.

Andrew Unterberger: Depends what you’re trying to gauge, I guess. If you’re comparing her to the Taylor Swift/Drake/Adele commercial level of star — maybe you could throw Bad Bunny, Morgan Wallen and SZA in there too at this point — then yeah, it for sure matters that Doja can’t do first-week numbers the way they do. But if you’re just talking about pop stars whose songs and personas best capture and define and era, it’s pretty hard to leave her out of that discussion. It’d be tough to name three artists of any kind who feel more like the 2020s so far than Doja Cat.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Staind’s ‘Confessions of the Fallen’ Bows in Top 10 on Album Sales Chart

10/6/2023
By Keith Caulfield

Plus: Kylie Minogue, The Rose, Tom MacDonald & Adam Calhoun, and Cannibal Corpse debut in top 10.

Staind returns with its first studio album in more than a decade, as Confessions of the Fallen debuts at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Oct. 7), securing the group its sixth top 10 on the tally. The new set sold 11,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 28, according to Luminate.

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, the latest releases from Kylie Minogue, The Rose, Tom MacDonald & Adam Calhoun and Cannibal Corpse all arrive.

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.

The Confessions album was preceded by a pair of hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, “Lowest In Me” and “Here and Now.” The former hit No. 1 in August, spending two weeks in charge, and it marked the band’s fifth No. 1 and first leader since 2011’s “Not Again” ruled for seven weeks.

Of Confessions’ first-week sales, physical sales comprise 7,000 (5,000 on CD and 2,000 on vinyl) and digital downloads comprise a little over 4,000.

Confessions marks the first studio release for the group on BMG, after its six studio albums from 1999 through 2011 were all released through either Elektra or Atlantic.

While Staind hasn’t issued a studio set since Sept. 2011, its frontman, Aaron Lewis, has been busy notching hits on Billboard’s since the spring of 2011. Lewis has scored a total of five solo albums on Top Album Sales, including the chart-topping Sinner in 2016. His most recent solo release, Frayed at Both Ends, debuted and peaked at No. 5 last year.

At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts spends a third straight week atop the list with 23,000 copies sold (down 49%).

Kylie Minogue’s new studio album Tension bows at No. 2 with 19,500 sold – her biggest sales week in nearly 20 years. It’s the third top 10-charting effort for Minogue.

V’s Layover falls 2-3 with 12,000 sold (down 45%). The Rose nabs its first top 10-charting set on Top Album Sales as Dual launches at No. 5 (10,500), Tom MacDonald and Adam Calhoun join forces for their second top 10 set as The Brave 2 launches at No. 6 (10,000) and Cannibal Corpse rocks in at No. 7 with Chaos Horrific (8,500; the band’s third top 10).

Rounding out the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart is three former No. 1s: Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (9-8 with 7,500; down 18%), Swift’s Midnights (11-9 with just over 7,000; down 8%) and NewJeans’ 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ (holding at No. 10 with 7,000; down 16%).

In the week ending Sept. 28, there were 1.559 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 6.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.232 million (down 7.8%) and digital albums comprised 327,000 (down 2.1%).

There were 537,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Sept. 28 (down 6.5% week-over-week) and 686,000 vinyl albums sold (down 8.8%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 25.586 million (up 0.6% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 34.099 million (up 19.4%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 73.825 million (up 6.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 60.080 million (up 10.5%) and digital album sales total 13.745 million (down 9.7%).

[areyoureadytojump]

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www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/staind-confessions-of-the-fallen-debuts-billboard-album-sales-chart-1235436409/