Billboard 200: 2/20/10: Lady Antebellum #1: 208k

[areyoureadytojump]

SOUNDSCAN (WEEK ENDING 2/7/10)

1) Lady Antebellum – Need You Now – 208,828 (After 2 weeks – 689,796)
2) Lil Wayne – Rebirth – 175,620
3) Nick Jonas & The Administration – Who I Am – 81,537

Other Debuts
8 ) Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2 – 48,564

[radicaltheory]

Idol Chatter
Many winners and performers from the Grammy Awards saw significant sales increases last week -- notably, for our purposes, Carrie Underwood. The former American Idol champ saw all three of her albums makes The Billboard 200 with week-over-week percentage increases in the double digits.

Play On moved back into the Top 20, as a 65 percent increase brought the album's weekly sales to nearly 30,000. Both Some Hearts and Carnival Ride benefited as well, seeing more than 30 percent growth.

Also seeing increases last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan: Albums by Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and Kris Allen. And Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment passed the half-million sales mark.

[Push The Button]

Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" stands tall at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a second week, as the set shifts 209,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan. Last week, the set bowed atop the list with 481,000, the biggest sales week for a country album since Taylor Swift's "Fearless" opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 592,000 copies in Nov. 2008.

Lady Antebellum's second week of 209,000 is down an expected 57% compared to its premiere week. Last year, most high-bowing country albums dropped by anywhere between 55-60% in sales in their second week. And, since Lady A performed the new album's title track on the Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, the album's second-week drop-off was softened.

The Grammy Awards hit a high note in the Nielsen ratings, with 25.8 million viewers -- the most for the show since 2004 and up 35% compared to last year's broadcast.

Speaking of the Grammy show, another of its performers, Lil Wayne, debuts at No. 2 with his oft-delayed "Rebirth" set, selling 176,000 copies. It's the seventh top 10 album for the hip-hop king, who was scheduled to be sentenced to a year-long prison term yesterday, but saw the sentencing delayed due to dental surgery.

Wayne of course saw his last album, "Tha Carter III," debut at No. 1 in 2008 with 1 million sold in its first week. "Rebirth" actually did better than initially projected, as last Tuesday (Feb. 2), industry prognosticators initially estimated that the album was going to sell in the neighborhood of 125,000 to 150,000.

The Grammy love continues with the chart's second-highest debuting album, Nick Jonas & the Administration's "Who I Am" at No. 3 with 82,000. The Jonas brother didn't perform on the Grammys, but he and his brothers Joe and Kevin did introduce another trio's performance -- Lady Antebellum's. Nick's proper solo debut also starts better than expected, as last week some observers had the album launching with around 60,000 to 65,000 copies.

The third and final debut in the top 10 is an act that, while not part of the Grammy Awards festivities, has been nominated multiple times previously -- Rob Zombie. His "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" starts at No. 8 with 49,000. The set is the rocker/director's first effort on Loud & Proud/Roadrunner after having spent almost 18 years with Geffen Records. Zombie's last studio set, "Educated Horses," opened at No. 5 with 108,000 in 2006.

As for the holdovers on the chart that populate the top 10 this week, all but one of them have an explicit connection to the Grammy Awards. (And even the one that didn't -- Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed at Dream" -- was joked about on the show by presenter and winner Stephen Colbert.) Show-opener and two-time winner Lady Gaga sees her "The Fame" get pushed down one spot to No. 4, but sells 79,000 (up 17%). Outside the top 10, her "Fame Monster" EP drops two rungs to No. 12 with 34,000 (up 8%). The "2010 Grammy Nominees" compilation climbs three slots to No. 5 with 71,000 (up 55%), while performer and winner the Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." jumps four spots to No. 6 with 70,000 (up 76%).

Taylor Swift, who not only won four trophies (two of them on air) but also performed on the show, sees her album of the year winner "Fearless" rise from No. 13 to No. 7 with 53,000 (up 58%). The aforementioned Boyle falls five spots to No. 9 with 46,000 (down 21%). Finally, best new artist winner Zac Brown Band reaches the top 10 for the first time with "The Foundation," as it climbs 12 slots to No. 10 with 40,000 (up 82%).

Outside the top 10, Grammy shines on a bevy of albums that make great strides up the chart. Among the most notable increases: Performer and winner Beyonce rises 21 rungs to No. 14 with "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" (32,000; up 101%). Beyonce won two trophies during the broadcast, along with another four during the pre-show, for a total of six wins -- marking the most by a female artist on one night in Grammy history. (Her total career haul? 16 -- the third-most of all female artists.)

Pink's show-stopping performance of "Glitter in the Air" aids the surge of her "Funhouse" album, which flies from No. 61 to No. 15 with 31,000 (up 234%). It also doesn't hurt that Pink chatted and performed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Feb. 5. Record of the year winner Kings of Leon see its "Only by the Night" set jump from No. 39 to No. 24 with 24,000 (up 66%). Album of the year nominee (and performer) Dave Matthews Band rises from No. 93 to No. 47 with "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" (13,000; up 114%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Feb. 7) totaled 6.72 million units, up 3.3% compared to the sum last week (6.50 million) and down 8.3% compared to the comparable sales week of 2009 (7.32 million).

[HolidayGuy]

Nice second-week for Lady A.

So, I suppose it's safe to say that The Fame will "settle" for a very nice No. 2 peak (and a great chart run, nonetheless).

[Tea-why]

Nice move for Pink! :)

[Wrecking Ball]

yay Lady A.
lmao at the numbers for NJATA

[Black Jesus]

Yay for GaGa!

Lady A's numbers are awesome. Their new album is better than their first, IMO, so they deserve it

[paulslilhellcat]

can't wait till the full chart leaks if it does

[Creme de la Creme]

Week Ending Feb. 7, 2010: Pink Steals The Show (Again)
by Paul Grein in Chart Watch

Pink didn't win any Grammys last week, but her show-stopping, audience-drenching performance of "Glitter In The Air" makes her the biggest post-show sales gainer. "Glitter In The Air" sold 114,000 digital copies, to enter Hot Digital Songs at #8. And Pink's Funhouse album vaults from #61 to #15 on The Billboard 200. This is its first appearance in the top 20 since March 15. (Maybe now Pink, whose skimpy outfit drew much comment, can afford to buy some clothes!)

Three other albums return to the top 20 on the heels of Grammy exposure. Zac Brown Band's The Foundation jumps from #22 to #10. This is its first appearance in the top 10 in its entire 64-week run. Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce leaps from #35 to #14, its first appearance in the top 20 since March. And Carrie Underwood's Play On jumps from #29 to #18.

"Glitter In The Air" wasn't the only song that was performed on the Grammys that went from being not listed on the top 200 Digital Songs chart last week to a solid posting this week. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli, which raised money for Haitian earthquake relief, debuts at #44; Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" re-enters the chart at #71; Beyonce's "If I Were A Boy" re-enters at #81; and "Blame It" by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain re-enters at #118.

In two cases, fans preferred the original recordings to the Grammy show versions which were made available for download. Green Day's "21 Guns" vaults from #44 to #28. The band's Grammy show version of the song, which featured the cast of American Idiot, enters the chart at #125. Lady Gaga's "Speechless" re-enters the chart at #123. Her Grammy show version featuring Elton John enters at #155.

The Black Eyed Peas' Grammy show medley of "Imma Be" and "I Gotta Feeling" boosted both songs. "Imma Be" jumps to #1 on Hot Digital Songs. "I Gotta Feeling" rebounds to #7. "Imma Be" sold 236,000 copies this week, bringing its eight-week total to 1,082,000. It's the Peas' fifth #1 on Hot Digital Songs; its third from its current album, The E.N.D. "I Gotta Feeling" sold 119,000 copies this week, bringing its 35-week total to 4,961,000.
(Next week's chart news today: "I Gotta Feeling" and "Boom Boom Pow" will both top the 5 million mark in paid downloads next week. That will give the Peas half of what will then be four songs to reach the 5 million mark.)

Lady Antebellum's Need You Now tops The Billboard 200 for the second week in a row. It's the first country album to spend its first two weeks at #1 since Dixie Chicks' Taking The Long Way in May and June 2006. (No, Taylor Swift's Fearless didn't do this. It debuted at #1, but didn't return to the top spot until its fifth week.) Lady A performed "Need You Now" on the Grammys. That exposure helped the song jump from #8 to #2 on Hot Digital Songs. It will top the 2 million mark in paid downloads next week.

Lil Wayne got both good and not-so-good news this week. The good news is that the judge in his New York gun possession case agreed to delay sentencing until March 2. The not-so-good news is that his new album, Rebirth, sold a so-so 176,000 copies in its first week. That's just 17% of the first-week sales of the rapper's 2008 album, Tha Carter III. That blockbuster opened with sales of 1,006,000, which is the biggest one-week sales total that any album has tallied in nearly five years. (Rebirth didn't even match the first-week sales of 2005's Tha Carter II, which started with 238,000.)

Album sales are down, but that doesn't fully explain the drop-off. Among albums by rap artists, Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 started with sales of 476,000 in September. Lil Wayne's current, rock-oriented album is a departure from his usual sound, but that doesn't explain it either: Kanye West's pop-oriented 808's & Heartbreak was also a departure from his sound and it got off to a fast start (450,000) in November 2008.

A total of 12 albums have debuted with sales of 1,000,000 or more copies in the Nielsen/SoundScan era. There have been studio follow-ups to 11 of these albums. In its first week, Rebirth achieved a slightly smaller percentage of its predecessor's first-week sales than any of these other follow-ups. Rebirth takes that dubious distinction from Backstreet Boys' Never Gone, the boy band's 2005 follow-up to its 2000 smash Black & Blue. In its first week, Never Gone sold 18% of what its predecessor had sold in its first week.

Lil Wayne's widely-reported legal woes may be inhibiting sales. Also, it may be that Tha Carter III was such a phenomenon that it's unrealistic to expect him to approach those sales levels again.
Rebirth is this week's #1 Digital Album, with sales of 42,000 digital copies. Tha Carter III sold 100,000 digital copies in its first week. It has sold 348,000 copies to date, more than any other rap album in digital history.

Lady Gaga's The Fame this week surpasses Taylor Swift's Fearless as the best-selling digital album ever by a solo artist. The Fame has sold 605,000 digital copies, to 599,000 for Fearless. Only Coldplay's Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends has sold more digital copies (766,000). Can Gaga surpass Coldplay? At this point, I wouldn't put anything past her.
Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

1. Lady Antebellum, Need You Now, 209,000. The album holds at #1 for the second week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Need You Now," which jumps from #8 to #2.
2. Lil Wayne, Rebirth, 176,000. This new entry is Lil Wayne's eighth top 10 album (counting a 1999 album with Hot Boy$ and a 2005 collaboration with Birdman). Five songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Knockout" (featuring Nicki Minaj), which debuts at #20.
3. Nick Jonas & The Administration, Who I Am, 82,000. This new entry is Nick Jonas' first project apart from Jonas Brothers, whose last four key albums made the top five. "Who I Am" jumps from #95 to #64 on Hot Digital Songs.
4. Lady Gaga, The Fame, 79,000. The album dips from #3 to #4 in its 67th week. This is its 33rd week in the top 10. Seven songs from the expanded version of the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Bad Romance," which slips from #3 to #6.
5. Various Artists, 2010 Grammy Nominees, 71,000. The compilation rebounds from #8 to #5. This is its third week in the top 10.
6. The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D., 70,000. The former #1 album jumps from #10 to #6 in its 35th week. This is its 22nd week in the top 10. Four songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Imma Be," which jumps from #2 to #1.
7. Taylor Swift, Fearless, 53,000. The former #1 album rebounds from #13 to #7 in its 65th week. This is its 55th week in the top 10. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "You Belong With Me," which dips from #47 to #49.
8. Rob Zombie, Hellbilly Deluxe 2, 49,000. This new entry is Zombie's fourth top 10 solo album. This is a sequel to his 1998 solo debut, Hellbilly Deluxe, which hit #5. Zombie formerly fronted White Zombie, which had a top 10 album in 1995.
9. Susan Boyle, I Dreamed A Dream, 46,000. The former #1 album drops from #4 to #9 in its 11th week. It's the first album by a female artist to spend its first 11 weeks in the top 10 since Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce.
10. Zac Brown Band, The Foundation, 40,000. The album jumps from #22 to #10 in its 64th week. This is its first week in the top 10. It previously climbed as high as #11. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Chicken Fried," which jumps from #77 to #47.

Hope For Haiti Now falls from #2 to #19. The digital-only album sold 29,000 copies this week, bringing its three-week total to 343,000. It's already #15 on the list of all-time digital album sellers.

Four other albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Barry Manilow's The Greatest Love Songs Of All Time plummets from #5 to #40, Michael Jackson's This Is It drops from #6 to #11, Corinne Bailey Rae's The Sea falls from #7 to #23, and Celtic Woman's Songs From The Heart drops from #9 to #35. This is the 11th week that This Is It has been the #1 movie soundtrack.

Michael Jackson's Number Ones drops from #31 to #36 on The Billboard 200. This is the 24th time in the past 33 weeks that this has been the #1 Catalog Album...Neil Sedaka's Music Of My Life debuts at #97. The pop veteran first charted 47 years ago with Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits. The album reached #55.

The Who's "Baba O'Riley" enters Hot Digital Songs at #111 in the immediate wake of the band's half-time performance at the Super Bowl. (The game was Sunday night, which is also the close of the tracking week.) The song was featured on the band's classic 1971 album Who's Next, but it wasn't released as a single ("Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Behind Blue Eyes" got the nod instead). Despite its non-single status, it has sold 1,106,000 digital copies.

USA for Africa's 1985 mega-hit "We Are The World" enters Hot Digital Songs at 184 on the strength of news reports of a remake of the song. The original has sold 283,000 digital copies to date. It will be interesting to see how well the new version does. I expect it will get off to a fast start, but will ultimately fall short of the success of the original, which topped the Hot 100 for four weeks and won Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. It's hard to repeat a "once in a lifetime" phenomenon.

Dear John was #1 at the box-office this past weekend, replacing Avatar. The Dear John soundtrack enters The Billboard 200 at #136. It features Amanda Seyfried's "Little House," which enters Hot Digital Songs at #126, and The Swell Season's "The Moon."
The Avatar soundtrack, meanwhile, drops from #91 to #104. It has sold a mere 90,000 copies to date. The movie was #1 at the box-office for seven consecutive weekends, the longest run by any movie since Titanic. So why isn't this soundtrack performing even remotely like the Titanic soundtrack did? Good question. The romance between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet that is at the heart of that movie is a key reason, along with the presence of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," an extremely effective piece of movie music. It sold the movie, it sold the soundtrack, it sold the song. That's not easy to replicate.

Crazy World: Alicia Keys' The Element Of Freedom, which became her first album to fall short of the #1 spot in the U.S., this week it becomes her first album to reach #1 in the U.K. Can we not agree on anything? Actually, we can. Owl City's "Fireflies," which topped the Hot 100 for two weeks last fall, this week logs its third week at #1 in the U.K.

Heads Up: Sade's Soldier Of Love, the group's first studio album since 2000, is expected to debut at #1 next week with sales in the range of 375,000 to 400,000. R&B star Jaheim will return with Another Round, while country star Josh Turner will be back with Haywire. Also due: TobyMac's Tonight, Celtic Thunder's It's Entertainment and the Valentine's Day soundtrack.

[Creme de la Creme]

375-400k predicted for Sade next week. Fantastic opening.

[HolidayGuy]

Good analyzing by Grein on Lil' Wayne's drop, and how it's various factors contributing to the major drop in his opening sales.

[Rodze]

1 LADY ANTEBELLUM NEED YOU NOW 208828 689796
2 LIL WAYNE REBIRTH 175620 175960
3 NICK JONAS & THE ADMINISTRATION WHO I AM 81537 81636
4 LADY GAGA FAME 79417 2726359
5 VARIOUS 2010 GRAMMY NOMINEES 70601 164826
6 BLACK EYED PEAS E.N.D. (ENERGY NEVER DIES) 69662 1999018
7 TAYLOR SWIFT FEARLESS 52968 5519014
8 ROB ZOMBIE HELLBILLY DELUXE 2 48564 48668
9 SUSAN BOYLE I DREAMED A DREAM 46388 3461364
10 ZAC BROWN BAND FOUNDATION 40006 1568890
11 MICHAEL JACKSON MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT 34947 1439421
12 LADY GAGA FAME MONSTER (8TRK) 33719 733388
13 ALICIA KEYS ELEMENT OF FREEDOM 33703 998937
14 BEYONCE' I AM...SASHA FIERCE 32192 2741929
15 PINK FUNHOUSE 31468 1544442
16 MARY J. BLIGE STRONGER 31022 563538
17 KE$HA ANIMAL 30222 314732
18 CARRIE UNDERWOOD PLAY ON 29849 1292850
19 VARIOUS HOPE FOR HAITI 29186 343102
20 JUSTIN BEIBER MY WORLD 28734 877153

[galvanize]

Unless there's more promo underway, it's the end of the line for one Scottish Boyle. :(

[kylecburke]

3 million and still in top 20...i think she will still be around by this christmas

[Deleted]

The decline has started I think

[Tanisha Thomas.]

I don't think it matters. Her label already used her as a gimmick to pull in money. Mission accomplished. Now she can go away. :)

[areyoureadytojump]

Sorry, I don't have time to update this with the 2/13 numbers.

Will the following albums be certified by the RIAA on tomorrow's chart?

Numbers are from the 2/6/10 chart:

Mary J Blige 504k
Adam Lambert 476k
Now 32 732k
Eminem 1,791,066
Trey Songz 473k
Norah Jones 666k
Miley Cyrus 1,248,102
Breaking Benjamin 421k
Daughtry 907k
Colbie Caillat 397k
Pearl Jam 473k
Reba McEntire 411k
Brad Paisley 484k
Kenny Chesney 565k

Albums only on the BB200 for 5+ weeks are listed and have sold over 400k.

[Ling-Ling]

Amazing for Pink and Beyonce. Those albums just won't die!

Is anyone reminded of that hilarious Funhouse vs. Circus board that got locked? Pink smoked her worldwide and now it looks like she's going to pass her domestically. Get it!

[HolidayGuy]

It's true, that Boyle's album can only hang around for so long, without a hit and some notable promo. But, I think it's performed beyond most people's expectations.

[Alex]

Feb 10, 2010 19:49:16 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Amazing for Pink and Beyonce. Those albums just won't die!

Is anyone reminded of that hilarious Funhouse vs. Circus board that got locked? Pink smoked her worldwide and now it looks like she's going to pass her domestically. Get it!

Why do you guys keep trying to downplay Britney's success? until pink, beyonce, or anyone else can produce both a 13X platinum and 9X platinum: there is no comparison.

[PDC1987]

Feb 10, 2010 19:49:16 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Amazing for Pink and Beyonce. Those albums just won't die!

Is anyone reminded of that hilarious Funhouse vs. Circus board that got locked? Pink smoked her worldwide and now it looks like she's going to pass her domestically. Get it!

Which I called a year ago. Go Pink!

[PDC1987]

Feb 10, 2010 21:21:41 GMT -5 Alex said:

Feb 10, 2010 19:49:16 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Amazing for Pink and Beyonce. Those albums just won't die!

Is anyone reminded of that hilarious Funhouse vs. Circus board that got locked? Pink smoked her worldwide and now it looks like she's going to pass her domestically. Get it!

Why do you guys keep trying to downplay Britney's success? until pink, beyonce, or anyone else can produce both a 13X platinum and 9X platinum: there is no comparison.

I think you mean a 14x Platinum and a 10x Platinum album.

The Backstreet Boys have a 14x Platinum album and a 13x Platinum album, does that mean nobody should talk Britney up?

[kylecburke]

Feb 10, 2010 22:26:01 GMT -5 PDC1987 said:

Feb 10, 2010 21:21:41 GMT -5 Alex said:

Why do you guys keep trying to downplay Britney's success? until pink, beyonce, or anyone else can produce both a 13X platinum and 9X platinum: there is no comparison.

I think you mean a 14x Platinum and a 10x Platinum album.

The Backstreet Boys have a 14x Platinum album and a 13x Platinum album, does that mean nobody should talk Britney up?

also not really related in this context...that was 90's early 00's Brittany...shes been gone since 2000...

[HolidayGuy]

Spears' Circus sales likely have been dampered by The Singles Collection (even though, like most recent compilations, it hasn't been a smash or anything).

Pink's sales are impressive enough that no one should feel the need to downplay another's performance. Pink has enjoyed nice success- she's been one of the top 40 format's biggest stars in the last decade; so has Spears.

[Legoman]

^
So true.. she metamorphed into a pigney now

[slw84]

Feb 10, 2010 21:21:41 GMT -5 Alex said:

Feb 10, 2010 19:49:16 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Amazing for Pink and Beyonce. Those albums just won't die!

Is anyone reminded of that hilarious Funhouse vs. Circus board that got locked? Pink smoked her worldwide and now it looks like she's going to pass her domestically. Get it!

Why do you guys keep trying to downplay Britney's success? until pink, beyonce, or anyone else can produce both a 13X platinum and 9X platinum: there is no comparison.

Actually its 14x and 10x platinum. But yeah, all three are successful. It's funny because Pink and Britney were major touring acts yet sold less than Beyonce. Yet Beyonce did constant promo. They all have some sort of success either way. I think Pink will eventually cross Circus' sales but in the end there are still some pros and cons for each artist being compared, so...

[slw84]

Feb 10, 2010 22:26:01 GMT -5 PDC1987 said:

Feb 10, 2010 21:21:41 GMT -5 Alex said:

Why do you guys keep trying to downplay Britney's success? until pink, beyonce, or anyone else can produce both a 13X platinum and 9X platinum: there is no comparison.

I think you mean a 14x Platinum and a 10x Platinum album.

The Backstreet Boys have a 14x Platinum album and a 13x Platinum album, does that mean nobody should talk Britney up?

Wow...I didn't know BSB sold like that. I don't think any artists success should be downplayed because all three that were "compared" have achieved successes with their album that the other one's couldn't.

[slw84]

Feb 10, 2010 23:20:09 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Spears' Circus sales likely have been dampered by The Singles Collection (even though, like most recent compilations, it hasn't been a smash or anything).

Pink's sales are impressive enough that no one should feel the need to downplay another's performance. Pink has enjoyed nice success- she's been one of the top 40 format's biggest stars in the last decade; so has Spears.

Well put. I mean although it would be wrong comparing a hit to a flop is one thing. But each of these three artists have achieved things with their current album that the others did not and probably could not have. All successes IMO.

[slw84]

Feb 10, 2010 23:26:30 GMT -5 Legoman said:

^
So true.. she metamorphed into a pigney now

I guess as long as she remains successful someone will always dedicate their time, energy, and effort to being negative about her and throwing daggers.


Keep the h888ters guilty, brit!

[areyoureadytojump]

No new RIAA certifications. I didn't think there would be with the snow storms in DC.