The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the new Feb. 11, 2017-dated Billboard 200 chart -- where Mayer and AFI may debut -- is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Sunday, Jan. 29.
Mayer last visited the Billboard 200 in 2013 with the full-length studio effort Paradise Valley, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 with 144,000 copies sold in its first week (according to Nielsen Music). If his new EP starts in the top 10, the singer/songwriter will earn his eighth top 10-charting album. As for rock band AFI, their new set also brings them back to the chart for the first time since 2013: they last charted with the studio set Burials, which debuted and peaked at No. 9 (25,000 sold in its first week).
Elsewhere in next week's top 10, the La La Land soundtrack could see a surge in units and sales following the Academy Award nominations announcement on Jan. 24. Prognosticators expect the musical film to pick up a bevy of nods, including best picture. In the tracking week ending Jan. 19, the album earned 42,000 units and ranked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The set has so far peaked at No. 2, when it bolted to the runner-up slot following its big night at the Golden Globe Awards.
