As expected, Disney’s soundtrack to “Frozen” refuses to budge from the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200. The set spends a lucky 13th nonconsecutive week at No. 1, selling 106,000 copies (down 8 percent) in the week ending May 4, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
At No. 2, however, is classical crossover violinist Lindsey Stirling, whose second album, “Shatter Me,” debuts with 56,000. The new independently distributed effort also hits No. 1 on Independent Albums, Classical Crossover Albums and Dance/Electronic Albums.
The album is the follow-up to Stirling’s breakthrough self-titled release, which bowed in 2012 and has sold 327,000 copies. It spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart – the sixth-longest run at No. 1 in the chart’s 20-year history. It also spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. As Shatter Me makes its debut on the Billboard 200, Stirling’s first album jumps 77-42 with 7,000 sold (up 63 percent).
“Shatter Me” is also the highest-charting independently distributed album on the Billboard 200 since Garth Brooks’ Walmart-exclusive 2013 box set “Blame It All on My Roots” spent three consecutive weeks in the top two.
Stirling’s album is distributed by Amped (for physical CDs) and TuneCore for downloads. Her last album was also an indie set, with digital handled partially by TuneCore and its physical release initially being fulfilled by Think Indie. Caroline picked up the physical distribution last October, at the same time the album began getting stocked at Target stores.
That increased distribution coincided with the album being reissued in a deluxe format, which kicked the title up the Billboard 200 to No. 23, selling 10,000 copies in the week ending Nov. 3. That was Stirling’s best sales frame until “Shatter Me”‘s arrival.
Meanwhile, “Frozen” is now one of only 39 albums in the history of the chart to have spent at least 13 weeks at No. 1. (The Billboard 200 became a regularly published weekly list in 1956.) “Frozen” also logs its 10th nonconsecutive week of sales exceeding 100,000 copies. “Frozen” might step aside next issue, as industry forecasters predict the “Now 50” album could bow at No. 1 with more than 120,000 sold in the week ending May 11. That number could grow larger with Mother’s Day gift giving (May 11). “Now 50” could mark the 18th No. 1 in the “Now That’s What I Call Music!” series’ history, and the line’s best sales week since “Now 41” sold 152,000 copies in the week ending March 11, 2012.