Next week’s Billboard 200 album chart will shine brightly with big gains courtesy of last Grammy Awards, which aired on Jan. 31.
Grammy winner and performer Lady Antebellum looks likely to remain on top of the tally for a second week with “Need You Now,” and Grammy exposure will also help many other artists and albums on the list.
A number of albums that were high on the chart last week will see handsome increases, including the “2010 Grammy Nominees” compilation. It will naturally see a sizable jump, perhaps selling in the range of 90,000 to 100,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Feb. 6. Last week, it sold 45,000 and was No. 8.
Industry prognosticators suggest that Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” could move as much as 80,000 to 90,000, up from the 68,000 it sold last week when it was No. 3. Gaga opened the show with a medley of “Poker Face” and “Speechless,” and won two Grammy awards during the show’s pre-telecast.
The Black Eyed Peas — which earned three trophies during the pre-show, and also performed “Imma Be” and “I Gotta Feeling” during the broadcast — could see its album of the year-nominated “The E.N.D.” move between 65,000 to 75,000 copies. Last week, the set was No. 10 with 40,000.
Four-time winner Taylor Swift, who claimed the album of the year prize for “Fearless,” could sell around 60,000 with the set. Last week, the title — which has already motored through 5.5 million copies and was last year’s best-selling album — was at No. 13 with 34,000.
Some of the most stunning chart jumps next week will come from Pink’s “Funhouse,” Zac Brown Band’s “The Foundation” and Dave Matthews Band’s “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.”
Sources suggest that Pink’s album could shift upwards of 30,000 copies by week’s end on Feb. 7. That would mark the effort’s best sales week in a year and could send it flying back into the top 25 on the chart. Last week, the title was at No. 61, selling 9,000 copies. On the Grammy show, Pink performed a high-flying rendition of the album’s “Glitter in the Air” and it immediately became one of the most buzzed-about performances of the night. “Funhouse” will also profit from a chat and performance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on Feb. 5.
Zac Brown Band’s “The Foundation” may sell near 50,000 copies, perhaps moving it into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart for the first time. The group, which performed on the show and took home the best new artist trophy, has so far peaked at No. 11 with the album. Last week, the title was No. 22 on the list, shifting 22,000 copies.
As for Dave Matthews Band’s “Big Whiskey,” the album of the year nominee might shift between 15,000 to 20,000 copies, which could push it back into the top 40 for the first time since last September. The band, which also performed “You and Me” on the broadcast, was sitting at No. 93 on the Billboard 200 last week (6,000) with its former No. 1 album.
These sales figures are projections from industry sources and based on internal data. The true, final weekly Nielsen SoundScan sales numbers, as reflected in the Billboard 200 album chart, won’t be released until Feb. 10.
