Though it seemed like there was going to be a race for No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Ariana Grande’s “Yours Truly” comes out on top by a sizable margin.
The debut effort from the 20-year-old singer/actress bows atop the list with 138,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Behind it, R&B singer/reality TV star Tamar Braxton debuts with “Love & War,” which launches at No. 2 with 114,000. (Braxton also bows at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top R&B Albums charts.)
Grande is the first female artist to debut at No. 1 with her first album since January 2010, when Ke$ha’s “Animal” opened atop the chart. In total, Grande is just the 15th woman to bow at No. 1 with her first album.
As for Braxton, she tallies the largest sales week for a female R&B/hip-hop album since last November, when Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” bowed with 159,000.
On Friday, Sept. 6, there was a bit of a competition brewing between “Yours Truly” and “Love & War.” At the time, industry sources suggested that “Yours Truly” was aiming for a start of around 115,000-120,000, while “Love & War” was eyeing a bow of 110,000-115,000.
A day earlier, Grande’s camp launched a successful download album promotion tied to an upcoming holiday party hosted by the singer. Consumers who purchased “Yours Truly” on her website (through Sunday, Sept. 8, the final day of the tracking week) will receive a ticket to one of a series of events with Grande later this year.
Label sources suggest the holiday party offer drove between 5,000 and 7,000 in sales for the album. Details of the holiday events haven’t been announced, but one could imagine they may include a concert by Grande and perhaps a meet-and-greet with her.
Grande’s sales were especially strong in the digital world, as 108,000 of her first-week sales were downloads, or 78%, of her debut. Comparably, Braxton’s album only moved 51,000 downloads — 45% of her debut. Braxton’s album, however, performed strongly as a CD with physical retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and Target.
Because of that, Braxton actually has the No. 1-selling physical album (63,000), while Grande’s set is the No. 7 physical seller (30,000). On the Digital Albums chart, Grande is No. 1 and Braxton No. 2.
Though “Love & War” didn’t perform incredibly strong as a download, it was offered at an attractive price in Braxton’s Web store: $3.99. The download also came with an autographed poster.
During release week, Grande’s album sold for $7.99 at iTunes and Amazon MP3, while it was also offered for $7.98 on her website. “Love & War” went for $10.99 at iTunes and $7.99 at Amazon MP3.
During release week Braxton performed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” (Sept. 3), “Live With Kelly & Michael” (Sept. 4) and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (Sept. 6). In addition, the second season of her reality TV show, WE tv’s “Tamar & Vince,” premiered Sept. 5.
As for Grande, she performed on NBC’s “Today” (Sept. 3, 6), “Live With Kelly & Michael” (Sept. 5) and “Fallon” (Sept. 6; the same night as Braxton). Her appearance on “Fallon” was seemingly scheduled at the last minute, as it wasn’t announced until late that day.
On the next-to-last day of the tracking week, both artists staged signing events in the Los Angeles area to get last-minute album sales. On Sept. 7, Grande appeared at a Best Buy in Burbank, while Braxton headed to a Best Buy in Culver City.
Perfect 10: For possibly the first time, one corporation dominates the entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Universal Music Group’s affiliated labels lock up Nos. 1-10, led by Katy Perry’s “Roar” (Capitol Records). The monopoly wouldn’t have been possible without last year’s acquisition of EMI’s recorded-music division by UMG. Of the top 10, two titles are from the former EMI fold: “Roar” and Capital Cities’ “Safe and Sound” (Lazy Hooks/Capitol) at No. 9. We can’t definitively say this is the first time a top 10 monopoly has happened, as researching this sort of feat is nearly impossible with label affiliations within groups shifting often throughout the years.