Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a sixth week, the longest run at the top since 2005 . . . As the big chart continues to get back to a normal post-Christmas state, a bevy of albums make headway on the tally, like Lady GaGa’s “The Fame” . . . “Mamma Mia!” continues its successful run in the top 20 of the chart . . . and the list’s two highest debuts, at Nos. 16 and 41, have an awful lot in common . . . In Progress Reports we’ve got updates on Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Nickelback and Eminem.
FLASH POINTS
• To no one’s surprise, Taylor Swift sits at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a sixth week with “Fearless” (72,000; down 20%). It’s the first album to spend six weeks at the top since 2005, when 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” logged its first six frames atop the tally.
• With the chart continuing to adjust back to normal post-Christmas activity, albums that increase or experience a relatively small drop in weekly sales notch big chart jumps. For example, Lady GaGa’s “The Fame” zips 26-14 with 21,000 and a 7% decline. Because overall album sales are down nearly 27% this week, a small drop often yields a nice upward move. Witness Katy Perry’s “One of the Boys” (moving 23-15 with 20,000; down 19%), Kings of Leon’s “Only By the Night” (33-17 with 19,000; down 5%), Adele’s “19” (47-34 with 14,000; down 12%), Rascal Flatts’ “Greatest Hits Volume One” (49-35 with 13,000; down 8%) and MGMT’s “Oracular Spectacular” (57-38 with 12,000; down 6%).
• While there is a lot of movement below the top 10 this week, the upper end of the chart is fairly stable. This week’s top 10 play musical chairs with each other, save for a slight switch at No. 10, where Akon’s “Freedom” skips up one spot to take over for the holiday compilation “All Wrapped Up,” which falls from No. 10 to No. 29 (15,000; down 63%). Just outside the top 10, at No. 11, is the “Mamma Mia!” soundtrack, which notches its 16th week in the top 20. That’s the most weeks in the top 20 for a soundtrack since “High School Musical 2” captured 22 weeks in late 2007 and early 2008.
• The two highest debuts on the Billboard 200 this week have a lot in common. Both are multi-act dance efforts, are helmed by world famous remixer/producer/DJs and were released through two of the reigning dance labels in the United States. At No. 16 we have “Total Club Hits 2” on Thrive Records, presented by DJ Skribble, and at No. 41 we’ve got “Ultra Dance 10” from Jason Nevins and Ultra Records. The albums start with 20,000 and 12,000, respectively.
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The Billboard 200 Sales data provided and compiled from Nielsen SoundScan |
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| 1 | 1 | TAYLOR SWIFT Fearless (Big Machine ) | 11 | 12 | SOUNDTRACK Mamma Mia! (Decca ) |
| 2 | 5 | NICKELBACK Dark Horse (Roadrunner ) | 12 | 17 | PINK Funhouse (LaFace / Zomba) |
| 3 | 3 | KANYE WEST 808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella / Def Jam / IDJMG) | 13 | 13 | T.I. Paper Trail (Grand Hustle / Atlantic / AG) |
| 4 | 2 | BEYONCE I Am…Sasha Fierce (Music World / Columbia / Sony Music) | *14 | 26 | LADY GAGA The Fame (Streamline / KonLive / Cherrytree / Interscope / IGA) |
| 5 | 4 | SOUNDTRACK Twilight (Summit / Chop Shop / Atlantic / AG) | 15 | 23 | KATY PERRY One Of The Boys (Capitol ) |
| 6 | 6 | BRITNEY SPEARS Circus (Jive / JLG) | *16 | New | DJ SKRIBBLE Total Club Hits 2 (ThriveDance / Thrive) |
| 7 | 7 | KEYSHIA COLE A Different Me (Imani / Geffen / IGA) | *17 | 33 | KINGS OF LEON Only By The Night (RCA / RMG) |
| 8 | 8 | JAMIE FOXX Intuition (J / RMG) | 18 | 16 | DAVID COOK David Cook (19 / RCA / RMG) |
| 9 | 9 | VARIOUS ARTISTS NOW 29 (Universal / EMI / Sony BMG / Zomba / UMe) | 19 | 21 | RIHANNA Good Girl Gone Bad (SRP / Def Jam / IDJMG) |
| 10 | 11 | AKON Freedom (Konvict / Upfront / SRC / Universal Motown / UMRG) | 20 | 14 | LUDACRIS Theater Of The Mind (DTP / Def Jam / IDJMG) |
| * indicates titles with greatest sales gains this week | |||||
MARKET WATCH
• Album units, current chart week: 6.3 million units
• DOWN 26.5% from last issue’s charts: 8.5 million units
• DOWN 13.8% from same week, 2007: 7.3 million units
• This week: No albums sell more than 100,000 copies.
• This week last year on the Billboard 200: Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” returned to No. 1, but with only 70,000 (down 38%). The previous week’s topper, Radiohead’s “In Rainbows,” fell to No. 2 with 69,000 (down 44%). There were no debuts in the top 25 and no album sold more than 100,000.
BORDERLINES
• The No. 100 album this week, Led Zeppelin’s “Mothership” (Swan Song/Atlantic), sold 5,000.
• The No. 100 album for the same week of 2007, the various-artists compilation “Across the Pond: The U.K.’s Best and Brightest” (Universal Special Markets/Starbucks ), sold 7,000.
• Average total of the No. 100 album for the same week of the year during the past 10 years (2000-2009): 10,068.
PROGRESS REPORTS
• Brad Paisley and Keith Urban land Hot Country Songs’ first No. 1 duet by solo males in nearly five years, as “Start a Band” strikes up a 3-1 move. The song is the first leader by a pair of male artists since Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker’s “When the Sun Goes Down” spent five weeks at No. 1 in the spring of 2004. Last year, Chesney just missed the summit when his duet with George Strait, “Shiftwork,” reached No. 2. Meanwhile, Chesney’s current hit, “Down the Road,” with Mac McAnally, bullets at No. 11.
• Nickelback breaks the record for most No. 1s in the 13-year history of the Adult Top 40 chart, as “Gotta Be Somebody” rises 2-1. The song is the group’s fifth chart-topper, breaking a tie with Matchbox Twenty. “Somebody” completes Nickelback’s first set of back-to-back leaders. Its last entry, “If Everyone Cared,” reigned for six weeks beginning in April 2007. The act also reached the top with “Far Away” (2006), “Photograph” (2005) and “Someday” (2004).
• Shady’s back. Back again. Eminem posts his first debut on the Rhythmic radio airplay chart in three years, as “Crack a Bottle,” featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, bows at No. 40. “Bottle” previews Eminem’s forthcoming set “Relapse,” with a release date yet to be confirmed.
A LOOK AHEAD
• Among the titles released this week, due on next week’s charts: Derek Trucks Band’s “Already Free,” Heather Headley’s “Audience of One” and the soundtrack to the Notorious B.I.G. biopic, “Notorious.”
• Next week’s Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2008 when: Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” held at No. 1 with 61,000 (down 14%). Raheem Davaughn’s “Love Behind the Melody” was the chart’s highest debut at No. 5, with 45,000 while John Legend’s Target-exclusive “Live in Philadelphia” started at No. 7 with 33,000.