Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ Spends 50th Consecutive Week in Top 20
On the new Billboard 200 albums chart, Ed Sheeran's "Divide" spends its 50th straight week in the top 20, Toto celebrates its 40th anniversary on the chart, and new albums from MGMT, Franz Ferdinand…
On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Feb. 24), Black Panther: The Album debuted at No. 1 with 154,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Feb. 15, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 52,000 were in traditional album sales. The set’s arrival was powered largely by streams – as it generated the biggest streaming week ever for a soundtrack album.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the week’s most popular albums based on their overall consumption. That overall unit figure combines pure album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the action on the rest of the Billboard 200:
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— Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide) – No. 6 — Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) spends its 50th consecutive week in the top 20, as the set moves 4-6 on the latest chart. (It earned 42,000 units in the latest tracking week, up 5 percent.) The album, which debuted at No. 1 on the list dated March 25, 2017, has yet to depart the top 20. The last album to spend its first 50 weeks within the top 20 was Taylor Swift’s 1989, which hung out in the top 20 for its first 64 weeks. (1989 spent a total of 69 weeks in the top 20.)
So far, ÷ (Divide) has earned 3.11 million equivalent album units, of which 1.2 million are in traditional album sales.
÷ (Divide) has spun off three top 10-charting hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100: “Shape of You” (12 weeks at No. 1), “Castle on the Hill” (No. 6) and the set’s latest release, “Perfect” (six weeks at No. 1).
— MGMT, Little Dark Age – No. 35 — The alternative act’s latest album starts at No. 35 with 14,000 units, of which 9,000 are in traditional album sales. The duo last charted with 2013’s self-titled set, which debuted and peaked at No. 14 with a start of 19,000 albums sold (before the chart transitioned to a consumption-ranked tally).
The album’s “Me and Michael” is bubbling under the threshold of the Alternative Songs airplay tally, though it debuts at No. 29 on the Hot Rock Songs chart.
— Dashboard Confessional, Crooked Shadows – No. 53 — Dashboard Confessional is back on the chart for the first time since 2009, as Crooked Shadows debuts at No. 53 (10,000 units; 9,000 in traditional album sales). The rock act was last on the Billboard 200 with Alter the Ending, which debuted and peaked at No. 19 on the Nov. 28, 2009-dated tally.
— Franz Ferdinand, Always Ascending – No. 59 — Franz Ferdinand’s Always Ascending takes a bow at No. 59 with 10,000 units earned (of which 9,000 are in traditional album sales). The alternative rock band also launches at No. 1 on the Independent Albums chart, No. 2 on Alternative Albums, No. 5 on Top Rock Albums and No. 3 on Vinyl Albums. The set’s title track peaked at No. 25 on the Alternative Songs tally in January.
— Toto, Greatest Hits: 40 Trips Around the Sun – No. 82 — As the band celebrates its 40th anniversary on Billboard’s charts, the act’s new best-of package, Greatest Hits: 40 Trips Around the Sun, debuts at No. 82 (7,000 units; 5,000 in traditional album sales). Toto took its maiden voyage on a Billboard chart when the single “Hold the Line” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Oct. 7, 1978 – later peaking at No. 5. The act’s self-titled debut album bowed on the Billboard 200 dated Oct. 21, 1978, peaking at No. 9 the following year. In total, the band notched 14 hits on the Hot 100, including the No. 1 “Africa,” and 10 charting sets on the Billboard 200 (including the new Greatest Hits).