Eric Clapton, Shawn Mendes Aiming for Top Five Debuts on Billboard 200

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eric Clapton is aiming for his 14th top 10 album on the Billboard 200, as The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, should debut in the top five of the chart next week.

Industry sources suggest the star-studded tribute set will sell around 50,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, Aug. 3. The album was released on July 29 on Clapton’s own Bushbranch label, through Surfdog Records. (It is distributed by Warner Music’s independent distribution arm, Alternative Distribution Alliance.)

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One of the guests on Clapton’s album, Tom Petty, looks like he’ll block Clapton from the top slot on the Billboard 200. Petty’s own new album with his band the Heartbreakers, Hypnotic Eye, is set to debut at No. 1 next week with around 100,000 sold. It will mark the act’s first No. 1 album after nearly 37 years on the chart.

A significant chunk of Petty’s debut sales week will come from a successful album/concert ticket bundle offer. Petty’s last album, 2010’s Mojo, was also supported by a similar promotion, which helped it sell 125,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Also on tap for top 10 debut next week is Shawn Mendes‘ self-titled debut EP, which might move around 45,000. Mendes recently debuted and (so far) peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the EP’s single “Life Of the Party.”

Rock band Theory Of a Deadman could also nab its second top 10 album, as Savages could sell around 25,000 in its debut frame. The group tallied its first top 10 set with its last release, 2011’s The Truth Is…, which debuted and peaked at No. 8.

On SoundScan’s Building chart (below), Petty’s likely No. 1 is at No. 3, behind Mendes at No. 1 and the current Billboard 200 chart champ, 5 Seconds of Summer’s self titled album (No. 2). Petty’s Hypnotic Eye is behind Mendes and 5 Seconds of Summer because the Building chart does not factor in Hypnotic Eye‘s sales from Petty’s concert ticket/album offer. Those sales, however, will be included in the final, official Billboard 200 chart.

As for the rest of the Building chart’s top 10, Clapton is No. 4, followed by Theory Of a Deadman at No. 5 and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour at No. 6. PARTYNEXTDOOR’s new album PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO is No. 7, while the soundtrack to Frozen is No. 8 and Jenny Lewis’ new Voyager set is No. 9. Both PARTYNEXTDOOR and Lewis may not finish the week in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, as each could sell around 15,000.

Rounding out the Building chart’s top 10 is Ed Sheeran’s x at No. 10.