Luke Combs Heading For Record Streaming Week & First No. 1 Album On Billboard 200 Chart
Luke Combs is heading for a record-breaking week with his new album What You See Is What You Get.
Luke Combs is heading for a record-breaking week with his new album What You See Is What You Get.
According to industry forecasters, the set will garner Combs the biggest week of 2019 for a country album, his first No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, and his third No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. Plus, What You See Is What You Get is on course to snare the largest streaming week ever for a country album.
What You See Is What You Get was released on Nov. 8 via River House/Columbia Nashville. It is the second full-length studio album from Combs, following This One’s For You in 2017. The latter set peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and has spent 50 weeks at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart.
Prognosticators suggest the new album may launch with perhaps 175,000 to 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 14 — the biggest week for any country album in over a year, since Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty bowed at No. 1 with 266,000 units (Sept. 29, 2018-dated chart) according to Nielsen Music.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the Nov. 23-dated Billboard 200 chart (where What You See Is What You Get may bow at No. 1) is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Further, it is estimated that What You See Is What You Get could start with over 75 million on-demand audio streams for its songs in its first week. That would easily break the record for both the largest streaming week for a country album, and the biggest debut streaming week for a country set.
Currently, Gene Autry?’s Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Other Christmas Classics holds the record for the biggest streaming week for a country album, when it earned 43.71 million streams for its tracks on the Jan. 5-dated list — thanks heavily to Christmastime plays of the album’s holiday favorites “Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
The second-largest country streaming week (and biggest country streaming debut) belongs to Thomas Rhett’s Center Point Road, as it launched with 33.59 million on-demand audio streams earned for its songs (June 15-dated chart).
What You See Is What You Get had a huge first-day in release as well, as both Apple Music and Amazon Music touted record-breaking feats for the set. Apple announced that the album garnered the most first-day streams ever for a country album, both in the U.S. and globally. Meanwhile, Amazon trumpeted how the album garnered the most first-day streams and on-demand voice requests with Alexa, both in the U.S. and globally, than any other country album debut.
Assuming What You See Is What You Get will arrive at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, it will mark Combs’ third leader on the tally. He previously hit the top with This One’s For You, and his The Prequel EP.
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