Country singer Brett Eldredge is aiming for his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart next week with his new self-titled album, according to industry forecasters. Sources suggest the set -- which was released through Atlantic Records on Aug. 4 -- could launch with around 45,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 10.
Possibly stopping Eldredge from a No. 1 bow could be a return engagement atop the chart by Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. The set could head back to the No. 1 slot for a fourth week overall, possibly earning around 40,000 to 45,000 units.
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 new Aug. 26-dated Billboard 200 chart (where Eldredge will debut) is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Sunday, Aug. 13.
If Brett Eldredge starts at No. 1, it would also mark the first country title to lead the tally in 2017, and the first in nearly a year. Jason Aldean’s They Don’t Know was the last country effort at No. 1, when it debuted atop the list dated Oct. 1, 2016.
Eldredge has charted three previous albums on the Billboard 200, including one top 10 effort: 2015’s No. 3-peaking Illinois.
As for the rest of next week’s new top 10, the only other album that will likely launch inside the region is the Now 63 compilation, with perhaps 30,000 units earned.
