On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 26), Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. returns to No. 1 for a fourth nonconsecutive week. The album earned 47,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 10, according to Nielsen Music. Coming in behind Lamar is Brett Eldredge’s self-titled album, which bows at No. 2 with 45,000 units.
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 latest Billboard 200 chart:
— Various Artists, Now 63 - No. 5 — The new Now 63 compilation brings the long-running series back to the top 10, after Now 62 became the first title in the main numbered series to miss the region (it debuted and peaked at No. 11). Now 63 launches with 31,000 units (all from traditional album sales).
In total, Now 63 is the 68th top 10 album for the Now That’s What I Call Musicbrand (62 in the main series, plus six genre-specific spin-off titles) and the 130thNow title to chart on the Billboard 200.
— Glen Campbell, 20 Greatest Hits - No. 43 — The late Glen Campbell debuts on the chart at No. 43 with this best-of collection, 20 Greatest Hits (11,000 units; up 2,009 percent), marking his 30th charting effort. Campbell also re-enters at No. 136 with his final studio collection, Adios (6,000; up 315 percent). The six-time Grammy Award winner and two-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper died on Aug. 8.
— Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city - No. 69 — Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 album collects its 250th week on the list, as it moves from No. 67 to No. 69. The album has been a near-constant presence on the chart since its debut and peak at No. 2 on the Nov. 10, 2012-dated tally. The album has only left the chart for one week: Dec. 6, 2014. In total, the album has sold 1.67 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. The set’s songs have generated 1.23 billion on-demand audio streams.
— Def Leppard, Hysteria - No. 79 — Following the former No. 1 album’s deluxe reissue on Aug. 4, the set rebounds onto the tally at No. 79 (8,000 units; up 6,225 percent). The album has been absent from the chart since 1990.
Hysteria’s return to the list comes nearly 30 years after when it bowed on the chart. It entered the list dated Aug. 22, 1987 at No. 36, and would eventually hit No. 1 nearly a year later, on July 23, 1988. In total, it spent six weeks atop the chart.
The album spawned seven hit singles on the Hot 100 chart, including an impressive six top 20-charting smashes. Among those hits were the top 10s “Hysteria” (No. 10), “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (No. 2), “Love Bites” (No. 1) and “Armageddon It” (No. 3).
Hysteria spent 78 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart, the most weeks spent in the top 10 for an album by a rock band in the chart’s 61-year history.
— Randy Newman, Dark Matter – No. 106 — Randy Newman nabs his 10thcharting album on the Billboard 200, as Dark Matter debuts at No. 106 (7,000 units – nearly all from traditional album sales). Newman was last on the chart in 2008 with Harps and Angels, which peaked at No. 30. Newman first visited the list in 1971 with Randy Newman Live, which topped out at No. 191.
— Lady Gaga, Joanne – No. 177 — As Lady Gaga’s tour supporting her Joannealbum kicks into gear, the former No. 1 set returns to the list, climbing back on at No. 177 (5,000 units; up 26 percent). Lady Gaga’s Joanne World Tour launched on Aug. 1 in Vancouver and is scheduled to run through December.
