On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 25), Sam Smith secured his first No. 1 album as The Thrill of It All debuted at No. 1. The set earned 237,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Nov. 9, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 185,000 were in traditional album sales -- Smith’s biggest sales week yet.
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 64 - No. 12 — The latest installment of the long-running hits compilation series bows at No. 12 with 30,000 equivalent album units -- all from traditional album sales. It also launches at No. 7 on the Top Album Saleschart, where every one of the 64 volumes have reached the top 10, stretching back to the first Now album in 1998.
— Grace VanderWaal, Just the Beginning – No. 22 — The 13-year-old singer debuts with her first full-length album, Just the Beginning. The set opens with 21,000 units -- with 17,000 of that in traditional album sales. It follows her debut EP, Perfectly Imperfect, which debuted and peaked at No. 9 in Dec. 2016 (52,000 units in its first week; 47,000 in album sales).
— Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1 – No. 31 — Thanks to Stapleton’s pair of wins at the Country Music Association Awards last week, his album surges 70-31 with an 80 percent gain in units. The title won the award for album of the year, while Stapleton took home the male vocalist of the year trophy. From A Room: Volume 1 earned 16,000 units in the week, with 11,000 of that sum coming from album sales (up 91 percent).
— Bob Dylan, Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 13 / 1979-1981 – No. 49 — Bob Dylan notches his 71st charting effort with this new archival effort, which starts with 12,000 units (nearly all from album sales). It’s his second title to debut on the list in 2017, following Triplicate (No. 37; April 22).
— Josh Groban, Noel – No. 54 & Michael Bublé, Christmas - No. 65 — 'Tis the season for all things holiday to make their seasonal return to the chart! The two biggest selling holiday albums of the past decade re-enter the Billboard 200, as Josh Groban’s Noel (No. 54) and Michael Bublé’s Christmas (No. 65) return to the tally. The former was reissued on Nov. 3 with six bonus tracks -- four of which were previously unreleased.
In the latest tracking frame, Noel earned 11,000 units (up 426 percent) with 10,000 in traditional album sales (up 419 percent). Christmas, meanwhile, tallied 9,000 units (up 174 percent) and 5,000 in album sales (up 311 percent).
Noel, released in 2007, spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in late 2007 and early 2008, and has sold 5.96 million copies. Christmas bowed in 2011 and ruled for five weeks later that year and in early 2012. It has sold 4.1 million.
— Shawn Mendes, MTV Unplugged – No. 71 — Shawn Mendes earns his second charting live album on the list, as MTV Unplugged bows at No. 71 with 9,000 units (3,000 in traditional album sales). It follows his Live at Madison Square Garden effort, which spent one week on the list at No. 200 (Jan. 14).
