On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 27), Logic notches his first No. 1 as his new Everybody album debuts atop the tally. It earned 247,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 11, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 196,000 were in traditional album sales. Elsewhere in the top 10, country singer/songwriter Chris Stapleton and rapper Russ arrive with their latest efforts.
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:
— Diana Krall, Turn Up the Quiet - No. 18 — Krall’s latest album starts at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and also debuts at No. 1 on the Traditional Jazz Albums chart (with 28,000 copies sold). On the latter list it is her 12th leader, which extends her record as the woman with the most No. 1s in the history of the chart.
— Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 - No. 20 — As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 jumps 8-4 on the Billboard 200 — in the wake of the film’s opening in U.S. theaters on May 5 — its predecessor soundtrack, Awesome Mix Vol. 1, becomes just the second soundtrack to sell 1 million digital albums in the U.S.
Awesome Mix Vol. 1 topped the Billboard 200 in 2014, and has sold 1.8 million copies. Further, with an additional 15,000 digital albums sold in the latest tracking week, its total download sales rise to 1.001 million. It’s just the second soundtrack to sell 1 million digital albums and the 24th million-selling digital set overall. The only other soundtrack to sell a million downloads is Frozen, with 1.6 million digital copies sold, out of a total 4.2 million. (Both soundtracks come from the Disney Music Group: Frozen was released through the company's Walt Disney Records, while Awesome Mix Vol. 1 was issued via Marvel/Hollywood Records.)
On the latest Billboard 200, Awesome Mix Vol. 1 vaults 61-20 with 26,000 units (all from traditional album sales).
— Mac DeMarco, This Old Dog – No. 29 — Mac DeMarco nets his third top 40-charting effort with the No. 29 bow of This Old Dog. It earned 20,000 equivalent album units, of which 15,000 were in traditional album sales — his best sales week yet. Further, Dog’s vinyl LP sold 7,000 copies (48 percent of its total first week sales). The LP was available in four colors, including “ombre” (customers got a randomly assigned color on the yellow/blue/green spectrum). This Old Dog also bows at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.
— Various Artists, Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – No. 30 — The all-star charity album Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story bows at No. 30 with 19,000 equivalent album units. The set covers Brandi Carlile’s 2007 album The Story in full, and was shepherded by Carlile herself. The collection includes Adele, Pearl Jam, Dolly Parton and the Indigo Girls, among others. All proceeds from the album benefit War Child U.K.
The first The Story album peaked at No. 41 on the April 28, 2007-dated chart and is Carlile’s best-selling album. It has sold 453,000 copies in the U.S.
— Blondie, Pollinator - No. 63 — Blondie bounces back to the Billboard 200 with its highest charting album and best sales week in 18 years, as Pollinator buzzes in at No. 63. The set launches with 10,000 equivalent album units, and nearly that entire sum comprises traditional album sales.
The band last appeared in a higher position on the chart in 1999, when No Exit debuted and peaked at No. 18. The album also racked up its first 11 weeks with sales north of 10,000 (debuting with 61,000). No Exit was Blondie’s first new studio album in nearly 17 years, and was ushered in with plenty of fanfare and a radio hit in the single “Maria” (No. 14 on Adult Top 40). Pollinator, on the other hand, is the band’s first album in just three years. The new title does have an airplay chart hit, however, though on a smaller scale: “Long Time” has peaked at No. 22 on the Triple A chart.
