The set scores the biggest week for a regional Mexican album in 2020.
Eslabon Armado’s Vibras de Noche debuts at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart (dated Aug. 1). The trio’s sophomore album becomes the second title by a regional Mexican act to arrive atop the chart in 2020.
Vibras de Noche opens with 23,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 23, according to Nielsen Music/ MRC Data. Of the set’s starting count, 1,000 were in album sales and the bulk of the remainder attributed to streams. The set earns 2020’s biggest week for a regional Mexican album in terms of overall units.
Top Latin Albums ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).
“Vibras de Noche is a special project for us,” 18-year-old Pedro Tovar, lead vocalist and composer of the group, tells Billboard. “Production wise, it meant a great effort as it we were super demanding in defining the sound we were looking for. We loved the result, that new zest we are infusing little by little in regional Mexican music.”
The teenage trio comprises of Tovar, his brother Brian Tovar (16, bass and bajaloche player) and Gabriel Hidalgo (18, harmony and background vocals).
Vibras de Noche, released July 17 via DEL Records, is the follow-up to the group’s debut album, Tu Veneno Mortal, which came out this year on April 6. The set, which was recorded in the band's garage, peaked at No. 7 on Top Latin Albums (July 7-dated list) and spent seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart starting June 13.
Second Regional Mexican Album to Hit No. 1 in 2020: Vibras de Noche is just the second regional Mexican album to reach No. 1 on the overall Top Latin Albums chart in 2020. Alejandro Fernández’s Hecho en México was the last to do so, when it bowed at No. 1 on the Feb. 29-dated survey. Before Fernández, the last regional Mexican album to top the tally was Juan Gabriel's Los Duo 2 on Feb. 4, 2017. The last regional Mexican set to debut at No. 1 on the list was Jenni Rivera's Palmoa Negra Desde Monterrey on Nov. 19, 2016.
“We are lucky to have debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums,” Tovar continues. “We weren’t expecting this. We are hardly assimilating the news.”
Biggest Week of 2020 for a Regional Mexican Album in Equivalent Album Units Earned: Vibras de Noche nets the largest week in terms of units earned for a regional Mexican album in 2020. With 23,000 equivalent album units, it outdoes Fernández’s Hecho en México, which launched with 16,000 units.
Fourth-Largest Debut Week for a Latin Album in 2020: Vibras de Noche concurrently notches the fourth-largest opening week in album units among all Latin titles in 2020. It trails Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG, which launched with the mammoth amount of 179,000 units (March 14-dated tally) and his follow-up Las Que No Iban a Salir with 42,000 units in its opening week (May 23), and Anuel AA’s Emmanuel which logged 39,000 units in its first week.
“We are blessed and proud that our Mexican music occupied the top rankings in Latin music,” Tovar adds. “It’s really an honor! Grateful to all the people who have been supporting us. God bless you."
Biggest Streaming Week for a Regional Mexican Album: Vibras de Noche registered 21,000 streaming equivalent album units in its debut week. That equates to 32 million on-demand streams generated by the songs on the album -- the biggest streaming week ever for a regional Mexican album.
Replaces Itself at No. 1 on Regional Mexican Albums: Elsewhere, Eslabon Armado claim its second No. 1 on Regional Mexican Albums as Vibras de Noche arrives atop the chart. The trio becomes the first act to replace itself at No. 1 in 2020. Its debut album Tu Veneno Mortal dips 2-1 after its seven-week run atop the list. The last act to replace itself at No. 1 was Chrstian Nodal, when Ahora pushed Me Dejé Llevar to the runner-up slot in May 25, 2019-dated tally.
Hot Latin Songs Takeover: As Vibras de Noche arrives, eight tracks off the new album debut on Hot Latin Songs, with the set's “Dame Tu Calor” bowing in the top 10 at No. 5. Eslabon thus places a total nine simultaneous titles in the current chart, the most for a regional Mexican act since Juan Gabriel placed 10 in September 2016, one month after his death.
Let’s take a look at Eslabon Armado’s tracks on the latest Hot Latin Songs chart:
Rank, Title:
No. 5, “Dame Tu Calor” (debut)
No. 15, “Tal Vez” (debut)
No. 16, “Con Tus Besos”
No. 21, “Sube Al Carro” (debut)
No. 22, “Ganas Que Te Tengo” (debut)
No. 29, “Donde Has Estado” (debut)
No. 37, “La Trokita” (debut)
No. 46, “Tu Canción” (debut)
No. 47, “24 Horas” (debut)
