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Lorde Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘Melodrama’
Lorde notches her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as her second full-length album, Melodrama, debuts atop the list. The set, which was released on June 16 through Lava/Republic Records, earned 109,000 equivalent album units in the week ending June 22, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 82,000 were in traditional album sales.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new July 8-dated chart (where Lorde starts at No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, June 27.
Melodrama follows Lorde’s debut full-length album, Pure Heroine, which debuted and peaked at No. 3 in 2013 with 129,000 copies sold in its first week (before the album transitioned to a consumption-based ranking in 2014).
Melodrama marks the third album by a woman in a row at No. 1 on the chart (in as many weeks), following the chart-topping arrivals of Katy Perry’s Witness (July 1) and Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (June 24). The chart last had three women in a row back in December 2012, when Taylor Swift’s Red returned to No. 1 (Dec. 22), following No. 1 bows by Alicia Keys’ Girl on Fire (Dec. 15) and Rihanna’s Unapologetic (Dec. 8). Until the latest triple, the chart had not housed three new No. 1s by women since September 2009, when Whitney Houston’s I Look to You (Sept. 19) followed Colbie Caillat’s Breakthrough (Sept. 12) and Reba’s Keep On Loving You (Sept. 5). (All three titles were spending their first week at No. 1, and all debuted atop the tally.)
Lorde leads a jam-packed top 10, as six albums debut in the region — the most debuts in the top 10 in nearly eight months. The chart last had more bows in the top 10 on the Nov. 12, 2016-dated list, when seven albums debuted, led by Lady Gaga’s No. 1 launch with Joanne.
On the new Billboard 200, 2 Chainz’s Pretty Girls Like Trap Music starts at No. 2 with 106,000 units (57,000 in traditional album sales). The album collected the most on-demand audio streams for its songs among any album on the chart, with 46,000 SEA units (equating to 69.5 million streams for its tracks). The album earns 2 Chainz his fourth straight top 10 (in as many charting albums), following Collegrove (No. 4 in 2016), B.O.A.T.S. II #METIME (No. 3, 2013) and Based on a T.R.U. Story (No. 1, 2012).
Kendrick Lamar’s former three-week No. 1 DAMN. moves 2-3 in its 10th chart week, with 70,000 units (up 1 percent).
Jason Isbell claims his highest charting album, second top 10 effort and best sales week, as The Nashville Sound (with The 400 Unit) debuts at No. 4 with 54,000 units. Of that sum, 51,000 were in traditional album sales. That surpasses Isbell’s previous sales high of 46,000, logged by Something More Than Free in its debut frame back in 2015. Something More Than Free was also his high-water mark on the chart until this week, as it debuted and peaked at No. 6.
Nickelback notches its seventh top 10 effort, as Feed the Machine bows at No. 5 with 47,000 units (43,000 in traditional album sales). The album is the band’s first through BMG, after one album with Republic (2014’s No Fixed Address) and an earlier long run with Roadrunner Records.
Drake’s More Life falls one rung to No. 6 with 42,000 units (up 3 percent) while Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) also is down one spot to No. 7 with 38,000 units (down 8 percent). The sets led the Billboard 200 for three and two weeks, respectively.
Young Thug’s Beautiful Thugger Girls debuts at No. 8 with 37,000 units, bolstered by 28,000 in SEA units. The album sold 7,000 copies and tallied a little more than 1,000 TEA units. It’s the third top 10 set for the rapper, after Jeffery (No. 8 in April 2016) and Slime Season 3 (No. 7 in September 2016).
Alternative/folk band Fleet Foxes claims its second top 10 effort, as Crack-Up bows at No. 9 with 34,000 units (32,000 in traditional album sales). It’s the first release for the act in nearly six years, since Helplessness Blues, which debuted and peaked at No. 4 in May of 2011.
Rounding out the new top 10 is Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, descending two slots to No. 10. It earned 30,000 units in the latest tracking week (down 8 percent).
Source: billboard.com