LCD Soundsystem Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘American Dream’

LCD Soundsystem achieves its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as American Dream arrives atop the list. The set earned 85,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 81,000 were in traditional album sales. The album was released on Sept. 1 and is the act’s first new studio effort in more than seven years, and first for Columbia Records.

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 Sept. 23-dated chart (where American Dreamdebuts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s websites on Tuesday (Sept. 12).

LCD Soundsystem, led by James Murphy, last released a studio set in 2010, when This Is Happening debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the list (its then-highest ranking effort). American Dream is the act’s third charting title — LCD’s second studio effort, Sound of Silver, reached No. 46 in 2007.

American Dream’s debut benefits from a concert ticket/album bundle sale redemption promotion in association with the act’s U.S. upcoming tour. Other No. 1 albums in 2017 that have profited from such an offer include Arcade Fire’s Everything Now, The Chainsmokers’ Memories… Do Not Open and Katy Perry’s Witness.

LCD Soundsystem is the third act in a row to notch its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, following Lil Uzi Vert a week ago (with Luv Is Rage 2) and Brand New(Science Fiction, on the Sept. 9-dated list). Other acts that collected its first leaders in 2017 include Lorde, Halsey, Bryson Tiller and Logic. The last time the chart housed three first-timers in-a-row at No. 1 was a little more than two years ago, when seven acts notched their first No. 1s in succession. Between the June 20 and Aug. 8, 2015-dated lists, Florence + The Machine, Muse, James Taylor, Breaking Benjamin, Meek Mill, Tyrese and Future all snagged their first chart toppers.

LCD Soundsystem leads a rather quiet top 10, as American Dream is the only debut in the region. At No. 2, Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv Is Rage 2 slips a rung in its second week, with 73,000 units (down 46 percent). XXXTentacion’s 17 falls 2-3 in its second week with 51,000 units (down 41 percent) while Kendrick Lamar’s former No. 1 DAMN. is up a spot to No. 4 with 40,000 units (down 12 percent). Khalid’s American Teen (8-5) benefits from a lack of competition in the top 10, as even though the album is down 1 percent in units (33,000 earned for the week) it climbs three spots to No. 5.

Imagine Dragons’ Evolve zooms 12-6 with 31,000 units (up 20 percent) and 13,000 copies sold (up 71 percent) after the set was sale-priced in the iTunes Store for $6.99. In terms of digital album sales, the set sold 9,000 copies (up 131 percent).

Kodak Black’s Project Baby Two climbs 9-7 on the Billboard 200 with 30,000 units (down 10 percent), while Logic’s Everybody returns to the top 10 (11-8) with 29,000 units (up 3 percent). It’s the album’s first week in the top 10 since the set opened at No. 1 on the list dated May 27. (In its second week on the list, the album fell straight out of the top 10.) The album has seen a surge in popularity following Logic’s performance of the set’s “1-800-273-8255” on the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards (Aug. 27), alongside the song’s featured guests, Alessia Cara and Khalid.

Closing out the new top 10 are SZA’s Ctrl (14-9 with a little more than 26,000 units; up 5 percent) and Ed Sheeran’s former No. 1 ÷ (Divide) (13-10 with 26,000 units; up 1 percent).

Source: billboard.com