{"id":864,"date":"2017-12-10T14:54:26","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T22:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/?p=864"},"modified":"2022-05-12T16:49:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T16:49:26","slug":"u2-scores-eighth-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-chart-with-songs-of-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/?p=864","title":{"rendered":"U2 Scores Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With &#8216;Songs of Experience&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<script>\r\nif( document.getElementById( \"builder-styles-css\" ) ) document.getElementById( \"builder-styles-css\" ).insertAdjacentHTML( \"beforebegin\", \"<link rel='stylesheet' href='https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/wp-content\/themes\/themify-music\/themify\/themify-builder\/css\/themify-builder-style.css' type='text\/css' \/>\" );\r\n<\/script>\r\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article__deck\">The band is now the only group with No. 1s in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/u2\/chart\">U2<\/a>\u00a0achieves its eighth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as the rock band\u2019s new\u00a0<em>Songs of Experience\u00a0<\/em>debuts atop the tally. The set bows with 186,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 180,000 were in traditional album sales.<\/p>\n<p><em>Songs of Experience<\/em>\u00a0nets the biggest week for a rock album in 2017, both in terms of overall units, as well as album sales. The last rock set to log a larger frame was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/metallica\/chart\">Metallica<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>Hardwired\u2026 To Self-Destruct<\/em>, which launched at No. 1 on the Dec. 10, 2016-dated chart with 291,000 units, of which 282,000 were in album sales.<\/p>\n<p>The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/6320099\/billboard-200-makeover-streams-digital-tracks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">multi-metric consumption<\/a>, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new\u00a0Dec. 23-dated chart (where\u00a0<em>Songs of Experience\u00a0<\/em>debuts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard&#8217;s websites\u00a0on Tuesday\u00a0(Dec. 12).<\/p>\n<p><em>Songs of Experience<\/em>\u2019s debut benefits from\u00a0a concert\u00a0ticket\/album\u00a0bundle\u00a0sale\u00a0redemption promotion\u00a0in\u00a0association\u00a0with the act\u2019s 2018 Experience + Innocence Tour, which begins in May.<\/p>\n<p><em>Songs of Experience<\/em>\u00a0is a companion album to the band\u2019s last studio effort, 2014\u2019s\u00a0<em>Songs of Innocence<\/em>. The latter title was initially released as a free download exclusively through Apple\u2019s iTunes program on Sept. 9, 2014, but was not eligible to chart until it was commercially released on Oct. 14. In its first tracking week of sales, it sold 28,000 copies, and debuted and peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200.<\/p>\n<p>U2 last topped the Billboard 200 with 2009\u2019s\u00a0<em>No Line on the Horizon<\/em>, which bowed with 484,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen Music. (The Billboard 200 transitioned to a consumption units-ranked tally in late 2014.)<\/p>\n<p>In total, U2 has now led the Billboard 200 with\u00a0<em>Songs of Experience<\/em>,\u00a0<em>No Line on the Horizon<\/em>,\u00a0<em>How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb<\/em>\u00a0(2004),\u00a0<em>Pop<\/em>\u00a0(1997),\u00a0<em>Zooropa<\/em>\u00a0(1993),\u00a0<em>Achtung Baby<\/em>\u00a0(1991), the\u00a0<em>Rattle and Hum<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack (1988) and\u00a0<em>The Joshua Tree<\/em>(1987).<\/p>\n<p><em>Songs of Experience\u00a0<\/em>is also the seventh rock album to lead the Billboard 200 in 2017, following\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/the-killers\/chart\">The Killers<\/a>\u2019\u00a0<em>Wonderful Wonderful<\/em>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/foo-fighters\/chart\">Foo Fighters<\/a>\u2019\u00a0<em>Concrete and Gold<\/em>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/lcd-soundsystem\/chart\">LCD Soundsystem<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>American Dream<\/em>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/297064\/brand-new\/chart\">Brand New<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>Science Fiction<\/em>, Arcade Fire\u2019s\u00a0<em>Everything Now\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/307438\/linkin-park\/chart\">Linkin Park<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>One More Light<\/em>. (In all of 2016, 10 rock sets led the list.)<\/p>\n<p>Also, among all acts with the most No. 1s in the history of the Billboard 200 chart, U2 is now tied with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/kenny-chesney\/chart\">Kenny Chesney<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/madonna\/chart\">Madonna<\/a>\u00a0for the sixth-most leaders (and third-most among groups). Ahead of them are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/the-beatles\/chart\">The Beatles<\/a>\u00a0(with 19),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/jay-z\">JAY-Z<\/a>\u00a0(14),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/298448\/bruce-springsteen\/chart\">Bruce Springsteen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/barbra-streisand\/chart\">Barbra Streisand<\/a>\u00a0(each with 11),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/elvis-presley\/chart\">Elvis Presley<\/a>\u00a0(10), and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/garth-brooks\/chart\">Garth Brooks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/the-rolling-stones\/chart\">The Rolling Stones<\/a>\u00a0(both with nine). U2 is also just the fourth act \u2014 and only group \u2014 to have earned No. 1s in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, following\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/janet-jackson\/chart\">Janet Jackson<\/a>, Springsteen and Streisand.<\/p>\n<p><em>Songs of Experience<\/em>\u00a0was led by the single \u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me,\u201d which reached No. 5 on the Hot Rock Songs tally in September, spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Alternative\u00a0Songs airplay chart (the act\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/7998426\/u2-best-record-13th-no-1-adult-alternative-songs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/7998426\/u2-best-record-13th-no-1-adult-alternative-songs&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1513027508140000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9biI0aknSWfBV20kAp9WOOpQHHg\">record-breaking<\/a>\u00a013th\u00a0leader on the tally)\u00a0and hit No. 21 on the Alternative Songs airplay chart (the band\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/7965868\/u2-youre-the-best-thing-about-me-rock-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=\/articles\/columns\/chart-beat\/7965868\/u2-youre-the-best-thing-about-me-rock-charts&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1513027508140000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFnGgWUVrpBhjzt3lEQuXW-sQKE0A\">record-extending<\/a>\u00a042nd\u00a0entry).<\/p>\n<p>At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/chris-stapleton\/chart\">Chris Stapleton<\/a>\u00a0bows with his second studio effort of 2017,\u00a0<em>From a Room: Volume 2<\/em>. It starts with 125,000 units, of which 116,000 were in pure album sales. It follows\u00a0<em>From a Room: Volume 1<\/em>, which also opened (and peaked) at No. 2 (on the list dated May 27), with 219,000 units, of which 202,000 were in traditional album sales.<\/p>\n<p>Stapleton is the first country act to notch two top-two charting albums in a calendar year on the Billboard 200 since 2013. That year,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/luke-bryan\/chart\">Luke Bryan<\/a>\u00a0claimed a pair of No. 1s with\u00a0<em>Spring Break\u2026 Here to Party\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>Crash My Party<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/taylor-swift\/chart\">Taylor Swift<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>Reputation<\/em>\u00a0slides to No. 3 on the new Billboard 200, after three weeks at No. 1. In its fourth week, the set collected 112,000 units (down 24 percent), with 70,000 of that figure in album sales (down 47 percent). The album\u2019s SEA units rally by 344 percent (to 34,000 units) following the entire set\u2019s release to streaming services on Dec. 1. Previously, only the album\u2019s four pre-release tracks were available to stream.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/ed-sheeran\/chart\">Ed Sheeran<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>\u00f7<\/em>\u00a0(<em>Divide<\/em>) climbs one rung to No. 4 with 68,000 units (up 64 percent), with gains in album sales (19,000; 17 percent), TEA units (22,000; up 163 percent) and SEA units (27,000 units; up 61 percent). The set gains in the wake of the Nov. 30 release of the album\u2019s new remix of its song \u201cPerfect,\u201d which is now a duet with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/beyonce\/chart\">Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/pentatonix\/chart\">Pentatonix<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>A Pentatonix Christmas<\/em>\u00a0dips from No. 2 to No. 5 with 66,000 units (down 5 percent), while\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/demi-lovato\/chart\">Demi Lovato<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>Tell Me You Love Me<\/em>\u00a0(which debuted at its No. 3 peak in October) vaults from No. 21 to No. 6 with 63,000 units (up 168 percent), of which 46,000 were in traditional album sales (up 340 percent). Lovato\u2019s album sales benefit from a concert\u00a0ticket\/album\u00a0bundle\u00a0sale\u00a0redemption promotion\u00a0with Lovato\u2019s upcoming tour with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/dj-khaled\/chart\">DJ Khaled<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/sam-smith\/chart\">Sam Smith<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Thrill of It All<\/em>\u00a0falls from No. 3 to No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with 47,000 units (down 24 percent), while\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/michael-buble\/chart\">Michael Bubl\u00e9<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<em>Christmas<\/em>\u00a0climbs from No. 9 to No. 8 with 42,000 units (up 24 percent).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/miguel\/chart\">Miguel<\/a>\u2019s new\u00a0<em>War &amp; Leisure<\/em>\u00a0bows at No. 9 with 40,000 units (16,000 in album sales), marking the R&amp;B singer-songwriter\u2019s third top 10 effort. He previously visited the region with\u00a0<em>Wildheart<\/em>\u00a0(No. 2 in 2015) and\u00a0<em>Kaleidoscope Dream<\/em>\u00a0(No. 3 in 2012). Like U2 and Lovato, Miguel also generated sales from a ticket\/album bundle promotion for his upcoming tour.<\/p>\n<p>Rounding out the top 10 is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/garth-brooks\/chart\">Garth Brooks<\/a>\u2019\u00a0<em>The Anthology: Part I, The First Five Years<\/em>, which falls from No. 4 to No. 10 with 40,000 units (down 30 percent).<\/p>\n<p>Source: billboard.com<\/p>\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-864\" data-postid=\"864\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-864 themify_builder themify_builder_front\">\r\n\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/themify_builder_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The band is now the only group with No. 1s in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. U2\u00a0achieves its eighth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as the rock band\u2019s new\u00a0Songs of Experience\u00a0debuts atop the tally. The set bows with 186,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 7, according to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-now","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","no-post-comment","no-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bono-bonnaroo-2017-live-billboard-u2-15481.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3092,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions\/3092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}