Country superstar Tim McGraw is on course for his 15th top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart with his new set, “Two Lanes of Freedom.” Industry sources say the effort is set for a No. 2 bow and could sell 100,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Feb. 10.
The album is McGraw’s first for Big Machine Records, after having spent his entire career with Curb Records. Big Machine is the home of Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts, among others.
McGraw’s last studio effort, 2011’s “Emotional Traffic,” bowed at No. 2 a little over a year ago with 68,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Two hit singles, “Truck Yeah” and “One of Those Nights,” both of which reached the top 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart, lead his new album. The album also features the song “Highway Don’t Care,” a superstar collaboration with Swift and Keith Urban.
Over on the Country Albums chart, “Two Lanes of Freedom” will almost certainly debut at No. 1, giving McGraw a 14th leader on the tally. Of his previous 11 studio albums, nine of them reached No. 1. He charted an additional four No. 1s with greatest hits albums.
The album that will likely block McGraw from No. 1 on the Billboard 200, however, is Josh Groban’s “All That Echoes.” As previously reported, sources suggest it might move around 130,000 copies.
On SoundScan’s Building chart (below), Groban is No. 1 while McGraw is in the runner-up slot. The Building tally is a precursor to the final Billboard 200 ranking, reflecting the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan’s tracking week as reported by six major merchants.
As for the rest of the Building chart’s top 10: the new “Now 45” compilation is No. 3, followed by Justin Bieber’s “Believe Acoustic,” Red’s new “Release the Panic” and Joe Budden’s “No Love Lost” at Nos. 4-6, respectively. Andrea Bocelli’s “Passione” is in the No. 7 slot, Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” is at No. 8 and Bruno Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox” is No. 9. Closing out the top 10 is Coheed and Cambria’s new “The Afterman: Descension” at No. 10. [Billboard.biz]
| NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN BUILDING CHART | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | LW BB 200 |
Artist | Title |
| 1 | NEW | Josh Groban | “All That Echoes” |
| 2 | NEW | Tim McGraw | “Two Lanes of Freedom” |
| 3 | NEW | Various Artists | “Now 45” |
| 4 | 1 | Justin Bieber | “Believe Acoustic” |
| 5 | NEW | Red | “Release the Panic” |
| 6 | NEW | Joe Budden | “No Love Lost” |
| 7 | 2 | Andrea Bocelli | “Passione” |
| 8 | 7 | Mumford & Sons | “Babel” |
| 9 | 6 | Bruno Mars | “Unorthodox Jukebox” |
| 10 | NEW | Coheed and Cambria | “The Afterman: Descension” |
| The Building Chart reflects the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan’s tracking week (which ends Sunday) as reported by six major merchants: iTunes, Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Starbucks, Target and Anderson Merchandisers. Billboard estimates that they make up about 85% of all U.S. album sales. | |||
