As previously reported, Daft Punk is heading for its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with its latest album, “Random Access Memories.”
The Columbia Records set, released on May 21, could sell upwards of 300,000 copies by week’s end on May 26, according to industry prognosticators. That could earn the second-largest debut week this year, according to Nielsen SoundScan, following Justin Timberlake’s monster start of 968,000 for his “The 20/20 Experience.”
The new Billboard 200 chart’s top 10 will be revealed on the morning of May 29.
In one week, “Random Access Memories” will have sold more to date than Daft Punk’s last studio release, “Human After All.” The latter, released in 2005, has shifted just 125,000 in the United States.
The new album is led by the single “Get Lucky” (featuring Pharrell Williams), which climbs 15-10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. It’s the first top 10 for Daft Punk and only the duo’s third single to chart.
Other albums bound for top 10 debuts next week include the National’s “Trouble Will Find Me,” Thirty Seconds to Mars’ “Love Lust Faith + Dreams” and Darius Rucker’s “True Believers.” The National may sell around 70,000, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Rucker could both move 60,000. [Billboard.biz]