This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Daft Punk barged in at No. 1 with “Random Access Memories,” selling 339,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It led a debut-filled top four, where Darius Rucker, the National and French Montana also started at Nos. 2-4, respectively.
Elsewhere on the Billboard 200 there were a number of movers and shakers. Let’s take a look at some of them…
— The Doors, “The Very Best of the Doors” (No. 84): Following the death of Doors keyboardist and founding member Ray Manzarek on May 20, the legendary rock band tallies big sales gains on the Billboard charts this week.
Sales of the Doors’ albums catalog grew 121% in the week ending May 26, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The collected works shifted a little less than 13,000 copies for the week (up from 6,000 the week previous). The best seller of the bunch was the 2007 album “The Very Best of the Doors,” which moved 5,000 — its best sales week since August of 2012 — and re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 84.
The band’s digital song sales soared by 208% this past week as well, rising to 34,000 downloads sold. The Doors’ first No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Light My Fire” was their biggest seller for the week, with 5,000 downloads sold (up by 270%). Their 1971 No. 14 Hot 100 hit “Riders on the Storm” was their second largest of the week, with 4,000.
Oddly enough, the group’s second and final No. 1, “Hello, I Love You,” was only their 10th-largest seller in the week after Manzarek’s passing, with 1,000 (up 204%).
— Soundtrack, “Fast & Furious 6” (No. 32): The soundtrack to the sixth installment of the action movie series debuts at No. 32 on the Billboard with 11,000 — much stronger than the 5,000 debut that greeted the “Fast Five” soundtrack in 2011 (No. 105). The new effort is the highest-charting “Fast” album since the second film’s companion album, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” hit No. 5 in 2003.
— Beth Hart/Joe Bonamassa, “Seesaw” (No. 47): The starts starts at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, but also at No. 1 on the Blues Albums chart. With the latter feat, Bonamassa extends his lead over B.B. King as the artist with the most Blues No. 1s in history (11).
— Pitbull, “Global Warming” (No. 61): The album gains by 81% and flies 122-61 on the chart, lifting it to 6,000 sold for the week — its best frame since the April 13 chart (8,000). Credit the gain to performances on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (May 21) and the Billboard Music Awards (19), as well as publicity gleaned by his voice role in the animated film “Epic,” which bowed in U.S. theaters on May 24.
— David Crowder Band, “All This For a King: The Essential Collection” (No. 70): While the band has called it quits, they continue to rack up the hits. On Christian Albums, this new greatest hits collection debuts at No. 3, giving the band its 11th top 10 set.
“All This For a King” includes one new track by Crowder (who continues on as a solo act) and a remix by the Digital Age (the new name of the rest of the Band, which drops its debut album on Aug. 13).
— Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black” (No. 90): Sale pricing on hit albums in the iTunes Store spur gains for the likes Winehouse’s “Back to Black” (up 104% for a re-entry at No. 90), Eminem’s “The Eminem Show” (a re-entry at No. 77, up 243%) and fun.’s “Some Nights” (35-25, up 28%).
— will.i.am, “#willPOWER” (No. 103): The album scores its first weekly sales gain, as it rises up three slots with a 6% increase. Credit a portion of that spike to will.i.am’s performance on the Billboard Music Awards (May 19), where he sang his current hit #thatPOWER” with Justin Bieber.
— Audra McDonald, “Go Back Home” (No. 147): The five-time Tony Award-winning actress/singer returns to the charts with her first album in seven years. The set bows with 3,000 sold in its first week, and also lands at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums.
— Elvis Presley, “Uncovered” (No. 192): It’s the 128th charting album for the King of Rock & Roll, which also steps in at No. 49 on Rock Albums. The budget-priced collection has been out since May 2012, but only popped onto the list this week (up 87%) after continued promotion at retail.
— Daft Punk, “Homework” (No. 194): Absent from the chart since 1998, the duo’s debut album returns with a 50% sales gain for the week, thanks to the buzz generated by their No. 1 debut with “Random Access Memories.” With a bit over 2,000 sold, it’s “Homework’s” best sales frame since the week ending Jan. 3, 1999. [Billboard.biz]
