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blur 2015

On the latest Billboard 200 chart (dated May 16), Zac Brown Band scored its third No. 1 album, as Jekyll + Hyde debuted atop the list. The effort started with 228,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 3, according to Nielsen Music. It was one of three albums that debuted in the top 10, which also included new arrivals from Josh Groban (Stages) and Tyler Farr (Suffer In Peace).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the week’s most popular albums based on their overall consumption. That overall unit figure combines pure album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Let’s take a closer look at some of the action on the chart:

Blur, The Magic Whip – No. 24 — Remarkably, veteran band Blur logs its highest charting album ever with The Magic Whip’s arrival at No. 24 (16,000 equivalent album units earned). It’s the group’s first studio album since 2003, when Think Tank logged their previous highest rank of No. 56.

Eric Clapton, Forever Man – No. 26 — Legendary singer/guitarist Eric Clapton continues his lengthy chart history on the Billboard 200 as his new compilation Forever Man debuts at No. 26. The set moved 8,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 3, according to Nielsen Music. The new effort is his 44th charting album and comes almost 45 years after he made his solo debut with his self-titled album on the chart dated July 25, 1970.

Grateful Dead, Dave’s Picks Volume 14: Academy of Music, New York, NY, 3/26/72 – No. 31 — The debuting set is the 68th charting album for the act, and third this year. Just since 2010, the group has tallied 22 entries, nearly all from its expansive archival reissue series (including this new arrival).

Zac Brown Band, The Foundation – No. 71 — As the group’s latest album starts at No. 1, its breakthrough album The Foundation zooms back onto the list with a 137 percent overall unit gain, and a 69 percent sales increase.

The Weepies, Sirens – No. 103 — The folk/pop duo returns with its first studio set in five years, which also enters at No. 3 on Folk Albums (5,000 sold). The act will be on the road in support of the album this summer, with tour dates announced through July 1.

Sabrina Carpenter, Eyes Wide Open – No. 124 — The singer’s performance of the album’s title track and “We’ll Be the Stars” on the Radio Disney Music Awards (April 29, broadcast on Disney Channel) helps spur a 31 percent overall unit gain for the set.

[Billboard]