On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Jan. 26), A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s Hoodie SZN held at No. 1 for a second week (earning 56,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Jan. 17, according to Nielsen Music), while not a single album debuted in the top 40 for the third straight week in a row.
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).
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the action on the rest of the Billboard 200:
— Soundtrack, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — No. 2: The soundtrack to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse scales new heights, rising 3-2 with 52,000 equivalent album units earned (up 6 percent). The companion set to the hit animated feature film includes the recent Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee.
Spider-Man — which debuted at No. 5 on the Dec. 29, 2018-dated chart and then moved 13-5-3-2 — is the latest soundtrack to climb to new heights on the Billboard 200 in the early part of the year. Soundtracks often ascend the chart during this time due to a lack of new releases crowding the chart after the holidays, many albums plummeting down the list post-Christmas (thus freeing up space for newer titles and soundtracks) and music-filled movies doing big business at the holiday and post-holiday box office (or on home video).
Other soundtracks that climbed to the Billboard 200’s top three rungs in January and February of previous years:
The Greatest Showman
Debuted at No. 73 and then moved 63-5, and then to No. 1 on Jan. 13, 2018.
La La Land
Debuted at No. 118 on Dec. 31, 2016 and then moved 95-52-15, and then to No. 2, its peak, on Jan. 28, 2017.
Moana
Debuted at No. 16 on Dec. 10, 2016, and then moved 5-7-8-10-6 and then to No. 2, its peak, on Jan. 21, 2017.
Frozen
Debuted at No. 18 on Dec. 14, 2013, and then moved 11-10-8-4 and then to No. 1 on Jan. 18, 2014.
Les Misérables
Debuted at No. 33 on Jan. 5, 2013, then moved to No. 2 and then to No. 1 on Jan. 19, 2013.
Pitch Perfect
Debuted at No. 43 on Oct. 13, 2012, and then moved 16-12-13-33-50-53-105 before leaving the chart. Re-entered at No. 105 on Dec. 1, then fell off again. Then re-entered again at No. 45 on Jan. 5, 2013, and then rose 10-7-5 and then to its peak of No. 3 on Feb. 2.
— Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody (Soundtrack) — No. 13: The Bohemian Rhapsodysoundtrack climbs 76-13 (27,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Jan. 17, according to Nielsen Music, up 161 percent) after it regains its SEA and TEA units for the bulk of its songs. A week earlier (on the Jan. 19 chart, reflecting the sales and streaming week ending Jan. 10), those units went to Greatest Hits I II & III(falling 10-187 this issue), as it was the week’s top-selling Queen set with those songs. SEA and TEA activity for an artist’s song, when on multiple albums by that artist, goes to the album selling more in a given week. Queen’s catalog will likely get a spike on next week’s chart (dated Feb. 2) following Bohemian Rhapsody’s multiple Academy Award nominations, which were announced on Jan. 22, including best picture.
— Carrie Underwood, Cry Pretty — No. 38: Both Cry Pretty (vaulting 126-38 with 16,000 units; up 115 percent) and P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma (a re-entry at No. 105 with 8,000 units; up 207 percent) surge thanks to sales generated from concert ticket/album sale redemption offers.
— Lana Del Rey, Born to Die — No. 146: Born to Die returns to the list at No. 146 (7,000 units; up 24 percent) and also re-enters Top Album Sales (No. 55, 2,000 sold; up 99 percent) after sale pricing and promotion of its vinyl LP at Amazon. The LP re-enters the Vinyl Albums chart at No. 3. Elsewhere on Top Album Sales, Carole King’s classic former No. 1 album Tapestry re-enters at No. 38 (3,000 copies sold; up 282 percent). The album returns following a CBS Sunday Morning profile on the singer on Jan. 13.
— Alec Benjamin, Narrated For You — No. 127: Alec Benjamin’s Narrated for Youstarts at No. 127, thanks to a surge in activity following a new remix of its track “Let Me Down Slowly” featuring Alessia Cara. The album, which was released in November 2018, enters with 7,000 units (up 41 percent), mostly from streaming. Benjamin is also profiting from his Jan. 7 U.S. TV debut on CBS’ The Late Late Show With James Corden, where he performed the song. Meanwhile, “Slowly” debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 79.
Originally Posted on BILLBOARD.COM