Chris Brown earns his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, as Fortune debuts atop the chart, selling 134,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It follows his last release, and first No. 1, 2011’s F.A.M.E. That album launched atop the list with 270,000 — more than double the start of Fortune.
Had it not been for Brown’s new Fortune release, we would have seen a surprise return to No. 1 for Katy Perry, as her Teenage Dream set zooms from No. 21 to No. 2 with 80,000 (up 417%) — and its best sales frame since Christmas 2010. The set was one of 20 titles the Amazon MP3 store sale-priced for 99 cents — for one day only — on July 3. (Perry also benefits from buzz earned by the release of her Part of Me film, which hit U.S. theaters on July 5.)
All but one of Amazon’s 99 cent titles rank among the top 40 this week on the Billboard 200, and 17 of them post a gain of more than 100%. The largest percentage gain goes to Ellie Goulding’s Lights, which vaults from No. 116 to No. 21 with 23,000 (up 444%). It’s both a new weekly sales high for the set and its best rank yet.
Amazon also pushes three more albums back into the top 10 aside from Teenage Dream — Gotye’s Making Mirrors (31-6 with 44,000; up 248%), fun.’s Some Nights (23-7 with nearly 43,000; up 181%) and the Black Keys‘ El Camino (55-10 with 37,000; up 396%).
Last week’s No. 1 album, Linkin Park’s Living Things, falls to No. 5 with 64,000 (down 72%) while Maroon 5’s Overexposed slides 2-4 with 68,000 (down 70%) in its second week. Justin Bieber’s Believe holds at No. 3 with 70,000 (down 40%) while Kenny Chesney’s Welcome to the Fishbowl is down 6-8 with 43,000 (down 30%).
Adele’s 21 spends its 72nd straight week in the top 10, falling 7-9 — its lowest rank yet — with 41,000 (down 3%). 21 is now tied with Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill for the most weeks in the top 10 for an album by a woman. (Among all albums, the soundtrack to The Sound of Music has the most weeks in the top 10, with 109.)
Just outside the top 10, Jason Mraz’s Love Is a Four Letter Word rises 45-13 with 32,000 (up 255%) — again, thanks to Amazon MP3.
All of the Amazon MP3 action blocks Flo Rida from earning his third top 10 album this week, as his new Wild Ones debuts at No. 14 with 31,000. It’s likely that without the Amazon deal, Wild Ones would have bowed at No. 9, as there are five discounted titles that jumped ahead of Flo this week.
(All of the discounted albums have been in release for at least five weeks, thus, they are not impacted by Billboard’s pricing policy. Unit sales for albums priced below $3.49 during their first four weeks of release will not be eligible for inclusion on the Billboard album charts and will not count toward sales data presented by Nielsen SoundScan.)
Over on the Digital Songs chart, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” remains No. 1, selling 244,000 downloads (down 3%). Perry’s “Wide Awake” (No. 2 with 210,000; up 2%) and Maroon 5’s “Payphone” featuring Wiz Khalifa (No. 3 with 183,000; down 1%) are also stationary this week.
Flo Rida’s “Whistle” rises 8-4 with 172,000 (up 52%), Goulding’s “Lights” stays put at No. 5 (160,000; up 6%), and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” falls 4-6 (142,000; down 9%).
David Guetta’s “Titanium” (featuring Sia) holds at No. 7 (138,000; up 10%), Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Good Time” slips 6-8 (127,000; down 9%), and Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been” rests for a second week at No. 9 (102,000; down 7%). Usher’s “Scream” rounds out the top 10 — another non-mover at No. 10 — with 97,000 (down 5%).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending July 8) totaled 5.8 million units, up 1% compared with the sum last week (5.7 million) and up 9% compared with the comparable sales week of 2011 (5.3 million). Year-to-date album sales stand at 156.3 million, down 3% compared with the same total at this point last year (160.8 million).
Digital track sales this past week totaled 25.2 million downloads, down 1% compared with last week (25.4 million) and down less than 1% stacked next to the comparable week of 2011 (25.3 million). Year-to-date track sales are at 672.7 million, up 6% compared with the same total at this point last year (635.4 million).
Next week’s Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2011 when: Blake Shelton nabbed his first No. 1 album with Red River Blue, bowing atop the list with 116,000 sold. Incubus‘ If Not Now, When? started in the No. 2 slot with 80,000.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.com
