Fletcher’s ‘In Search of the Antidote’ Debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales Chart
Written by djfrosty on April 2, 2024
Fletcher’s second full-length studio album In Search of the Antidote debuts at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated April 6), giving the singer her highest-charting set yet on the tally. The effort launches with just over 13,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending March 28, according to Luminate. Fletcher previously visited the chart with her debut full-length, Girl of My Dreams, debuting and peaking at No. 4 in 2022.
Also in the top 10 of the Top Album Sales chart, the latest efforts from Kenny Chesney, Shakira and Sierra Ferrell debut, while André 3000’s New Blue Sun and Alice In Chains’ Jar of Flies re-enter the chart largely due to new vinyl releases.
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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Fletcher’s first-week sales of In Search of the Antidote were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including one signed edition, and exclusive versions for Target and indie retailers), four CD editions (including a Target-exclusive edition with alternate cover art and a poster, a signed CD and a deluxe “Archives” edition in expanded packaging), a standard digital album and a deluxe digital album with bonus tracks. Vinyl sales accounted for 7,500 of Antidote’s first-week sales – or, 57% of the album’s total sales for the week. That 7,500 figure also represents Fletcher’s biggest sales week for a vinyl album.
Meanwhile, Kenny Chesney clocks his 12th No. 1 on Top Album Sales as Born bows atop the list with 18,500 copies sold. The set was available as a standard CD, signed CD, standard digital album, and deluxe digital album with additional bonus live tracks.
Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales, marking the seventh top 10-charting effort for the entertainer. The project sold 14,500 copies in its opening week, supported by four vinyl variants (each with a different color vinyl and alternate cover art), four CD variants (each with different cover art) and a digital album.
Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well dips 1-4 in its second week on Top Album Sales (10,500; down 84%) and Taylor Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falls 4-5 (9,500; down 4%).
Alice In Chains’ EP Jar of Flies, originally released in 1994, re-enters the chart at No. 6 following its 30th anniversary reissue on vinyl and cassette. The set was reintroduced across four vinyl variants (including a vinyl edition with actual flies in the vinyl) which, together with existing earlier released vinyl versions, sold a little over 9,000 copies in the tracking week (of its total 9,500 sold across all configurations). Jar of Flies debuted at No. 1 on the Feb. 12, 1994-dated Top Album Sales chart and marked the first of two leaders for the rock band. The set was last on the list in April of 1995.
Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Lover descends 6-7 on Top Album Sales with nearly 9,500 copies sold (up 5%).
André 3000’s New Blue Sun re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 8, a new peak (and its first week in the top 10), following its release on physical configurations on March 22. The set (his first solo charting effort on Top Album Sales) was originally released via digital download and streaming services last November, and then saw its release on vinyl, CD and cassette on March 22. Combined, all configurations of the album sold nearly 9,000 copies for the week (up from a negligible sum in the previous week).
Sierra Ferrell captures her first top 10 on Top Album Sales as Trail of Flowers blooms at No. 9 in its debut frame, selling 8,500 copies. The set was supported by eight vinyl variants, a standard CD and a digital album download. Vinyl sales accounted for 6,000 of the album’s total first-week sales, marking Ferrell’s best week ever on vinyl.
Rounding out the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart is Ariana Grande’s former No. 1 Eternal Sunshine, falling 3-10 in its third week with nearly 8,000 sold (down 39%).
In the week ending March 28, there were 1.201 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 0.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 892,000 (down 1%) and digital albums comprised 309,000 (up 0.9%).
There were 427,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 28 (down 2.5% week-over-week) and 461,000 vinyl albums sold (up 0.6%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 5.656 million (down 32.2% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 5.951 million (down 48.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 15.54 million (down 36.9% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 11.664 million (down 41.7%) and digital album sales total 3.875 million (down 16.5%).