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Will Billie Eilish dethrone Tommy Richman for the No. 1 spot this week on the TikTok Billboard Top 50? Plus, Tinashe’s “Nasty” climbs to No. 7 and more! Tetris Kelly:“Million Dollar Baby” continues its reign, but the top 10 sees some major mix ups. Tommy Richman tops the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the chart […]
New Kids On the Block’s first full-length studio album in over a decade, Still Kids, debuts at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated June 1). The set also arrives at No. 9 on the Independent Albums chart, and No. 12 on the Vinyl Albums tally.
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The set sold 14,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending May 23, according to Luminate. The effort is the vocal group’s first full-length studio project since 2013’s 10.
New Kids On the Block’s overall Billboard chart history runs almost exactly 38 years, to when the single “Be My Girl” debuted on the now-named Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated June 7, 1986. The group would later rack up 13 hits on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, including a trio of No. 1s. Over on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, the act has logged a dozen entries (among them two No. 1s), including the new set, which bows at No. 56.
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Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department holds atop the list for a fourth nonconsecutive week, while albums debut from Billie Eilish, Zayn, Slash, Cage the Elephant, The Avett Brothers, Kerry King and Kate Hudson.
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.
The Tortured Poets Department holds at No. 1 with 201,000 copies sold (up 413%) after an array of drivers helped the set post its first weekly sales gain. Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft launches at No. 2 with 191,000 – marking Eilish’s best sales week ever.
Zayn returns to the chart with his first new album since 2021, and his best sales week since 2016, as Room Under the Stairs starts at No. 3 with 24,000 sold. Slash’s new blues covers project Orgy of the Damned, boasting an array of guest artists such as Gary Clark Jr and Chris Stapleton, bows at No. 5 with a little over 10,000 sold.
Cage the Elephant’s Neon Pill enters at No. 6 (9,000), The Avett Brothers’ self-titled album debuts at No. 7 (8,000), SEVENTEEN’s SEVENTEEN Best Album ‘17 Is Right Here’ falls 4-8 (7,000), guitarist Kerry King’s solo debut From Hell I Rise arrives at No. 9 (7,000) and Kate Hudson’s debut studio album Glorious bows at No. 10 (nearly 7,000).
Ben Platt shares the creative process behind his new album ‘HONEYMIND,’ how he’s inspired by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s performances, how his career and personal transitions influenced the album and more! Ben Platt: I started writing the album in the spring of 2022 in Nashville and sort of wrote this first series of songs that […]
As he prepares for the Friday (May 31) release of Honeymind — his third studio album (and first on Interscope) — and settles into his just-opened, 18-date run of concerts reopening Broadway‘s iconic Palace Theatre, singer-songwriter and actor Ben Platt recently sat down with Billboard News to discuss creating his new music, the relationships and artists inspiring him now, and his upcoming projects.
The Honeymind creation process occurred in Nashville, during what Platt calls a “point of transition personally and career-wise, reinvestigating my reasons for being an artist, relearning the importance of following passion and doing things that feel authentically fulfilling and not necessarily checking boxes.” It was also a happy time, Platt says, of settling into the comfort of his relationship with his now-fiancée, fellow actor Noah Galvin — and he found himself exploring, through songwriting, “that crossroads between what it feels like to arrive in your real relationship and have a partner who you feel really understands you holistically, and how do you need to work on yourself as a person to be ready for a relationship like that?”
His Honeymind collaborators include beloved Nashville writers Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey, as well as executive producer Dave Cobb, who worked with Platt at his home studio in Savannah, Ga. Platt praises Cobb’s “barometer for honesty and authenticity … he’s very much no bulls–t. If something feels put-on, or like a bell or whistle, he has no problem being very forthright about that.”
Platt opens up as well about the singular experience of filming the very personal music video for single “Cherry on Top,” in which he enjoys a day out around Los Angeles with Galvin. “I was apprehensive at first — I love to keep some things sacred and private,” he explains. But he ultimately realized that, since song was written specifically about his experience with Galvin, “nothing felt as true as the actual relationship itself that brings that joy about.”
An unabashed fan of pop, Platt also gushes about his own favorite music right now, mentioning perennial favorites Maggie Rogers and Chappell Roan (he’s a vocal longtime fan: “I’ve known she was a superstar the whole time!”). He’s also big on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well (Musgraves made a surprise appearance at Platt’s opening night at the Palace to duet with him on her “Rainbow”), and Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine (“Ari is one of the greatest pop voices of this generation, and it’s such a sharp, delicious bubblegum album that is like, harkening back to Mariah….it’s always in my head”).
Additionally, Platt shares the inspiration he takes from seeing two of the biggest tours of the past year: Beyoncé’s Renaissance trek and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Swift “shares her own experiences and makes us feel like we’re in her living room … in a way that feels very off the cuff but is clearly very thought out and well-crafted,” he says; Beyoncé is “an unbelievable live singer … and on top of that the level to which she exerts and gives of herself no matter what show she’s doing? You’ve never seen her half-ass a performance in her life!”
Platt will be occupied promoting Honeymind for some time — after his Palace residency, he will embark on a tour of the U.S. and Canada (with album collaborator Brandy Clark supporting) through late July. Meanwhile, he reveals to Billboard that Richard Linklater’s twenty-years-in-the-making film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Merrily We Roll Along — announced in 2019, in which Platt stars alongside close friend Beanie Feldstein and Paul Mescal — is progressing.
Platt says two of “eight or nine” sequences have been filmed with, he adds with a laugh, just “another 16 or so years to go.” Linklater, he says, “puts a lot of emphasis on not looking too far ahead … it becomes too daunting, so I just treat it as this gift of getting to have little checkpoints in my life to check back in with Sondheim, with Paul, and obviously Beanie.” Platt praises Mescal, who makes his major musical onscreen debut in Merrily, as a “gorgeous, kind, amazing actor, beautiful voice — he’s the real deal.”
See what else Platt had to say in the video above.
After being compared to Britney Spears for her electric performances, Tate McRae finally got interviewed by the Princess of Pop, Britney Spears. Has Britney passed her crown along to Tate? Keep watching to find out! Tetris Kelly: Britney Spears has interviewed Tate McRae. Yeah, you heard us right. The Gen Z pop star was blessed […]
Billboard cover star Camila Cabello talks about her upcoming album, C,XOXO, and how she’s evolved her creative style to emulate her new era. She goes in depth about what to expect from her new album, the importance of songwriting and creative freedom in its creation, paying homage to hip-hop, what it was like to collaborate […]
IVE sits down with Billboard President Mike Van to discuss their newest EP ‘IVE SWITCH,’ why their favorite songs are “해야HEYA” & “Accendio” and more!
AN YUJIN:
So let me introduce us. One, two, three.
IVE:
Hi, we’re IVE.
WONYOUNG:
Hi, Billboard. We’re with Mike today. So nice to meet you! So this is your first time in Korea?
Mike Van:
First time in Korea.
WONYOUNG:
Oh, how was it?
Mike Van:
A lot of fun. Very busy.
WONYOUNG:
Busy days?
Mike Van:
The food is amazing here.
WONYOUNG:
Really? What was your favorite food in Korea so far?
Mike Van:
Actually everything.
WONYOUNG:
Really?
Mike Van:
Yeah. Oh, I love Korean food. Yes, I love Korean culture. I love Korean spas. Like a Jjimjilbang? Is that what it’s called?
AN YUJIN:
Yeah, that’s right. I love it.
Mike Van:
Love it. Absolutely love it.
WONYOUNG:
So good to hear.
Mike Van:
Yeah. So looking forward to doing more.
WONYOUNG:
So we’ve got some questions for you.
Mike Van:
All right, let’s do it.
WONYOUNG:
Okay, what was the most challenging part since you arrived in Korea? Are there so many challenging parts for you?
Mike Van:
There is, there is. First of all, the lack of sleep.
WONYOUNG:
Oh, yes, we do have that problem.
Mike Van:
Yeah, beat the jetlag. But outside of that, a lot of the work that we’ve been doing before to prepare for our launch for Billboard Korea has been the hardest part. Right? But now. Now we’re here.
WONYOUNG:
Congratulations.
Mike Van:
Thank you very much. Maybe one day you’ll be on the cover?
Keep watching the video for more!
After three years, Manuel Medrano announces the release of his third album, ‘Perfecto.’ He gives us a sneak peek of new single “Mojado,” his upcoming tour, explains why it took him so long to release his third album and more!
Manuel Medrano:
Hi everyone, I am Manuel Medrano and you are watching Billboard News.
Leila Cobo:
Manuel Medrano, welcome to Billboard.
Manuel Medrano:
Leila, what a pleasure.
Leila Cobo:
First of all, tell me about your look. I love all your looks, and you look very ’50s. Tell me, what are you wearing?
Manuel Medrano:
Thank you very much. It is a classic suit, bone color, a beige color with a shirt I recently discovered that comes with this knot here.
Leila Cobo:
Yes it seems like… You look from Pamplona as if you’re going to run with the bulls.
Manuel Medrano:
I like this classic style, a little elegant. I am taking my style towards that.
Leila Cobo:
This style contrasts with the tattoos because here we have an entire sleeve, tattoos down there, there too. The fire. So this is…
Manuel Medrano:
This is for kitesurf.
Leila Cobo:
Really?
Manuel Medrano:
Yes, make the board look cool.
Leila Cobo:
Is there a new tattoo for the new music?
Manuel Medrano:
There is a new tattoo for the new music. I have a broken heart here. I have a little angel here in honor of my second album. And a new tattoo is coming for my new album. You are the first person to know this.
Leila Cobo:
I can’t believe it. But you haven’t done it yet?
Manuel Medrano:
Not yet. But very possibly I will do it this week.
Keep watching to learn more!
For the first time in eight years, two albums earned over 300,000 equivalent album units in a single week in the U.S., according to Luminate. On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 1), Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department holds atop the list for a fifth straight and total week with 378,000 units earned in the week ending May 23 (up 45%) and Billie Eilish’s new Hit Me Hard and Soft debuts at No. 2 with a career-best 339,000 units.
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See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The last time two albums each cleared 300,000 units in a week was on the chart dated May 21, 2016, when Drake’s Views debuted at No. 1 with 1.039 million units, while Beyoncé’s Lemonade fell 1-2 in its second week with 321,000 units.
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The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new June 1, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 29, one day later than usual, owed to the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. on May 27. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Since the Billboard 200 began ranking albums by equivalent album units, starting with the Dec. 13, 2014-dated list, there have only been five instances in which at least two albums have exceeded 300,000 units each in a single week. (Before that date, the chart was ranked by weekly traditional album sales.)
Here are the other three times at least two albums surpassed 300,000 units in a single week, with Swift also involved in the first such pairing:
On the May 14, 2016-dated chart, Beyoncé’s Lemonade bowed at No. 1 with 653,000 units, while Prince’s The Very Best of Prince fell 1-2 with 391,000 (after re-entering the list the week before, following his death).
The Dec. 5, 2015, chart saw a one-two punch of superstar debuts, when Justin Bieber’s Purpose started at No. 1 with 649,000 and One Direction’s final studio album, Made in the A.M., entered at No. 2 with 459,000.
On the Dec. 27, 2014, chart, J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive launched at No. 1 with 375,000 units, while Swift’s 1989 slipped 1-2 with 324,000.
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department snags a fifth straight and total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 1), as the title earned 378,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending May 23 (up 45%), according to Luminate. The set posted its first weekly gain in units following the release of six new digital album download variants and a new CD variant, along with a stock replenishment of the previously available four deluxe CD editions and the signed CD edition of the album — all of which were sold exclusively in Swift’s webstore.
Poets is the first album to spend its first five weeks at No. 1 since Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time led for its first 12 weeks a year ago (March 18-June 3, 2023-dated charts).
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With 378,000 units earned in Poets’ fifth week, the set scores the largest fifth-week for any album since Adele’s 25 tallied 1.193 million units in its fifth frame (chart dated Jan. 9, 2016).
Swift adds her 74th career week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, extending her record among soloists. (Elvis Presley has the second-most among soloists, with 67.) The total encompasses her 14 leaders. (She’s tied with Jay-Z for the most No. 1s among soloists.)
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Billie Eilish’s new studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft debuts at No. 2 with 339,000 equivalent album units — her largest week ever by units earned. Of that sum, 191,000 are traditional album sales — her best sales week yet.
Notably, with the Nos. 1 and 2 albums both exceeding 300,000 units, it’s the first time that two albums have cleared 300,000 in the same week in eight years. (More on that later in the story.)
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new June 1, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 29 — one day later than usual, owed to the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. on May 27. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of The Tortured Poets Department’s fifth-week unit sum of 378,000, album sales comprise 210,000 (up 413%, making it the top-selling album of the week at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 166,500 (down 23%, equaling 216.9 million on-demand official streams of the deluxe album’s 31 songs; it’s also No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart) and TEA units comprise 1,500 (down 17%).
The Tortured Poets Department’s weekly increase was supported by the continued sturdy sales of the 20-plus existing different iterations of the album and an added boost during the tracking week by a stock replenishment in Swift’s webstore of certain editions, along with the release of a handful of new variants (all of which were only available to U.S. customers).
During the tracking week, Swift issued six new digital album download variants of the album via her webstore, and all were available for a limited time for $5.99 apiece. Each contained the original standard 16-song album tracklist, along with one unique bonus track. There were three editions with a “first draft phone memo” recording (“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” “Cassandra” or “The Black Dog”). There were also three editions with one live recording each from her recent Paris shows during The Eras Tour (“loml,” “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” and “The Alchemy x Treacherous Mashup”).
In the week ending May 23, The Tortured Poets Department sold 77,000 digital albums (across all of the set’s available iterations, both new and old) — a gain of 1,184% compared to the previous week (6,000).
Also new in the tracking week were sales generated from a new CD variant of the album, exclusively sold in Swift’s webstore, which contained the standard 16-song album plus a new bonus track, an acoustic version of the album’s “But Daddy I Love Him.” The CD was sold for 24 hours on May 9 for $7.99. When customers ordered the album, a shipment date was not stated on Swift’s store. (Sales of physical albums from internet mail order companies, such as Swift’s store, or Amazon and other similar web-based retailers, count on the chart in the week they ship to customers.)
The album also got help from a stock replenishment in Swift’s webstore of five previously available editions of the CD: a signed edition and the four deluxe CDs. The signed album was on sale in Swift’s webstore May 14-16 for $25, and a shipment date was not stated at the time of purchase. The four deluxe CDs (in expanded packaging, containing branded merchandise) were available to purchase May 7-8 for $17.99 each, and a shipment date of “on or before May 31, 2024” was noted at the time of sale.
In the week ending May 23, The Tortured Poets Department sold 121,000 copies on CD (across all of its CD iterations) — a gain of 564% compared to the previous week (18,000). (Sales of the album on vinyl decreased by 29% in the tracking week to 12,000, from 17,000 in the previous week).
At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Billie Eilish’s new studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft debuts with 339,000 equivalent album units earned — Eilish’s biggest week ever. Of that sum, album sales comprise 191,000 (her best sales week), SEA units comprise 166,500 (equaling 193.93 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 10 songs) and TEA units comprise 1,500. Notably, of the 191,000 in sales, vinyl sales accounted for 90,000 — Eilish’s best sales week on vinyl ever.
Eilish’s previous high-water mark in terms of equivalent album units was the debut of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019, when it registered 313,000 units. Her previous biggest sales week was also the opening frame of When We All Fall Asleep, with 170,000.
The new set is Eilish’s third to reach the top two on the chart (and top 10), as she previously led the tally with Happier Than Ever (in 2021) and When We All Fall Asleep.
The new album’s sales were supported by its availability across nine vinyl editions of the album (in assorted colors — some exclusive to specific retailers; one of the editions was signed and sold only in Eilish’s webstore — all with the same tracklist), four CD editions (a standard CD, a signed CD sold in her webstore, a “splatter” CD sold in her webstore where Eilish splattered paint across the CD booklets en masse and then those were collated into their packaging, and a Target-exclusive CD containing a poster), one cassette tape, a standard digital album, and three deluxe digital sets (a standard digital album with 10 bonus isolated vocal tracks of the album’s 10 songs, a version with 10 bonus sped-up versions and a version with 10 bonus “slowed and reverb” versions). The deluxe digital edition with isolated vocals sold for $9.99 while the other two iterations sold for $6.99 (and were only available for a limited time).
Eilish announced Hit Me Hard and Soft on April 8. The set was not preceded by any pre-release singles or music — though she did tease a few snippets in some interviews and appearances. On May 15 and 16, she staged two listening events at Barclays Center in New York and the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Additionally, AMC Theatres screened a listening event on May 16-17 across more than 100 theaters in the U.S. On May 17, the day of the album’s release, Eilish dropped an official music video for the set’s “Lunch.” A world tour supporting the new album was announced on April 29 and will kick off on Sept. 29, with dates scheduled through July 2025.
With both The Tortured Poets Department and Hit Me Hard and Soft exceeding 300,000 equivalent album units each, it marks the first time two albums have each cleared 300,000 in a single week in eight years. It last happened on the chart dated May 21, 2016, when Drake’s Views debuted at No. 1 with 1.039 million units, while Beyoncé’s Lemonade fell 1-2 in its second week with 321,000 units.
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover on the new Billboard 200 at No. 3 with 75,000 equivalent album units earned (down less than 1%). Gunna’s One of Wun falls 2-4 in its second week (56,000; down 38%), and Future and Metro Boomin’s former leader We Don’t Trust You dips 4-5 (48,000; down 10%).
Wallen’s former No. 1 Dangerous: The Double Album is pushed down 5-6 despite a 2% gain (to 45,000 equivalent album units), Noah Kahan’s Stick Season slides 6-7 (38,000; down 4%), Zach Bryan’s chart-topping self-titled album is stationary at No. 8 (38,000; up 1%), SZA’s former leader SOS slips 7-9 (37,000; down 3%) and Benson Boone’s Fireworks & Rollerblades descends 9-10 (33,000; down 6%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.