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Lil Baby lands his third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Oct. 29) as It’s Only Me debuts atop the tally. The set earned 216,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 20, according to Luminate. It also claims the third-largest streaming week for an album in 2022.
Lil Baby previously topped the list with The Voice of the Heroes (a collaborative set with Lil Durk in 2021) and My Turn (2020). The latter finished 2020 as Luminate’s most popular album of that year.
It’s Only Me was announced in early September and marks the rapper’s sixth top 10, all consecutive, on the Billboard 200.
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ second album of 2022, Return of the Dream Canteen, enters at No. 3; The 1975’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language starts at No. 7 and Bailey Zimmerman’s debut effort Leave the Light On bows at No. 9.
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 Oct. 29, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 25. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of It’s Only Me’s 216,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 209,000 (equaling 288.97 million on-demand officials streams of the set’s 23 tracks — the third-largest streaming week of 2022 for an album), album sales comprise 6,500 and TEA units comprise 500.
Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti is a non-mover at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ second album of 2022, Return of the Dream Canteen, debuts at No. 3 with 63,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 56,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week, debuting at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 7,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Return of the Dream Canteen follows the band’s chart-topping Unlimited Love, which debuted atop the list dated April 16.
Notably, on the Top Album Sales chart, the Peppers have scored a pair of No. 1s in 2022 (Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen) – making it the first group with two No. 1 rock albums on the chart in less than 12 months since 2005. That year, System of a Down doubled-up at No. 1 with Mezmerize and Hypnotize. (The Peppers have logged their two 2022 No. 1s six months and two weeks apart; System of a Down notched theirs in 2005 six months and a week apart.)
Return of the Dream Canteen marks the ninth top 10-charting album for Red Hot Chili Peppers on the Billboard 200. The album was led by the single “Tippa My Tongue,” which hit No. 1 on both the Rock & Alternative Airplay and Alternative Airplay charts. On the latter, it’s the 15th No. 1 for the group, extending its record for the most No. 1s in the chart’s history.
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album is stationary at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 (45,000 equivalent album units; down 2%), The Weeknd’s The Highlights is steady at No. 5 (40,000; down less than 1%) and Beyoncé’s former No. 1 Renaissance falls 3-6 (33,000; down 56%).
The 1975 collects its fourth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as the band’s new Being Funny in a Foreign Language bows at No. 7 with 32,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 19,500, SEA units comprise 13,000 (equaling 16.24 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 11 tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album was preceded by a pair of top 20-charting singles on the Alternative Airplay chart (“Part of the Band” and “I’m in Love With You”).
Harry Styles’ chart-topping Harry’s House falls 6-8 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).
Bailey Zimmerman’s debut effort Leave the Light On starts at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 27,000 (equaling 36.19 million on-demand official streams of the set’s nine tracks), album sales comprise 4,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000.
The singer-songwriter initially broke through on TikTok in 2020 and has already notched a trio of top 10-charting hits on the Hot Country Songs chart, all of which are included on Leave the Light On (“Fall in Love,” “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Where It Ends”). All three tracks have additionally reached the top 25 on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, and the top five of the Country Streaming Songs chart (with “Rock and a Hard Place” hitting No. 1 in June).
Zach Bryan rounds out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 as American Heartbreak falls 8-10 with 28,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%).
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.
Whether or not you’re a fan, it’s impossible to deny Taylor Swift’s impact on music. With hundreds of songs and dozens of hits in her career, she is a master singer-songwriter (and officially, Billboard’s Woman of the Decade in 2019).
These days, however, music isn’t just about music — it’s about the visual execution, too. And though the age-old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” is generally true, an album’s cover can play a big role in making a great album. For Swift, a handful of her biggest albums feature some of the most memorable art. When 1989 was released in 2014, for example, everyone from Swifties to casual listeners attempted their recreations of the iconic half-faceless Polaroid cover. And that album went on to win album of the year at the Grammys.
At the same time, not all hit covers are hit albums, and vice versa. So, Billboard decided to rank each of the pop star’s covers since her debut in 2006.
Now, let us be clear: this list is only taking album artwork into account. If you’re looking for how the albums stand against each other musically and lyrically, you’ve come to the wrong place. We’re simply looking at covers: filters, styling, framing and how the creative represents the album as a whole. And, yes, this list is completely subjective, so it’s ok to disagree. No hard feelings.
Including both her re-recorded Taylor’s Versions and original master recordings, as well as that oft-forgotten 2007 Christmas record, see how we rank each of the Swift’s album covers, from worst to best, below.
Advertising Week returned to New York City with 4 days of panels, workshops, and networking opportunities in partnership with some of the industry’s most impactful brands. On Wednesday (Oct. 19), Billboard had the pleasure of sitting down with singer, songwriter, and humanitarian Julian Lennon to discuss his new music video “Lucky Ones,” The White Feather Foundation, and more.
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The video lives at the intersection of art, technology, and beauty. It depicts a love for music that brings humans from different cultures together as they take steps to nurse our environment back to health.
“Lucky Ones” was directed by David Dutton and created using cutting-edge technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Disco Diffusion, and Stable Diffusion. The team started by using Google Notebook Colab to write AI code to the footage they shot and animated on a green screen.
When asked how he decided to use Artificial Intelligence, Dutton told Billboard, “The choice to use AI wasn’t just an experiment to make something viscerally stunning (though we think it is!), but a tool to afford our grand vision we had for this music video. It’s amazing how we were able to enhance the visual narrative with descriptive words. The technology is groundbreaking and changing every week. It’s exciting to see what creatives will do next.”
In 2007, Lennon founded The White Feather Foundation to address environmental and humanitarian issues. It was created with the intent to work with partners worldwide to raise funds for the betterment of all life and to honor those who have made a difference. Over the years, he has dedicated his time to working on creative projects across mediums such as music, photography, documentaries, children’s books and more, while donating majority of his profits to the foundation.
“Lucky Ones” is the single currently at radio on Julian Lennon’s most recent full length album, Jude. The project was released after the artists’ 11 year hiatus from releasing new music.
Check out the Billboard exclusive release of the “Lucky Ones” music video above and stay tuned for more from Julian Lennon.
This month’s featured artist in Sound Mind’s Unmasked series is Memphis May Fire’s lead singer, Matty Mullins. Over the years, the four-piece rock band has stayed true to its sound and maintained its vulnerable lyrics. While some artists may lose sight of their identities while on the path to stardom, even after topping Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums chart, Memphis May Fire continues to be open and honest with their fans. Earlier this year, the band released its seventh studio album, Remade in Misery, which confronts topics like crippling anxiety, polarization, and self-righteousness. The record includes some of the band’s heaviest tracks to date such as “Bleed Me Dry,” “Death Inside,” and “Only Human.”
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On the latest episode of Unmasked, Mullins shares his experience coping with mental health and a panic disorder. He experienced his first panic attack on a short flight to Florida) and says he has never felt the same since. It would take Mullins two grueling years of panic attacks, anxiety, and depression, privately, before seeking the necessary professional steps to work on his mental health.
Mullins told Billboard, “Trauma changes us, changes our bodies, our brains, every cell in our being. And while this can feel disheartening, it’s important to remember that healing changes us too! Healing can become part of us, part of our identity, part of how we view the world and other people, and especially how we view ourselves.”
The singer-songwriter credits therapy and prayer for helping him get through the toughest time of his life. Once he started to do the work to improve his mental health and understand what he was experiencing, his outlook changed. Every person in this world experiences pain and trauma, but it is imperative to not feel ashamed of your pain. Unmasked was created to destigmatize conversations around mental health and foster a safe community for people to comfortably verbalize their experiences and feelings.
Check out Matty Mullins’ episode of Unmasked, and stay tuned for more to come from Sound Mind.
This content was created in partnership with Sound Mind.
Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz secure a top 10 debut on Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Oct. 22) with “Miss You” at No. 10. It’s the first top 10 for Oliver Tree, who has notched 14 entries, including two top 10s, on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and the third for Schulz, following “Prayer in C,” with Lillywood (five weeks at No. 1, 2015), and “Sugar,” featuring Francesco Yates (No. 2, 2016).
“Miss You” manages nearly the entirety of its chart points from streaming, as it earned 2 million official streams in the U.S. in the Oct. 7-13 tracking week, according to Luminate. Concurrently, the track begins on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (No. 25), the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart (No. 93) and the Billboard Global 200 (No. 125).
Elton John and Britney Spears gain on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in the wake of the Oct. 7 release of Joel Corry’s remix of “Hold Me Closer,” as the collab claims top Streaming Gainer honors (6.3 million streams, up 7%). The song, which ranks at No. 2 for a third straight frame after debuting at No. 1 (Sept. 10), also drew 32 million radio airplay audience impressions, up 13%, and sold 3,000 downloads, up 15%.
Additionally on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Alok locks in his eighth appearance, Sigala scores his 17th and Ellie Goulding earns her 11th with “All by Myself” (No. 42). The team-up, which tallied 489,000 streams, contains multiple musical elements of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence,” the band’s 1990 crossover smash from its Violator album that served as the British new wave act’s sole Billboard Hot 100 top 10 (No. 8), topped the Alternative Airplay chart for three weeks and reached No. 6 on Dance Club Songs.
On Dance/Mix Show Airplay, Doja Cat adds her fourth top 10 with “Vegas” (15-10), thanks to strong mix show support. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.) Previously, she culled top 10 placements with “Say So” (12 weeks at No. 1, 2020), “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA (No. 3, 2021), and “Get Into It (Yuh)” (No. 10, this July).
Plus, Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal bow on Dance/Mix Show Airplay with “B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)” (No. 36), the initial appearance for each act. The song is lining up core-dance airplay on SiriusXM’s Diplo’s Revolution, Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel and SiriusXM’s BPM, among other outlets. On Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, “B.O.T.A.” holds at its No. 8 high, driven most prominently by 3.5 million streams.
The all-star charity album Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Compilation Albums chart and also bows at No. 9 on Top Album Sales.
The 49-track set sold nearly 8,500 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 13 according to Luminate – the largest sales week for a non-soundtrack compilation album in two years.
The benefit album boasts music from Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes and Pearl Jam, among others, and was exclusively available via Bandcamp’s webstore for one day only, on Oct. 7, as a digital download. According to a press release, the album’s net proceeds will benefit non-profit organizations working to provide abortion care access to all: Brigid Alliance and NOISE FOR NOW (who are working with Abortion Care Network).
The last time a non-soundtrack compilation album sold more in a single week was two years ago, when the last Good Music charity album, Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2 debuted at No. 10 on Top Album Sales with 13,500 sold (Oct. 17, 2020 chart).
Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All also debuts at No. 8 on Top Current Album Sales and in the top 40 on Independent Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums.
Good Music additionally enters at No. 151 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart – the highest debut by a non-R&B/hip-hop compilation in over a year. The last such set — again, excluding soundtracks — to bow higher was A-list-loaded rock tribute set The Metallica Blacklist, which debuted at No. 132 on the Sept. 25, 2021-dated chart (peaking at No. 103 on the Oct. 16, 2021 chart).
In 2020, the two Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy albums raised over $600,000 for voting-rights organizations (according to the Good Music organization).
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.
Compilation Albums ranks the week’s top-selling compilations by traditional album sales. Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales tally, respectively, the overall top-selling albums of the week, and the top-selling current (excluding older, or “catalog” albums) albums of the week.
Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums rank the week’s most popular rock and alternative albums, rock albums and alternative albums, respectively, by equivalent album units. Independent Albums reflects the week’s most popular albums, by units, released by independent record labels.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance runs back up Billboard’s album charts (dated Oct. 22) following its wide vinyl release on Oct. 7. The set surges 69-2 on Top Album Sales and returns to No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top R&B Albums and Vinyl Albums, and hits No. 1 on Tastemaker Albums for the first time. On the Billboard 200, the former No. 1 climbs 6-3.
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Renaissance sold 47,500 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 13 (up 2,401%) according to Luminate. Of that sum, vinyl sales comprised 45,500 (up from a negligible sum the week prior) – marking the largest week for an R&B album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. It’s also Beyoncé’s single-largest week on vinyl ever.
Renaissance was initially released on July 29 via streaming services, and through all retailers as a digital download and CD. At the time, its vinyl LP was exclusively available only through Beyoncé’s official webstore and in a limited quantity. It did not reach general retail until Oct. 7.
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.
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top R&B Albums rank the week’s most popular R&B/hip-hop albums and R&B albums, respectively, by equivalent album units. Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. Tastemaker Albums ranks the week’s best-selling albums at independent and small chain record stores.
At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Stray Kids lock up their second chart-topper, as MAXIDENT debuts atop the tally with 110,000 copies sold — the fourth-largest sales week of any album in 2022. Of its sales sum, 97% were CD sales while 3% were digital albums. The set was not available in any other configuration for purchase.
The CD configuration of the album was issued in collectible packages (10 total, including exclusive variants for Barnes & Noble, Target and the group’s official webstore), each with a standard set of internal paper items and randomized elements (such as photocards, mini posters and stickers). CD sales were also aided by autographed editions sold via the act’s webstore.
Lamb of God collects its sixth top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales as the rock band’s latest studio effort, Omens, bows at No. 3 with 19,000 copies sold. NCT 127’s 2 Baddies rises 9-4 with 11,000 sold (up 49%), following its Oct. 7 release in a CD digipack edition (available in nine different cover variations – one for each of the group’s members – each with a standard set of paper goods and randomized photocards).
Charlie Puth’s third full-length studio album, Charlie, debuts at No. 5 on Top Album Sales with 10,000 sold. It’s the third consecutive top five-charting album for Puth on Top Album Sales. The set was available in a handful of configurations, including two deluxe CD boxed sets (each with a branded T-shirt), a Target-exclusive version packaged with a poster, and a cassette tape and a signed CD sold through his official webstore. A vinyl edition of the album is due out on Nov. 25.
Alvvays notches its first top 10 on Top Album Sales as the act’s third album, Blue Rev, arrives at No. 6 with nearly 10,000 sold – largely from vinyl sales (6,500; a No. 4 debut on Vinyl Albums). Mac Miller’s Macadelic re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 7 with 9,500 sold (up from a negligible sum the week prior) after the album was reissued on colored vinyl for its 10th anniversary. Essentially all of the album’s sales for the week were on vinyl, and it re-enters the Vinyl Albums chart at No. 2.
Slipknot’s The End, So Far falls tumbles to No. 8 (8,500; down 83%) from its chart-topping debut a week ago.
The all-star charity compilation album Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All debuts at No. 9 on Top Album Sales with nearly 8,500 sold – the largest sales week for a non-soundtrack compilation album in two years. The 49-track digital download album – boasting music from Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes and Pearl Jam, among others – was exclusively available via Bandcamp’s webstore for one day only, on Oct. 7. According to a press release, the album’s net proceeds will benefit non-profit organizations working to provide abortion care access to all: Brigid Alliance and NOISE FOR NOW (who are working with Abortion Care Network).
The last time a non-soundtrack compilation album sold more in a single week was two years ago, when the last Good Music charity album, Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2 debuted at No. 10 on Top Album Sales with 13,500 sold (Oct. 17, 2020 chart).
Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All also debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Compilation Albums chart, No. 8 on Top Current Album Sales and in the top 40 on Independent Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums.
In 2020, the two Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy albums raised over $600,000 for voting-rights organizations (according to the Good Music organization).
Rounding out the new Top Album Sales chart is Pink Floyd’s Animals, which gallops 23-10 with a little over 8,000 sold (up 122%) following the Oct. 7 release of a deluxe box set edition. The four-disc set (containing vinyl LP/CD/DVD and Blu-ray discs) sold for $99.98 in Pink Floyd’s official webstore and is packaged in a hardcover book with a 32-page booklet.
In the week ending Oct. 13, there were 1.896 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 14.3% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.53 million (up 18.1%) and digital albums comprised 366,000 (up 0.5%).
There were 715,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Oct. 13 (up 17.5% week-over-week) and 804,000 vinyl albums sold (up 18.9%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 26.758 million (down 7.9% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 30.031 million (up 1.8%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 73.152 million (down 7.6% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 57.202 million (down 2.9%) and digital album sales total 15.95 million (down 21.4%).
The Voice continued its Battle rounds on Tuesday night (Oct. 18), this time pitting contestants Eric Who and Sydney Kronmiller against each other for a performance of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” that viewers won’t forget. In a promo released on YouTube before the episode, the two singers harmonized perfectly as they competed for judge Camila Cabello’s team.
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It seems like the “Havana” singer adored the performance and and was thoroughly impressed by each contestant’s very different, but equally stunning renditions of the Gaga classic. “Sydney, I have never heard a voice like yours before,” Cabello told Kronmiller. “Your note choices were so different and weird, and the way you slide in and out of falsetto.”
She also seemed to enjoy Eric’s boisterous presence adding, “Eric, I saw you really grow as an artist and step into somebody I’m really excited to hear on the radio, see perform in shows.”
Kronmiller’s low vocal range is what really caught the judges’ attention. “The fact that you can do that and still have the higher notes in your register too–you really gave a great performance,” said John Legend of her performance.
And once again, it’s Eric’s stage presence and energy that wowed judges. While Blake Shelton shared he was shocked by Kronmiller’s register, he described Eric as the “happiest person,” telling Cabello he wouldn’t be able to deny the theatrical contestant a spot.
While the judges had a warm reaction to the two, only one can go on to compete on Cabello’s team. Viewers will have to tune into the episode, airing tonight on NBC. Watch the teaser video below.
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