Chart Beat
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The original Broadway cast recording of Wicked reaches the top 40 of the Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time, nearly 21 years after its release in December 2003. The set jumps 79-33 on the chart dated Dec. 7, following continued buzz generated by the recently released film adaptation of the long-running stage show.
The Broadway show, which opened in New York in October 2003, launched with Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the lead roles of Glinda and Elphaba (played by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the film).
Wicked is just the seventh musical cast album to reach the top 40 of the Billboard 200 in the last 25 years, following Bruce Springsteen’s solo show Springsteen on Broadway (2018) and the original Broadway cast recordings of Dear Evan Hansen (2017), Hamilton: An American Musical (2015), If/Then (2014), The Book of Mormon (2011) and Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2008).
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The new Wicked film opened in U.S. theaters on Nov. 22 and has earned more than $260 million at the U.S. and Canada box office. Its soundtrack debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, marking the highest debut for a soundtrack of a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical.
In the tracking week ending Nov. 28, as reflected on the Dec. 7-dated Billboard 200 chart, the Wicked Broadway cast recording earned 22,000 equivalent album units (up 60%) while the Wicked film soundtrack starts with 139,000 units.
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 Dec. 7, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The original Broadway cast recording of Wicked had previously peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard 200 in March of 2014. Chenoweth and Menzel starred in the Broadway show from its opening through July 2004 and January 2005, respectively. Wicked has continued to play on Broadway since its premiere in 2003, and with more than 8,100 performances, it is the fourth-longest running show in Broadway history.
The original Broadway cast recording of Wicked also spends a 350th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart, which ranks the week’s top-selling musical stage show albums. Wicked has the second-most weeks at No. 1 on Cast Albums since the list began in January of 2006. The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical leads the pack with 411 weeks at No. 1.
The Wicked cast album also debuts on the Top Streaming Albums chart at No. 38, where the Wicked movie soundtrack debuts at No. 4.
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” rules both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for a sixth week. The song debuted as the stars’ second leader on each survey.
Plus, Kendrick Lamar debuts five songs in the Global 200’s top 10 and one in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, all from his new album, GNX; Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” dashes back into the Global Excl. U.S. top 10; and two other tracks debut in the Global Excl. U.S. top tier: G-DRAGON’s “Home Sweet Home,” featuring TAEYANG and DAESUNG, and Stromae and Pomme’s “Ma Meilleure Ennemie.”
The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“APT.” tops the Global 200 for a sixth week with 160.6 million streams (up 21% week-over-week) and 20,000 sold (up 49%) worldwide Nov. 22-28. The duet debuted with 224.5 million global streams and logged 207.5 million in its second frame, becoming the first title since the chart started to have amassed at least 200 million streams globally in multiple weeks.
“APT.” also now boasts six of the top seven streaming weeks on the Global 200 among songs released in 2024:
224.5 million, “APT.,” ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, Nov. 2
207.5 million, “APT.,” Nov. 9
176.8 million, “Fortnight,” Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone, May 4
162.2 million, “APT.,” Nov. 16
160.6 million, “APT.,” Dec. 7
146.4 million, “APT.,” Nov. 23
132.7 million, “APT.,” Nov. 30
Lady Gaga and Mars’ “Die With a Smile” holds at No. 2 on the Global 200, following eight weeks at No. 1, the most for any song this year, beginning in September. It drew 115.7 million streams (up 1%) worldwide Nov. 22-28 and has tallied over 100 million streams globally in each of the last 13 weeks, the longest such streak since the chart began.
Lamar debuts five songs in the Global 200’s top 10, all from his album GNX, which blasts in at No. 1 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200: “Squabble Up” (No. 3; 82.6 million streams), “Luther,” with SZA (No. 4; 78.1 million), “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay (No. 5; 74.9 million), “Wacced Out Murals” (No. 6; 60.9 million) and “Hey Now,” featuring Dody6 (No. 10; 48.8 million). Lamar ups his total to 11 top 10s since the Global 200 began. SZA adds her seventh top 10, while Lefty Gunplay and Dody6 each earn their first. (“Luther” samples Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s 1982 cover of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s 1967 single “If This World Were Mine.”)
“APT.” concurrently commands Global Excl. U.S. for a sixth week, with 141 million streams (up 20%) and 13,000 sold (up 44%) outside the U.S. Nov. 22-28.
“Die With a Smile” holds at No. 2 on Global Excl. U.S. following eight weeks at No. 1 starting in September; Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” keeps at No. 3, after three weeks at No. 1 beginning in August; and Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” rises 5-4 for a new high.
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” sleigh-rides 14-5 on Global Excl. U.S, with 38.1 million streams (up 33%) and 2,000 sold (up 40%) outside the U.S. The modern Yuletide classic, originally released in 1994, has spent 13 weeks at No. 1 dating to the chart’s start, tying Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (2023) and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (2022) for the most frames on top. The carol holds at No. 9 on the Global 200, where it has spent a record 18 weeks at No. 1.
Three songs debut in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, led by Lamar’s “Luther” (34.1 million streams outside the U.S.) It’s the rapper’s fourth top 10 on the chart and SZA’s third.
G-DRAGON’s “Home Sweet Home,” featuring TAEYANG and DAESUNG, opens at No. 7 on Global Excl. U.S. with 29.2 million streams and 8,000 sold outside the U.S. The track brings together the three members of BIGBANG, which as a group hit No. 3 on the chart with “Still Life” in April 2022. G-DRAGON and DAESUNG each reach the top 10 as soloists for the first time, while TAEYANG previously ranked in the region with “Vibe,” featuring Jimin (No. 9, 2023).
Plus, Stromae and Pomme’s “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” debuts at No. 8 on Global Excl. U.S. with 32.3 million streams and 1,000 sold outside the U.S. Each act charts in the top 10 for the first time with the song from the second-season soundtrack to the Netflix animated series Arcane: League of Legends.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Dec. 7, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Dec. 2. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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.
The Holiday 100 makes its annual jolly jaunt back to Billboard’s charts menu. The survey ranks the top seasonal songs of all eras via the same formula used for the Billboard Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay and sales data.
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – which surges six spots to No. 10 on the Hot 100 – rules the Holiday 100 for a 61st week of the chart’s 69 total weeks since the tally originated in 2011.
The only other Holiday 100 No. 1s to date: Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” for a week in the 2011-12 holiday season; Pentatonix’s “Little Drummer Boy” (one, 2013-14) and “Mary, Did You Know?” (two, 2014-15); Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (one, 2014-15); and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – which reigned for three weeks on both the Holiday 100 and Hot 100 last holiday season, granting the legendary singer a gift 65 years in the making, following the song’s 1958 release.
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Carey’s carol reigns with 26.8 million streams (up 52% week-over-week), 15.7 million airplay audience impressions (up 68%) and 2,000 sold (up 25%) in the United States Nov. 22-28, according to Luminate.
The song also boasts top honors on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart.
“When I wrote [it], I had absolutely no idea the impact the song would eventually have worldwide,” Carey marveled of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 2021; it was originally released 30 years ago. “I’m so full of gratitude that so many people enjoy it with me every year.”
Rounding out the Holiday 100’s top five are Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (No. 2); Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” which marks its 40th anniversary this year (No. 3); Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” from 1957 (No. 4); and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” which turns 60 this year (No. 5).
The entire latest Holiday 100, and all other seasonal charts – Top Holiday Albums, Holiday Streaming Songs, Holiday Airplay, Holiday Digital Song Sales, Holiday 100 Songwriters and Holiday 100 Producers – along with all additional rankings, will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (Dec. 3).
As Kendrick Lamar’s new LP, GNX, blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the superstar rapper rules the Billboard Hot 100 songs survey, where the set’s “Squabble Up” likewise launches at the summit.
The track becomes Lamar’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1, and his third of 2024 – the most among all artists this year. He previously led in 2024 with “Not Like Us,” for two weeks beginning in May, and “Like That,” with Future and Metro Boomin, for three weeks in April.
Lamar sweeps the Hot 100’s top five with four more debuts from GNX: “TV Off” (featuring Lefty Gunplay), “Luther” (with SZA), “Wacced Out Murals” and “Hey Now” (featuring Dody6) at Nos. 2-5, respectively. He joins only Taylor Swift, Drake and The Beatles in having placed at Nos. 1-5 in a single week.
Lamar also debuts in the Hot 100’s top 10 with fellow GNX tracks “Reincarnated” (No. 8) and “Man at the Garden” (No. 9), swelling his career count to 22 top 10 hits.
Below Lamar’s top five Hot 100 arrivals, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” falls to No. 6 a week after it logged a record-equaling 19th week at No. 1. Over the chart’s 66-year history, it remains tied for the longest reign with Lil Nas X’s 2019 smash “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
Plus, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” again decorates the Hot 100’s top 10, dashing 16-10. The modern classic, from 1994, has reigned for 14 total weeks dating to its first frame at the apex in 2019.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Dec. 7, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Dec. 3). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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.
Lamar Lands Fifth Hot 100 No. 1 With ‘Squabble Up’
The Wicked film soundtrack debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Soundtracks and Vinyl Albums charts (all dated Dec. 7), while also flying in at No. 2 on the overall Billboard 200 chart. On the latter, the set, which was released on Nov. 22, notches highest debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical ever, dating to the list’s 1956 launch as a regularly published weekly chart. The new Wicked film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is based on the long-running stage musical of the same name, which has played on Broadway in New York since 2003.
The Wicked film was released on Nov. 22 and has grossed over $260 million at the U.S. and Canada box office.
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The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multimetric 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 Dec. 7, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday, Dec. 3. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
The Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week by traditional album sales. Soundtracks ranks the week’s most popular soundtrack albums, by equivalent album units. Vinyl Albums lists the top-selling vinyl albums of the week.
On the Billboard 200, the last time a stage-to-screen musical soundtrack debuted in the top five was when Chicago danced in at No. 4 – over 21 years ago, on the Feb. 1, 2003, chart – on its way to a No. 2 peak a week later. Setting aside debut ranks, the last stage-to-screen movie musical soundtrack to reach the top two was Les Miserables, which spent a week at No. 1 on the Jan. 19, 2013-dated chart. (It debuted at No. 33, and then moved to No. 2 and No. 1 in its second and third weeks.)
Among all soundtracks in 2024, Wicked is the second to reach the top 10 for the first time, and the highest charting, following Twisters (No. 7 peak) in August.
Wicked launches with 139,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 28 – the biggest week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned 143,000 units in its second week (Oct. 17, 2018, chart; down from its 162,000 bow). Wicked also logs the biggest week for any stage-to-screen musical soundtrack since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014.
Of Wicked’s opening-week sum, album sales comprise 85,000 (it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 52,000 (equaling 67.66 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks; it’s No. 4 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 2,000. With 67.66 million streams generated by its songs, Wicked has 2024’s biggest streaming week for any soundtrack, and the largest streaming week ever for a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack.
Of Wicked’s opening-week sales, vinyl sales represent nearly 39,000 copies.
Wicked’s overall first-week album sales of 85,000 score the largest sales week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since A Star Is Born’s second week (86,000). Wicked has the largest debut sales week for a stage-to-screen musical film since Dreamgirls opened with 92,000 (Dec. 23, 2006, chart). The last time a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack sold more than Wicked this past week was when Les Miserables reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 in its third chart week (Jan. 19, 2013, chart).
Wicked’s opening week sales were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including a signed edition, autographed by Erivo and Grande), four CD variants (including a signed edition) and a standard digital download album.
Beginning Monday (Dec. 2), SiriusXM’s Billboard Music Awards Channel spotlights the year’s biggest Billboard chart hits, serving as an all-inclusive soundtrack leading up to the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
The Billboard Music Awards Channel will air on the SiriusXM App for a limited time. It will also play on The 10s Spot (channel 11) beginning Dec. 6.
The channel will highlight 2024 Billboard Music Awards finalists, including No. 1 hits from the 2024 Billboard chart year, spanning genres from pop, rock/alternative and R&B/hip-hop to country, Latin, dance/electronic and Christian.
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Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter are the leading finalists for the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Hosted by actress and comedian Michelle Buteau, the 2024 BBMAs presented by Marriott Bonvoy are set to air on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox and Fire TV Channels, and on-demand on Paramount+, with performances also rolling out across Billboard.com, and via BBMAs and Billboard social channels.
The BBMAs honor the year’s biggest artists, albums, songs, producers and songwriters across multiple genres, as determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts. The eligibility dates for this year’s awards are aligned with Billboard’s year-end charts tracking period, which measures music consumption from the charts dated Oct. 28, 2023, through Oct. 19, 2024.
The Billboard Music Awards Channel marks the latest partnership between SiriusXM and Billboard. Recent airings include the Billboard Top 500 Summer Hits Countdown, the Billboard Women of Pop Countdown, the Billboard #2 Countdown Channel and the Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown. Additionally, SiriusXM’s Big 40 Countdown, on ’80s on 8, and the Back in the Day Replay, on ’90s on 9, are based on historical weekly Hot 100 charts, with other current and classic charts counted down on channels including ’70s on 7, Prime Country and TikTok Radio.
Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album GNX debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Dec. 7), marking his fifth chart-topper, all earned consecutively. It launches with 319,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 28, according to Luminate — the year’s sixth-largest debut frame. The set’s opening week was largely driven by streaming activity, and the 12-song effort launches with 2024’s third-biggest streaming week for any album. GNX arrived with no warning on Nov. 22 around noon ET.
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Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, the Wicked film soundtrack enters at No. 2, notching the highest debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical ever. The new Wicked film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is based on the long-running stage musical of the same name, which has played on Broadway in New York since 2003.
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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 Dec. 7, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Dec. 3). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of GNX’s 319,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 285,000 (equaling 379.72 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 32,000 (it was only available as a widely available standard digital download, in both a clean and explicit edition; it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), and TEA units comprise 2,000.
GNX scores 2024’s sixth-largest opening week, by equivalent album units, among all albums. Further, with 379.72 million on-demand official streams generated by its songs, the album yields the year’s biggest streaming week for any R&B/hip-hop album. Further, among all albums, it logs the year’s second-biggest debut streaming week, and the year’s third-largest streaming week overall. (The year’s two bigger streaming weeks were the first and second weeks of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, with 891.37 and 428.54 million, respectively.)
Lamar previously led the Billboard 200 with Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), DAMN. (2017), Untitled Unmastered (2016) and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). Earlier in 2024, he nabbed a pair of No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with his solo cut “Not Like Us” (in May), shortly after he led the list with the co-billed collaboration “Like That” (in April) with Future and Metro Boomin. Neither song is included on GNX.
GNX precedes Lamar headlining turn at the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. He was announced as the star act of the festivities on Sept. 8. It will mark his second appearance at the halftime show, following the all-star 2022 hip-hop showcase with Dr. Dre at the helm.
The Wicked film soundtrack takes a bow at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut ever by a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical.
The last time a stage-to-screen musical soundtrack debuted in the top five was when Chicago danced in at No. 4 — over 21 years ago, on the Feb. 1, 2003 chart — on its way to a No. 2 peak a week later. Setting aside debut ranks, the last stage-to-screen movie musical soundtrack to reach the top two was Les Miserables, which spent a week at No. 1 on the Jan. 19, 2013-dated chart. (It debuted at No. 33, and then moved to No. 2 and No. 1 in its second and third weeks.)
Among all soundtracks in 2024, Wicked is the second soundtrack to reach the top 10 for the first time this year, and the highest charting, following Twisters (No. 7 peak) in August.
Wicked launches with 139,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 28 — the biggest week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned 143,000 units in its second week (Oct. 17, 2018, chart; down from its 162,000 bow). Wicked also logs the biggest week for any stage-to-screen musical soundtrack since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014.
Of Wicked’s opening-week sum, album sales comprise 85,000 (it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales, SEA units comprise 52,000 (equaling 67.66 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks; it’s No. 4 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 2,000. With 67.66 million streams generated by its songs, Wicked has 2024’s biggest streaming week for any soundtrack, and the largest streaming week ever for a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack.
Wicked’s first-week album sales score the largest sales week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since A Star Is Born’s second week (86,000). Wicked has the largest debut sales week for a stage-to-screen musical film since Dreamgirls opened with 92,000 (Dec. 23, 2006 chart). The last time a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack sold more than Wicked this past week was when Les Miserables reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 in its third chart week (Jan. 19, 2013, chart).
Wicked’s opening week sales were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including a signed edition, autographed by Erivo and Grande), four CD variants (including a signed edition) and a standard digital download album.
Sabrina Carpenter‘s chart-topping Short n’ Sweet rises 5-3 on the Billboard 200 (69,000 equivalent album units; down 4%); Tyler, The Creator’s former No. 1 CHROMAKOPIA falls 3-4 (61,000; down 24%) and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft rounds out the top five, rising 9-5 with 50,000 (up 2%).
Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us steps 8-6 (48,000 equivalent album units; down 5%); Rauw Alejandro’s Cosa Nuestra falls 6-7 (44,000; down 35% in its second week); Swift’s former leader The Tortured Poets Department climbs 11-8 (43,000; up 1%); Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time ascends 12-9 (42,000; up 2%); and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a non-mover at No. 10 (42,000; down 2%).
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.
Gracie Abrams’ is on quite the streak with “That’s So True” as her breakout single lands a fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart. The singer-songwriter released the deluxe edition of her sophomore album, The Secret of Us, in October, and has seen the bonus track become her biggest chart hit […]
Kendrick Lamar has landed his second No.1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with GNX, his surprise-released sixth studio album. The Compton rapper previously topped the chart in 2015 with his third LP To Pimp A Butterfly, while 2017’s DAMN. and 2022’s Mr Morale & The Big Steppers both finished at No. 2. Lamar achieved the […]
Jon Batiste scores his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart, as his new project, Beethoven Blues, debuts atop the list dated Nov. 30. It’s the first in a planned series of solo piano albums, and on this release, Batiste interprets familiar works by composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven Blues also bows at No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Crossover Albums chart, another first for Batiste.
The Grammy- and Academy Award-winning entertainer also sees Beethoven Blues bow at No. 9 on the Top Album Sales chart, with 13,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 21, according to Luminate. That marks his biggest sales week ever. (Keep reading for a full recap of the week’s top 10-selling albums.)
Batiste has previously notched seven top 10-charting sets on both the Traditional Jazz Albums and overall Jazz Albums charts, including one No. 1, Social Music, in 2014. Beethoven Blues is his first title to chart on any of Billboard’s classical albums charts.
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On the all-genre Billboard 200, Beethoven Blues enters at No. 64, landing Batiste’s highest-debut ever, and fifth charting effort in total.
The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across four vinyl variants (including two signed editions), two CD variants (one signed) and a digital download album. In support of the project, Batiste appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show (Nov. 11) and The Jennifer Hudson Show (Nov. 18), and had a significant profile in The New York Times on Nov. 19.
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.
The Classical Albums chart ranks the most popular classical albums of the week, ranked by equivalent album units. The Classical Crossover Albums chart ranks the top-selling classical crossover titles of the week. Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums rank the week’s most popular jazz and traditional jazz albums, respectively, by equivalent album units earned.
As for the rest of the latest Top Album Sales chart’s top 10: ATEEZ’s GOLDEN HOUR: Part.2 debuts at No. 1 (179,000; the act’s best sales week ever), Linkin Park’s From Zero debuts at No. 2 (72,000), Jin’s Happy debuts at No. 3 (66,000), ENHYPEN’s chart-topping Romance: Untold jumps 26-4 (51,000; up 1,473% after a deluxe reissue), MF Doom’s MM..Food re-enters at a new high of No. 5 (27,000; up 2,875% after a deluxe reissue), TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s former leader The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY falls 1-6 (17,000; down 82%), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet fall 4-7 (15,000; though up 24%), Shawn Mendes’ Shawn debuts at No. 8 (nearly 14,000) and Gwen Stefani’s Bouquet debuts at No. 10 (11,000).