Future Squeaks By Iggy Azalea on Billboard 200, ‘Frozen’ Still No. 1
Disney's soundtrack to "Frozen" continues to chill for a 12th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while new albums from Iggy Azalea and Future arrive in the top three.
Disney’s soundtrack to “Frozen” continues to chill for a 12th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while new albums from Iggy Azalea and Future arrive in the top three.
“Frozen” sold another 115,000 copies in the week ending April 27, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s down 56 percent from a week ago, when it hit a weekly high of 259,000.
“Frozen” is just the eighth album to have spent at least 12 weeks at No. 1 since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991. Since the Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular weekly basis in 1956, “Frozen” is one of 14 soundtracks to have earned at least 12 weeks at the top.
With the additional 115,000 “Frozen” sold in the week ending April 27, its total sales rise to 2.5 million. Further, the album becomes the first to reach 2 million in sales in 2014, as its sales this year climb to 2.1 million. (“Frozen” was released in November of 2013, and sold 338,000 last year.)
Last year, it took nearly six months for the industry to notch its first 2 million seller: Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience,” which crossed the threshold in the week ending June 23.
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“Frozen” remains the only album to have sold 1 million copies so far in 2014. The year’s second-biggest seller is Beyonce’s self-titled set, with 648,000.
One more fun “Frozen” fact: The album accounts for 2.6 percent of all albums sold this year and 5.4 percent of all current (non-catalog) albums.
As for the rest of the new Billboard 200, five new titles debut in the top 10.
Rapper Future sees his sophomore album, “Honest,” launch at No. 2 with 53,000 sold, marking his best sales week and highest-charting album yet. It surpasses the No. 8 debut and peak of his first set, “Pluto,” which bowed with a high of 41,000 in 2012. The biggest hit from “Honest” is “Move That Doh,” featuring Pharrell, Pusha T and Casino. It climbed 15-14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated May 3.
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Fewer than 1,000 copies behind Future is rapper Iggy Azalea’s debut full-length album, “The New Classic,” which starts at No. 3 with 52,000 sold.
“The New Classic” is supported by its current hit single, “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, which jumped 37-18 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated May 3. Azalea notched her first Billboard chart hit on July 20, when her song “Work” bowed on the Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It would later peak at No. 35 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
“The New Classic” is the highest-charting rap album from a woman on the Billboard 200 since Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” debuted at No. 1 on the April 21, 2012 chart. Azalea also logs the highest bow for a female rapper’s first album since Dec. 11, 2010, when Minaj’s first set, “Pink Friday,” entered at No. 2. (“Pink Friday” later rose to No. 1 on the chart dated Feb. 19, 2011.)
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Last week, industry forecasters had suggested that Azalea would beat Future in first-week sales. “The New Classic” was projected to sell between 50,000 to 55,000, while “Honest” was aiming for 45,000 to 50,000. Though the overall final gap between the two titles is fewer than 1,000 units, Future handily outsold Azalea in terms of physical CDs. “Honest” sold 26,000 CDs while “The New Classic” shifted just 10,000 CDs. In terms of download albums, “Classic” trumped “Honest” — 43,000 vs. 27,000.
Continuing down the Billboard 200: Pharrell’s “G I R L” climbs 7-4 with 21,000 (down 36 percent), while August Alsina’s “Testimony” dips 2-5 in its second week with 20,000 (down 71 percent).
Neon Trees nab their first top 10 album as “Pop Psychology” starts at No. 6 with 19,000. It’s also the best sales week for the act, beating the bow of 2012’s “Picture Show,” which started with nearly 19,000 at No. 17.
Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party” slides down one rung to No. 7, selling 19,000 (down 42 percent).
The new “Nashville: On the Record” live album from the cast of ABC TV’s “Nashville” series enters at No. 8 with 18,000. It also debuts at No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart. While “Nashville” has spawned three earlier soundtrack albums, none have reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200. The highest-charting “Nashville”-related album, until this week, had been “Nashville: Season 1 — Volume 2,” which hit No. 13 on May 25, 2013.
Lorde’s “Pure Heroine” falls 8-9 in its 30th week with 16,000 (down 38 percent).
Bethel Music’s Christian worship album “You Make Me Brave: Live at the Civic” closes out the top 10, debuting at No. 10 with 14,000. Bethel Music (a division of the Bethel Church in Redding, California) has charted five previous entries on the tally, reaching as high as No. 28 with “Tides Live” in March.
With just 14,000 sold, “You Make Me Brave” claims the lowest weekly sum at No. 10 since SoundScan started powering the chart on May 25, 1991. It falls below the previous low, tallied when Nickelback’s “Here and Now” sold 17,000 on the chart dated Feb. 4, 2012.
Over on the Digital Songs chart, Pharrell’s “Happy” spends an 11th week at No. 1 (208,000 downloads; down 24 percent), marking the second-longest run at No. 1 ever. The only song with more weeks at No. 1 is Flo Rida’s “Low,” which clocked 13 weeks at No. 1 in 2007 and 2008. Digital Songs launched nearly 10 years ago, with the chart dated Oct. 30, 2004.
“Happy” leads a static top five: Nos. 1-5 all hold their position for another week. John Legend’s “All of Me” is No. 2 (187,000; down 12 percent); Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty,” featuring 2 Chainz, is No. 3 (145,000; down 27 percent); Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” is No. 4 (133,000; down 16 percent); and DJ Snake & Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What” is No. 5 (131,000; up 10 percent).
Azalea’s “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, climbs 12-6 (108,000; up 29 percent) with the chart’s largest unit gain (up 25,000). Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J, is stationary at No. 7 (104,000; down 8 percent), and Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again” rises 9-8 (96,000; down 8 percent).
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Timberlake’s “Not a Bad Thing” jumps 11-9 (87,000; down 1 percent), returning him to the top 10 for the first time as a lead artist since the June 15, 2013 chart. That’s when “Mirrors” spent its final week in the region, at No. 10.
Ed Sheeran’s “Sing” rounds out the top 10, falling 8-10 with 80,000 (down 24 percent).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending April 27) totaled 4.3 million units, down 19 percent compared with the sum last week (5.3 million) and down 17 percent compared with the comparable sales week of 2013 (5.2 million). Year-to-date album sales stand at 80.5 million, down 16 percent compared with the same total at this point last year (95.6 million).
Digital track sales this past week totaled 23 million downloads, down 4 percent compared with last week (24 million) and down 5 percent stacked next to the comparable week of 2013 (24.3 million). Year-to-date track sales are at 402.1 million, down 12 percent compared to the same total at this point last year (458.3 million).
Next week’s Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2013 when: Kenny Chesney’s “Life on a Rock” debuted at No. 1 with 153,000 and Michael Buble’s “To Be Loved” slipped 1-2 with 96,000 (down 51 percent).
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