Lil Wayne will almost certainly have the top debut on next week’s Billboard 200 album sales chart, but his “I Am Not a Human Being II” is unlikely to reach the chart’s overall apex.
Based on opening day sales, Billboard is forecasting a weekly total in the 190-210,000 range. Second-week sales for Justin Timberlake’s “20/20 Experience” will certainly decline significantly from the 968,000 first week mark, but industry sources do not believe the decline will be enough to dethrone the nation’s current number one album.
Also debuting this week is Blake Shelton’s “Based on a True Story,” which is projected to move about 150,000 units in its first week. Considering predecessor “Red River Blue,” which featured smash hit “Honey Bee” and debuted as “The Voice” judge’s mainstream star was exploding, only moved 116,000 units in its first week, this is a solid start for “True Story.”
Depeche Mode’s “Delta Machine” is likely to net 55,000, while OneRepublic’s “Native” (~50,000), Alan Jackson’s “Precious Memories Volume II” (~45,000) and The Strokes’ “Comedown Machine” (~40,000) will also debut in the upper portion of the Billboard chart.
