Predictably, Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter IV” will top next week’s Billboard 200 Album Sales Chart.
According to the magazine’s early sales estimates, “Tha Carter IV”‘s opening day performance put it on pace for at least 700-850,000 first-week sales, and the latest indications suggest it might even be able to go as high as 850-950,000 by week’s end.
That total would mark a slight decrease from his million-plus-selling “Tha Carter III” but still represent a phenomenal debut for the record. Given how well the stars aligned for the release of “Tha Carter III”–its “Lollipop” was a number one single and his voice seemed to be everywhere, finally helping his mainstream profile explode–the fact that “Tha Carter IV”‘s opening week sales total will be close to that of its “Carter” predecessor is indeed an accomplishment.
Emphasizing the importance of “Tha Carter” as a brand, the album’s sales total will greatly exceed that of Lil Wayne’s last two non-“Carter” studio albums.
Long expected to be the runner-up, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “I’m With You” is expected to garner sales in the 175-200,000 range, although the calculations are very rough at this point. Predecessor “Stadium Arcadium,” a double album, posted first-week sales of more than 440,000 in 2006.