Kanye West will predictably win the weekly album sales race, but his “Yeezus” is pacing to fall far short of expectations.
Initially eyed as a safe bet for 500,000, “Yeezus” is now looking at an opening total in the 360-380,000 range, notes Billboard. Though enough to claim number one on the Billboard 200, it marks a steep decline from the 496,000 moved by 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and would represent West’s lowest debut sales total to date.
Also noteworthy is the fact that West’s margin of victory over J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” will be far less than first anticipated. The J. Cole album, tracking well above early forecasts, is on track for 270-290,000. Billboard adds that a 300,000 debut tally is not impossible at this point.
Mac Miller’s “Watching Movies With the Sound Off” is performing well given the hip-hop competition, but with a forecast of 100,000 first-week copies, its sales total will trail that of predecessor “Blue Side Park.”
