Update 2: Remember the impressive 240-270,000 first-week forecast for J. Cole’s new album “2014 Forest Hills Drive?” Forget about it.
With first day sales data in the books, Hits Daily Double now projects a monstrous first-week bow in the 320-350,000 range. In addition to giving the hip-hop artist the #1 spot on next week’s Billboard 200, a total in that range would eclipse the 297,000 first-week sales count for predecessor “Born Sinner.”
Other notable releases include Carrie Underwood’s “Greatest Hits: Decade #1” (~85-90,000) and K. Michelle’s “Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?” (~75-80,000).
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Update: The iTunes sales chart does not always tell the whole story, but in this case, J. Cole’s dominance on that listing is indeed indicative of overall weekly success.
According to Hits Daily Double, the artist’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive” is currently on track for an opening week sum in the 240-270,000 range. While holiday shopping holdovers like Taylor Swift’s “1989” and Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me” could theoretically contend with that total, it should unquestionably rank as the best for a new release.
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iTunes only represents one piece of the album sales puzzle, but it is a piece that currently belongs to J. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive.”
The hip-hop artist’s explicit album rose to #1 on the iTunes album sales chart in conjunction with its release early Tuesday morning, and it continues to hold that leadership position.
Demonstrating a healthy correlation between initials and sales, K. Michelle’s new “Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?” currently holds the #2 position. Pentatonix’ holdover hit “That’s Christmas to Me” follows at #3, while Taylor Swift’s juggernaut “1989” is in the #4 slot.
Angels & Airwaves’ “The Dream Walker” stands at #5 and thus a bit taller than Carrie Underwood’s #6 “Greatest Hits: Decade #1” and Bastille’s #7 “VS (Other People’s Heartache, Part III).” The clean version of “2014 Forest Hills Drive” follows at #8, while Smashing Pumpkins’ “Monuments to an Elegy” and Trevor Moran’s “XIAT” EP are #9 and #10, respectively.