Update: With sales of 105,000 Nicki Minaj’s “The Pinkprint” holds at #3 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. Only Taylor Swift’s “1989” (326,000) and Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me” (121,000) sold more.
Thanks to a stronger boost from the Track Equivalent Album (10 song sales = 1 album sale) and Streaming Equivalent Album (1500 song streams = 1 album sale), Minaj’s album once again ranks ahead of the Pentatonix album on the revamped Billboard 200. Despite commanding fewer pure sales, it ranks at #2 on the Billboard 200 courtesy its 156,000 total, credited units. “That’s Christmas to Me,” which sees less benefit from the TEA and SEA avenues, ranks at #3 with 131,000 total units.
After two weeks of release, “The Pinkprint”‘s pure, cumulative sales count stands at 304,000.
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While it did not open as a juggernaut, Nicki Minaj’s “The Pinkprint” did rank as one of the US’ top five albums in each of its first two weeks of release.
During that timeframe, it amassed a sales total of approximately 302,000 units.
The album’s run began two weeks ago. Thanks to what Soundscan reports as an opening week sales total of 198,142, “The Pinkprint” landed at #3 on the weekly album sales chart behind Taylor Swift’s “1989” and Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me.”
The album had no prayer of matching that total in its second week — and no such unthinkable miracle occurred. But its Christmas week total of what Hits Daily Double reports as 104,000 (the more authoritative Billboard/Soundscan number will differ only slightly) was enough to hold a top five position — and reach the 300,000 threshold.
In its second week, “The Pinkprint” remained behind Taylor Swift’s “1989” (~328,000) and Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me” (~119,000) but also (per Hits’ data) in the shadows of One Direction’s “FOUR” (~106,000) and J. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive” (~105,000).
Insofar as the #3, #4 and #5 albums are barely separated on the Hits chart, it is possible Billboard’s listing will feature a slightly different pecking order.
What does not seem possible, however, is “The Pinkprint” not ranking as a top five album in its second week.