A week-over-week drop of roughly 65% will not prevent Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” from scoring a second week at #1.
According to Hits Daily Double, Lamar’s album is on track to move 110-120,000 traditional copies during its second week of release. Down considerably from the album’s 324,000 opening week total, the projected sum will still keep “Butterfly” in a league of its own.
The “Empire” soundtrack, which Hits projects to be the week’s next-best seller, is tracking to move 50-55,000 copies in its third week of release. The new “Kidz Bop 28,” Action Bronson (“Mr. Wonderful”) and Earl Sweatshirt (“I Don’t Like S**t, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt”) albums will follow with respective totals of 35-40,000, 35-40,000 and 28-32,000.
Taylor Swift’s enduring “1989” (~28-32,000) will also contend for a spot in the weekly top five.
— With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) added to the calculation, Lamar’s album should claim a second week consumption total of 135-145,000 (down from 363,000 in the first week). That will be enough for a convincing win on the Billboard 200 chart.
Other top consumption performers will include “Empire” (~70-75,000) and “50 Shades of Grey” (~50-55,000).
