Update: A week-over-week drop of 67% did not prevent Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” from earning a second consecutive week atop the Billboard Top Album Sales chart.
After shifting 324,000 traditional copies in its inaugural week, “Butterfly” posted a second week pure sales total of 107,000.
With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) included, “Butterfly” boasts a second week consumption total of 123,000 units. That earns it a second week atop the revamped Billboard 200.
The top ten of this week’s Billboard 200 follows:
1 – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly – 123K total units (107K from pure sales)
2 – Empire Soundtrack – 61K total units
3 – 50 Shades of Grey Soundtrack – 54K total units
4 – Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour – 53K total units
5 – Taylor Swift – 1989 – 52K total units
6 – Ed Sheeran – x – 50K total units
7 – Action Bronson – Mr. Wonderful – 49K total units
8 – Drake – If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late – 44K total units
9 – Maroon 5 – V – 42K total units
10 – Kidz Bop 28 – 40K total units
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The drop was sizable, but it was not enough to knock Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” from the top of the mountain. The hip-hop artist’s critically acclaimed album will reign over the Billboard Top Album Sales and Billboard 200 charts for a second consecutive week.
According to Hits Daily Double’s data, which will differ only slightly from the final Billboard report, “Butterfly” moved approximately 102,113 traditional copies in its second week. Down a sharp (but not unusually so) 68% from last week’s total, the weekly total still more than doubles that achieved by any other album.
The “Empire” soundtrack, which came closest, moved ~49,702 traditional copies this week. Other top pure sales performers included Action Bronson’s “Mr. Wonderful” (~39,961), “Kidz Bop 28” (~37,660), Taylor Swift’s “1989” (~33,292), Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour” (~31,922) and Earl Sweatshirt’s “I Don’t Like S**t, I Don’t Go Outside” (~29,573).
With track equivalent albums (10 single sales = 1 album sale) and streaming equivalent albums (1500 single streams = 1 album sale) to the mix, “Butterfly” boasts a week two consumption total of ~118,199 units. Down from last week’s 363,000 mark, this week’s unit count will still clinch the song a second week atop the revamped Billboard 200.
Other albums expected to rank well on the consumption-oriented BB200 include the “Empire” soundtrack (~60,764 units), Taylor Swift’s “1989” (~52,356 units), the “50 Shades of Grey” soundtrack (~49,140 units) and Ed Sheeran’s “x” (~47,078 units), Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour” (~45,920 units) and Action Bronson’s “Mr. Wonderful” (~43,303 units).
