Update: Boosted by a primetime NBC special and a $0.99 sale on Google Play, Ed Sheeran’s “x” put up a fight during the August 14-20 tracking week.
Unfortunately, that fight was not enough to dethrone Luke Bryan’s “Kill The Lights” from the top spot on the album sales chart.
Powered by a second week sales total of approximately 83,000, “Kill The Lights” earns a second week atop the Top Album Sales chart.
“x,” which moved 80,000 pure copies during the tracking week, claims #2.
The hierarchy also holds true for the consumption battle. Adding Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album equivalent unit) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album equivalent unit) to the “Kill the Lights” sales figure produces a consumption total of 99,000 units. “x” follows with 97,000 total consumption units.
“Kill The Lights” thus retains #1 on the Billboard 200. The Top 10 of this week’s Billboard 200 follows (note: data should be considered tentative until the chart goes to print on Tuesday):
1) Luke Bryan – Kill The Lights – 99K total units (83K from sales)
2) Ed Sheeran – x – 97K total units (80K from sales)
3) Dr. Dre – Compton – 51K total units
4) NWA – Straight Outta Compton – 44K total units
5) NOW 55 – 40K total units (40K from sales)
6) Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby – 40K total units)
7) Taylor Swift – 1989 – 32K total units
8) Bullet for My Valentine – Venom – 28K total units (26K from sales)
9) Future – DS2 – 28K total units
10) Sam Hunt – Montevallo – 28K total units
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Billboard’s authoritative album sales data will not emerge until later this weekend — and it will not go official until Tuesday.
This week’s Hits Daily Double report, which serves as an accurate indicator of the eventual Billboard listing, is already available. And it says that Luke Bryan’s “Kill the Lights” ranks as America’s best-selling album for a second straight week.
According to Hits’ data, “Kill the Lights” moved approximately 83,783 pure copies during the August 14-20 tracking week. While that trails the album’s opening week (August 7-13) total by 74%, it allows “Lights” to remain at #1.
Per Hits, its margin of victory was very slim. Powered by a $0.99 sale on Google Play Music, Ed Sheeran’s “x” grabs the runner-up slot on the strength of ~78,505 weekly sales. That total, which bests the previous week’s mark by more than 500%, was also aided by the “Live at Wembley” concert special that aired on NBC.
Due by Sunday or Monday (and set to go “official” on Tuesday), Billboard’s more authoritative data will differ slightly from that reported by Hits. Whether that disparity will be enough to change the picture atop the Top Album Sales chart remains to be seen.
For as close as “Kill the Lights” and “x” are from a pure sales standpoint, Hits reports even narrower separation from a total consumption standpoint. Total consumption informs the Billboard 200 chart.
With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album equivalent unit) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album equivalent unit) added to each album’s sales total, “Kill The Lights” boasts a weekly consumption tally of ~98,964 units. Per Hits, “x” registers a total of ~96,912.
Because the disparity between the Hits and Billboard data could easily exceed 2,052 units, it is too early to safely declare a Billboard 200 champion.
Other top performers from a pure sales standpoint: Dr. Dre’s “Compton” (~42,732 pure sales), “NOW 55” (~38,761), NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” (~29,86), Melanie Martinez’ “Cry Baby” (~29,230), Bullet For My Valentine’s “Venom” (~27,792) and Elvis Presley’s “Elvis Presley Forever” (~27,301).
Other top performers from a total consumption standpoint: Dr. Dre’s “Compton” (~51,088 total units), NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” (~43,227), “NOW 55” (~38,761), Melanie Martinez’ “Cry Baby” (~35,508).