Update: The official Billboard/Nielsen data has been published, and it confirms that 5 Seconds of Summer’s “Sounds Good Feels Good” won the weekly album sales race.
According to Nielsen Music, “Sounds Good Feels Good” sold 179,000 pure US copies within the October 23-29 tracking week. Down sharply from the 259,000 moved by the band’s predecessor, the total nonetheless gives the 5SOS album the edge over all new and holdover releases.
Carrie Underwood’s new “Storyteller,” which came closest, moved 164,000 pure copies in the official tracking week.
With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album equivalent unit) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album equivalent unit) included, “Sounds Good Feels Good” generated a first-week consumption total of 192,000 units. That positions the 5SOS album atop the consumption-oriented Billboard 200.
The Top 10 of this week’s BB200 follows:
1) 5 Seconds of Summer – Sounds Good Feels Good – 192K units (179K from sales)
2) Carrie Underwood – Storyteller – 177K units (164K from sales)
3) The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness – 55K units
4) Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap – 42K units
5) Blake Shelton – Reloaded: 20 #1 Hits – 40K units (33K from sales)
6) Drake & Future – What A Time To Be Alive – 34K units
7) Taylor Swift – 32K units
8) Pentatonix – Pentatonix – 32K units
9) Selena Gomez – Revival – 31K units
10) Andrea Bocelli – Cinema – 30K units (29K from sales)
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A far cry from the 300,000 that industry analysts were predicting as recently as last month, the opening week sales total for 5 Seconds of Summer’s “Sounds Good Feels Good” still ranks as the week’s best.
According to Hits Daily Double, the new 5SOS album sold approximately 180,386 US copies during the October 23-29 tracking week. The count gives “Sounds Good Feels Good” the victory over Carrie Underwood’s “Storyteller” — and all other new and holdover albums.
Due Sunday, Billboard’s more authoritative data will differ slightly. The disparity will not, however, be great enough to change the overall conclusion: “Sounds Good Feels Good” was the week’s best-selling album and will start at #1 on Top Album Sales.
Powered by sales of approximately 164,090, the aforementioned “Storyteller” will take second.
The sales totals represent declines from each act’s previous release. 5 Seconds of Summer’s self-titled 2014 release sold 259,000 copies in its first week. Underwood’s 2012 “Blown Away” debuted with 267,000 sales.
In addition to winning the pure album sales race, “Sounds Good Feels Good” generated the most weekly consumption. With Track Equivalent Albums (10 single sales = 1 album equivalent unit) and Streaming Equivalent Albums (1500 single streams = 1 album equivalent unit) included, Hits estimates that “Sounds Good Feels Good” posted a first-week consumption total of 195,150 units.
“Storyteller” follows with ~179,096 units.
Other top pure sales performers: Andrea Bocelli’s “Cinema” (~40,739 sales), Blake Shelton’s “Reloaded: 20 #1 Hits” (~29,573 sales), Pentatonix’s “Pentatonix” (~24,830 sales).
Other top total consumption performers: The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind The Madness” (~55,544 units), Fetty Wap’s “Fetty Wap” (~44,793 units), Andrea Bocelli’s “Cinema” (~41,988 units).