Thanks to what may end up being the best opening sales week of his career, Dierks Bentley’s “Black” will win the May 27-June 2 album sales race.
According to Hits Daily Double, “Black” is on pace to sell 80-85,000 US copies during its inaugural week of release.
The figure will surely top the 63,000 sold by his previous album “Riser,” and if it lands in the upper half of the range (or higher) it will be his best opening week ever. Bentley’s 2006 release “Long Trip Alone,” which sold 82,000 in its first frame, currently holds that distinction.
While “Black” will win the pure sales race, Drake’s consumption powerhouse “Views” should easily lead the Billboard 200, which ranks songs based on combined consumption from album sales + track sales/10 + track streams/1500. “Black” may not reach 100,000 in total consumption (Hits is currently projecting 85-90,000); no projection is yet available for Drake’s album, but it should post a considerably higher total.
— This week also marks the arrival of Fifth Harmony’s “7/27,” which Hits expects to sell 47-52,000 pure copies and drive 70-75,000 in total consumption.