NEEDTOBREATHE’s new “H A R D L O V E” is set to convincingly win this week’s US album sales race, but it will not top Drake’s “Views” in total consumption.
The Drake album will therefore rule the Billboard 200 for an eleventh, non-consecutive week.
According to Hits Daily Double, the NEEDTOBREATHE album is pacing to sell 40-45,000 pure US copies during the July 15-21 tracking week. Since the week’s #2 album may not top 30,000 in weekly sales, “H A R D L O V E” is a safe bet to win the pure sales race.
The inclusion of TEA (track sales/10) and SEA (track streams/1500) will result in a consumption total of 43-48,000. There is a good chance that will be enough for #2, but it will not give “H A R D L O V E” the edge over Drake’s “Views.”
“H A R D L O V E” will be the first NEEDTOBREATHE album to win a weekly US sales race. If it debuts above #3 on the Billboard 200, it will be the act’s highest charting album on the listing.