NEEDTOBREATHE [Eric Ryan Anderson | Atlantic Press Photo]
Barring a surprise turn of events, NEEDTOBREATHE’s “H A R D L O V E” will indeed win the weekly US album sales race. It will also give the band a career high on the Billboard 200 chart.
According to Hits Daily Double, the new album is pacing to sell 43-47,000 pure US copies during the July 15-21 tracking week.
The count should easily be enough for #1 on the Top Album Sales chart. “Kidz Bop 32,” set to be the week’s next-best seller, is tracking for 25-28,000 in pure US sales.
With TEA (track sales/10) and SEA (track sales/1500) added to the pure sales total, the NEEDTOBREATHE album should generate 45-50,000 in total weekly consumption units. The figure will not be enough to dethrone Drake’s “Views” from #1 on the Billboard 200, but it should be enough for #2 on the chart.
If “H A R D L O V E” indeed lands at #2, it will set a NEEDTOBREATHE high on the listing. The band’s previous high came courtesy 2014’s “Rivers In The Wasteland,” which debuted at #3.
Pacing for 85-90,000 in weekly consumption units, “Views” will earn an eleventh week atop the Billboard 200.
In celebration of the new album, check out the band’s “Warehouse Acoustic Session” for Cracker Barrel: