Update: Billboard has made the news official: J. Cole’s “4 Your Eyez Only” debuts at #1 on Top Album Sales and the Billboard 200.
It tops the former thanks to what Billboard reports as 363,000 first-week pure US sales. The inclusion of TEA (track sales/10) and SEA (track streams/1500) yields a consumption total of 492,000, which convincingly positions “4 Your Eyez Only” atop the Billboard 200.
Pentatonix’s “A Pentatonix Christmas,” the week’s #2 album, generated 156,000 in weekly consumption. Pentatonix also has a second album in the top 5; its “That’s Christmas To Me” takes #5 with 65,000.
The Weeknd’s “Starboy” (#3, 109,000 units) and Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” (#4, 74,000) also rank inside the Billboard 200’s Top 5.
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J. Cole’s “4 Your Eyez Only” predictably dominated the weekly US album sales race. It also posted the week’s best consumption total.
According to BuzzAngle/HitsDailyDouble, “4 Your Eyez Only” sold approximately 377,529. The count easily ranks as the week’s best.
The inclusion of TEA (track sales/10) and SEA (track streams/1500) yields a consumption total of approximately 511,039. The figure also easily ranks as the week’s best.
Due Sunday, Billboard’s more authoritative data will differ slightly from that reported by BuzzAngle. The discrepancy will not, however, affect the overall outcome: J. Cole’s album will be #1 on Top Album Sales (sales) and the Billboard 200 (consumption).
The figures will also rank as the best ever posted by a J. Cole album.
— Pentatonix will also have a good showing on this week’s charts. Based on BuzzAngle’s data (149,057 pure sales, 164,651 consumption units), “A Pentatonix Christmas” will be #2 on both charts. Previous Christmas release “That’s Christmas To Me” will likely be #3 (and no lower than #4) on Top Album Sales with 53,895 pure sales; it should take #5 on the Billboard 200 with 71,458 total units.
