Black Eyed Peas Settle for Sixth Place On Billboard 200 With New Album, Susan Boyle Still Reigns At No. 1
Black Eyed Peas will have to settle with No. 6 – for now; Susan Boyle and Taylor Swift maintains leverage at the top
You would have thought with a smashing #1 debut for 2009’s The E.N.D., led by a massive #1 hit single “Boom Pow Pow,” that the Black Eyed Peas had a sure shot at soaring immediately to No. 1 with their new album, The Beginning. But things are a little bit foggier this time around.
Black Eyed Peas landed at #6 on the week of their debut for The Beginning, selling only 119,000. When The E.N.D. made its debut, it scored 304,000 units in its first week. Major difference.
Since “The Time Of My Life (Dirty Bit)” released as the album’s lead single, the response for the Peas’ latest set was definitely set in motion, but early criticisms concerning its copy-and-paste formula of their last record may have caused a little tension with the buying public. On its first week as a released single, the song reached #12 on the Hot 100.
Still, the Black Eyed Peas have a deeper strategy in their book. The album could jump a few octaves on the Billboard 200 after the holidays and maybe sooner. Taylor Swift certainly moved up a few notches, coming in at #2 compared to a week ago when she was at #9 and being stampeded over by new albums by Rihanna, Josh Groban, Kid Rock, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts. With the right single, the album could very well gain momentum and become a top-seller in 2011; reduplicating the financial success of The E.N.D.
New debuts in the R&B world weren’t so grand this week. Jazmine Sullivan’s Love Me Back entered at #17 selling 57,000 units, while Chrisette Michele’s third album Let Freedom Reign came in at #25 with 42,000 units sold.
Still maintaining strength in the Top 10 are relatively new albums from Kanye West, Josh Groban, Nicki Minaj, Jackie Evancho, the Christmas album by the ‘Glee’ Cast.
