Chart Buzz: Michael Bublé, The Black Keys, Adele, Rihanna
Michael Bublé sells an impressive half-million of Christmas in one week; The Black Keys manages to land a spot at No. 2; Rihanna is also turning heads with hit single
Michael Bublé‘s Christmas reign on the Billboard 200 continues as it picks up yet a third week at No. 1, with a whopping 479,000 copies sold this week. The holiday effort from the pop crooner is also scheduled to become the year’s second best-selling album, following behind Adele’s 21. Something about the holidays that causes people to back a Christmas set. Josh Groban repeated the feat back in 2007 with Noel, which sold 3.6 million copies in just eleven weeks. Susan Boyle’s I Dreamed a Dream, a half-pop, half-holiday effort, did the same thing in 2009 and sold 3.1 million copies during the last six weeks of that year. This year, Justin Bieber stands behind Bublé’s holiday effort with his Under The Mistletoe, which has sold 824,000 copies to date.
Right behind Buble on the Billboard 200 is El Camino, the seventh album from the Black Keys. The Akron, Ohio duo, led by vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, lands their highest album debut of their career after breaking into the mainstream with their critically-acclaimed Brothers. El Camino sold 206,000 copies in its first week. Brothers only sold 73,000 copies in its first week.
Although much of the recent news surrounds the duo’s decision to decline their content through streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, the coverage on late night shows like Late Night With David Letterman and Comedy Central has giving the duo an extra needed boost of visiblity.
Months since Adele’s 21 hit the shelves, Adele is continuing to break records and show signs of improvements on the charts. A 30 percent boost in record sales this week pushes her album sale numbers past the five million mark. According to Yahoo’s Paul Grein, this is the first time an album has sold 5 million copies in one calendar year since Usher’s Confessions in 2004.
Also in the top five this week is Lioness: Hidden Treasures, the posthumous album from Amy Winehouse. Although the first week sales of 187,000 copies are a pale contrast when compared with other recent artists who have since passed (i.e Michael Jackson), Lioness still put a muzzle on this week’s new releases, including The Roots (Undun; No. 17), Robin Thicke (Love and War; No. 22) and Korn‘s The Path of Totality (No. 10).
Rihanna continues her reign at the Hot 100 with the Calvin Harris-produced “We Found Love.” She now matches her previous records of holding a hit single at the No. 1 spot for seven weeks. Both “Umbrella” and her Eminem-featured “Love The Way You Lie” have also spent seven weeks each at the top spot. “We Found Love” currently shares the “Lucky 7” with another 2011 chart-topper: Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep.” There’s a strong possibility that RiRi will once again hold the No. 1 spot, making “We Found Love” the longest No. 1 in 2011.
The radio singles that may give Rihanna a fiesty beat down include LMFAO‘s “Sexy And I Know,” which logs a sixth week at No. 2 since being replaced by RiRi’s hit. The song managed to climb 3-1 on Digital Songs’ this week, but has decreased in value at radio (1% down). Bruno Mars‘ “It Will Rain” may be a good candidate, but hasn’t moved past No. 3 in three weeks. Katy Perry‘s “The One That Got Away,” jumping 9-4, has now earned a place in the history books; becoming the sixth single to rocket into the Top 5 from her Teenage Dream LP. The feat has only been matched by Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation 1814) and George Michael (Faith).
Look for Rihanna to score another week at No. 1.
On the Billboard Hot 100 (Week of December 24, 2011):
#1 “We Found Love”– Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
#2 “Sexy And I Know It” – LMFAO
#3 “It Will Rain” – Bruno Mars
#4 “The One That Got Away” – Katy Perry
#5 “Good Feeling” – Flo Rida
#6 “Ni**as In Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West
#7 “Someone Like You” – Adele
#8 “Moves Like Jagger” – Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera
#9 “Without You” – David Guetta feat. Usher
#10 “5 O’Clock” – T-Pain feat. Wiz Khalifa & Lily Allen
