BB Grooves: Drake Rules the Roost for Ninth Straight Week

For what seems the millionth week, the headline is the same.  Drake’s Views is no. 1 on the Billboard 200.  This week it was a runaway – not even Beyoncé had a hand on the Canadian.  While The Avett Brothers made a dent, it was no earthquake.  While there is no game changing chart stories, there’s are a lot to digest from the Billboard 200, dated July 16, 2016.

1. Drake doesn’t budge from no. 1. For a ninth week, he is a king.  Better yet, he’s a god…the “6God” that is.

2. Beyoncé has yet to reclaim no. 1 on the Billboard 200 thanks to Drake. Don’t shed many tears for the Queen – she ascends one spot from no. 3 to no. 2 in her 10^th week.

3. There should be no True Sadness for The Avett Brothers. The band’s most recent effort gives them a new career peak, even if the sales fall short of previous efforts.

4. Twenty One Pilots continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Blurryface has charted for 59 weeks. This week, the album improves four spots from no. 8 to no. 4.  Vessel also improves seven spots (no. 38 to no. 31).

5. Rihanna’s Anti hasn’t quite had the same juggernaut status as Drake’s Views or Beyoncé’s Lemonade, but it’s come close and remained a top-10 fixture. Anti improves two spots this week, from no. 7 to no. 5, 23 weeks in.

6. Hamilton spends its third week in the top 10, slipping from no. 4 to no. 6. All said, Hamilton has charted for 40 weeks.

7. Adele sees 25 re-enter the top 10, improving from no. 12 to no. 7. 25 has now charted for 32 weeks.

8. Little is more Epic AF than ascending up the charts in one’s sophomore week. That’s just what the compilation does, improving from a no. 16 debut to no. 8.

9. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ The Getaway slides seven spots in its sophomore frame from no. 2 to no. 9.

10. Bryson Tiller sees his TRAPSOUL ascend 16 spots from no. 27 to no. 11 in its 40^th week.

11. Sia’s This Is Acting improves seven spots from no. 21 to no. 14. Wonder if the popularity of “Cheap Thrills” is a contributing factor?

12. Kanye West sees The Life Of Pablo jump 15 spots from no. 31 to no. 16. Has to be the impact of “Famous.”

13. Fifth Harmony sees 7/27 improve seven spots from no. 26 to no. 19.

14. Chance the Rapper sees his Coloring Book return to the top-20 (no. 23 to no. 20).

15. Radiohead takes a sizable tumble as A Moon Shaped Pool falls from no. 5 to no. 23.

16. Selena Gomez’s Revival and The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness improve 11 spots respectively (no. 35 to no 24 and no. 36 to no. 25).

17. Game of Thrones: Music From the HBO Series Season 6 debuts at no. 27.

18. Like Selena Gomez and The Weeknd, Future’s EVOL improves 11 spots (no. 39 to no. 28). Additionally, both DS2 and What A Time To Be Alive see gains (no. 52 to no. 43 and no. 50 to no. 44).

19. G-Eazy has been consistent with sophomore album When It’s Dark Out. This week, the set rises eight spots from no. 40 to no. 32.

20. YG’s Still Brazy free falls from no. 6 to no. 33 in its sophomore week.

21. Panic! At The Disco sees Death of a Bachelor improve 16 spots from no. 51 to no. 35 in its 24^th week.

22. J Balvin sees Energia debut at no. 38.

23. Jon Pardi’s California Sunrise drops 29 spots in week two (no. 11 to no. 40).

24. J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drives ascends from no. 59 to no. 46 in its 82^nd charting week.

25. Broods’ Conscious debuts at no. 52.

26. Taylor Swift’s 1989 ascends 12 spots from no. 65 to no. 53 in its 88^th charting week.

27. Halsey’s Badlands has spent 44 weeks on the chart. This week, the singer sees her debut set improve 14 spots from no. 72 to no. 58.

28. Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighbourhood jumps 24 spots (no. 84 to no. 60).

29. Maren Morris’ Hero slips nine spots from no. 55 to no. 64, just four weeks in.

30. Alessia Cara’s Know-It-All improves 10 spots from no. 75 to no. 65. Cara has spent 33 weeks on the BB200.

31. Paul Simon’s Stranger To Stranger has been a slow seller. In just it’s the fourth week, the veteran singer/songwriter’s set slips from no. 43 to no. 68.

32. RiFF RaFF’s Peach Panther starts unimpressively at no. 69.

33. Whitechapel’s Mark of the Blade debuts quietly at no. 72.

https://youtu.be/lbuqo6NfVB8

34. DJ Shadow’s mountain is definitely going to fall at this rate. Huh? His latest album The Mountain Will Fall debuts modestly at no. 77.

35. Mindless Behavior is far off in sales and chart position from their two previous albums. #officialMBmusic starts at no. 79. Ouch!

36. In its 30^th charting week, Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams slides 18 spots from no. 63 to no. 81.

37. Dan + Shay aren’t doing too hot. Obsessed drops eight more spots (no. 83 to no. 91) in just four weeks of availability.

38. Mumford & Sons plummet. Johannesburg EP slips from no. 9 to no. 94.

39. Joey + Rory (Hymns) and Shawn Mendes (Handwritten) re-enter the top-100 of the Billboard 200. Joey+ Rory jumps 19 spots (no. 116 to no. 97), while Mendes jumps eight spots (no. 106 to no. 98).

40. It’s not going well for Volbeat. Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie drops 40 spots (no. 70 to no. 110) in four weeks.

41. 2016 Warped Tour Compilation quietly debuts at no. 117.

42. Jon Bellion’s The Human Condition continues to tank. This week, the phenomenal pop album falls 64 spots.

43. Cash Cash won’t be making much cash off of Blood, Sweat & 3 Years. The album starts tepidly at no. 125.

44. Rock band DOROTHY don’t get the best introduction to the BB200. ROCKISDEAD starts at no. 129. Hmm, isn’t that ironic their album is titled ROCKISDEAD and it debuts horridly?

45. Gospel singer William Murphy sees album Demonstrate begin at no. 131.

46. The 1975 rebound this week…somewhat. I Like It When You Sleep… improves 17 spots from no. 153 to no. 136. The album has charted for 18 weeks.

47. Neil Young + Promise of The Real’s Earth starts modestly at no. 138.

48. Todrick Hall released a pop album. It didn’t sell well. Straight Outta Oz debuts at no. 142.

49. Fitz And The Tantrums’ self-titled album slipped 44 spots from no. 110 to no. 154 just three weeks in.

50. Blood Orange’s Freetown Sound starts at no. 185. Definitely a bottom dweller.

BB Grooves is a column examining the biggest stories on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart weekly.