BB Grooves: Kanye West’s ‘The Life Of Pablo’ No. 1 on the Billboard 200

It was only a matter of time. A matter of time for what, you ask? A matter of time for Kanye West to find his way back to the top of the charts. The way that The Life Of Pablo achieved no. 1 is nothing short of odd, but in a lackluster sales/stream week, Mr. West is king. Here are some of the biggest chart stories from the Billboard 200 dated April 23, 2016.

1. “Mr. West, Mr. West!” Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo debuts at no. 1 on the Billboard 200. How? It was available for $20 on kanyewest.com and Tidal. While many folks would love to own TLOP, isn’t $20 pricey?

https://youtu.be/TMTrpXIXz0Y

2. Lukas Graham settles for a no. 3 bow with its self-titled stateside debut. The numbers aren’t what you’d call exceptional, but still good enough for a top-3 start.

3. Weezer’s self-titled White Album outsells Lukas Graham but didn’t muster the same amount of streams. Hence, White Album starts at no. 4.

4. TWENTY88’s – aka Big Sean and Jhené Aiko – self-titled debut album starts at no. 5.

5. ZAYN’s Mind of Mine takes a tumble, slipping from no. 1 to no. 7 in week two.

6. Adele’s 25 surprisingly slips four spots from no. 5 to no. 9. Up until this point, Adele has had the top-five on lockdown.

7. Thomas Rhett sees his Tangled Up jump from no. 31 to no. 16, its 28^th week on the Billboard 200.

8. Panic! At The Disco’s Death Of A Bachelor improves seven spots from no. 26 to no. 19 in week 12.

9. K. Michelle’s More Issues Than Vogue has a disastrous second week, free falling from no. 2 to no. 23. OUCH!

10. The Wilderness’ Explosions In The Sky debuts at no. 24.

11. Gwen Stefani’s This Is What The Truth Feels Like spends week three at no. 26, after spending weeks one and two and nos. 1 and 17 respectively.

12. Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller gets a lift, improving from no. 74 to no. 29 in its 24^th week on the chart.

13. Cheap Trick’s Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello debuts at no. 31.

14. BABYMETAL’s Metal Resistance starts at no. 39.

15. Black Stone Cherry’s Kentucky debuts at no. 40. And yes, the band is from Kentucky BTW.

16. Charlie Puth’s Nine Track Mind slides 14 spots from no. 28 to no. 42 in week 10.

17. Slime Season 3 wasn’t so great for Young Thug – the set plummeted from no. 7 to no. 45 in week two.

18. Andrew Bird’s critically acclaimed Are You Serious enters the chart modestly at no. 50.

19. Berner’s Hempire doesn’t put up impressive numbers to say the least – the album quietly debuts at no. 54.

20. Anthony Hamilton’s What I’m Feelin’ slips from no. 15 to no. 56 in week two. That’s a 41-spot drop!

21. Jordan Smith’s stay on the Billboard 200 looks short at this rate. Something Beautiful slides from no. 24 to no. 62 in week three, after debuting promisingly at no. 2.

22. It may “go Down in the DM,” but Yo Gotti’s The Art Of Hustle is also plummeting down the album charts, this week to the tune of 20 spots (no. 48 to no. 68).

23. The Last Shadow Puppets’ Everything You’ve Come To Expect debuts at no. 83.

24. The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It drops 50 spots from no. 62 to no. 112.

25. Asking Alexandria’s The Black has a horrid sophomore week, slipping from no. 9 to no. 120.

26. Charles Bradley’s Changes debuts at no. 148.

Photo Credit: G.O.O.D./Def Jam