The Chart Scoop | Beyoncé Makes Sweet ‘Lemonade’ Atop Billboard 200

Beyoncé scores her sixth no. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with ‘Lemonade.‘ Nothing sour in the least about such an accomplishment.  

Unsurprisingly, Beyoncé proved why they don’t call her “Queen Bey” for nothing. Who just scored their sixth no. 1 album? Why the queen herself. “Bow Down…” Here’s 25 Chart Takeaways for the Billboard 200 dated May 14, 2016, to rock your socks off!

1. Beyoncé rules the roost as Lemonade debuts robustly at no. 1. Penthouse baby! Beyoncé ascends up the charts from no. 94 to no. 53.

2. Beyoncé hot (in more ways the one), but Prince is dominant within the top 10 of the BB200 this week. Five Prince albums grace the top: The Very Best of Prince (no. 2), Purple Rain (no. 3), The Hits/The B-Sides (no. 4), Ultimate (no. 6) and 1999 (no. 7).

3. Who has the second highest debut behind Beyoncé’s Lemonade? That would be A$AP Ferg, whose Always Strive And Prosper debuts at no. 8, giving him his second top-10 album of his career.

4. Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo spends its first week outside of the top 10, slipping from no. 8 to no. 11.

5. Christian rapper NF’s sophomore album Therapy Session starts at no. 12.

6. The Lumineers exit the top 10 this week as Cleopatra slips from no. 9 to no. 17 in week three.

7. Blue October takes Home to no. 19. Hmm, “home” has definitely felt better than such a modest debut…

8. Prince’s chart domination continues at no. 20 as Sign ‘O’ The Times makes a gargantuan leap from no. 95 to no. 20 this week. It originally peaked at no. 6.

9. Bad second week for awesome country singer Sturgill Simpson. A Sailor’s Guide To Earth slips 28 spots from no. 3 to no. 31.

10. Don’t Kill The Lights on Luke Bryan’s most recent album just yet – it rises from no. 44 to no. 33 in week 38.

11. Like Sturgill Simpson, Santana had a tepid second week. Santana IV slips from no. 5 to no. 36, a 31-spot drop.

12. Michael Jackson’s The Essential Michael Jackson ascends 142 spots from no. 188 to no. 46.

13. Prince’s underappreciated HITnRUN Phase One ascends to its highest peak position, no. 48. Initially, Prince’s 38^th studio album settled for a no. 70 start.

14. No Revival for Selena Gomez as she drops 10 spots from no. 47 to 57 in week 29.

15. Eric Church sees Mr. Misunderstood ascend 15 spots from no. 79 to no. 64 in week 26.

16. Ninja Sex Party’s Under The Covers improves robustly to the tune of 119 spots (no. 187 to no. 68).

17. The power of “the DM” seems to be wearing off as Yo Gotti’s The Art Of Hustle slides 19 spots from no. 54 to no. 73.

18. He may be “One Call Away,” but clearly, the Nine Track Mind of Charlie Puth is losing its luster, slipping 18 spots from no. 57 to no. 75.

19. The Truth doesn’t feel too good for Gwen Stefani’s third studio album. Yep, it slips from no. 62 to no. 83 in just its sixth week.

20. It’s safe to say that Kendrick Lamar’s surprise effort won’t be having the same impact as either Good Kid M.A.A.D. City or To Pimp A Butterfly. Untitled Unmastered drops 21 spots from no. 65 to no. 86 in week 8.

21. Maybe The Strumbellas had Hope that their album would debut better than no. 98…

22. TWENTY88 is going nowhere. This week, it slides 45 spots from no. 55 to no. 100. Sorry Big Sean and Jhené Aiko.

23. Jordan Smith takes a mighty tumble this week as Something Beautiful does anything but fall gracefully. The album plummets from no. 46 to no. 104.

24. Deftones can at least brag that Gore started off well at no. 2. Unfortunately, that’s about all they got, as the set nosedives this week (no. 40 to no. 114).

25. There’s a lot of Prince on this week’s Billboard 200. What better way to close than to mention that now The Purple One’s final studio album, HITnRUN Phase Two has charted at no. 116.   Yeah, it’s modest, but since being available digitally in December 2015, it failed to impact the charts.

Photo Credit: Colubmia