Kendrick Lamar spends a second week at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 with ‘DAMN.’ Incubus debuts at no. 4 with ‘8’.

The top of the Billboard 200 should come as a shocker…said no one ever.  For a second consecutive week, Kendrick Lamar, the god of rap, retains the no. 1 spot with DAMN., which just happens to be a damn good album (Okay, enough puns).  Sure, K-Dot loses some support, but that goes with the territory of the sophomore week of any new album.  Nonetheless, DAMN. still moves an impressive 238,000 units.  What percentage of that total were pure sales? Do the math and it’s less than 37%.

Even though Kendrick Lamar remains the highlight of the Billboard 200, some new albums enter into the fold.  Incubus settles for a no. 4 bow for 8, which moves 52,000 units.  Of those 52,000 units, a healthy 94% are pure sales.  Still, couldn’t Brandon Boyd and company step up their game in the commercial department overall?  The Guardians of the Galaxy 2 soundtrack drops at no. 8, but the numbers are relatively modest at 34,000 units.  According to Keith Caulfield and Billboard, most of those units are traditional album sales.

The rest of the Billboard 200 is familiar.  Behind Kendrick Lamar, two unstoppable albums from Drake (More Life) and Ed Sheeran (÷) continue to be unstoppable.  Bruno Mars (24K Magic), likewise, continues to “do his thing,” even if he can’t quite “do the DAMN. thing” like Kendrick Lamar.  The Chainsmokers may have received poor reviews for Memories…Do Not Open, but the album continues to sell regardless.  The Moana soundtrack and Future (Future) continue their respective top-10 domination, while The Weeknd (Starboy) returns to a familiar place after a hiatus.

Two albums that debuted in the top 10 last week exit this week.  John Mayer is nowhere to be found.  Last week, The Search for Everything debuted at no. 2 behind Kendrick Lamar.  The Fate of the Furious: The Album expectedly exits, given its no. 10 bow.  Had the soundtrack not exited, the thinking would be that people actually liked it, which is impossible.  Okay, enough shade, but it’s true!

Who’s Got Next?

Who’s got next on the Billboard 200? Kendrick Lamar should continue to perform well, but he won’t be without competition.  Gorillaz (Humanz), Mary J. Blige (Strength of a Woman), and Wale (Shine) all released new albums on Friday, April 28.  The question is, how robust will sales be for those efforts.  In the case of Gorillaz, their last two albums, Plastic Beach (2010) and The Fall (2010), debuted at no. 2 and no. 24 respectively.  Plastic Beach was a proper studio release, debuting behind Ludacris’ Battle of the Sexes.  Prior to Plastic Beach, 2005 effort Demon Days landed at no. 6.

In the case of Mary J. Blige, her last two studio albums – My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011) and The London Sessions (2014) – debuted at no. 5 and no. 9.  Both debuts were unimpressive for Blige, given her previous track record for no. 1 and no. 2 albums.  As for Wale, his last two studio albums – The Gifted (2014) and Album About Nothing (2016) – both debuted at no. 1.  While Wale has been on the rise, Shine arrives one week earlier than anticipated and is definitely an under the radar release.

Photo Credit: Interscope