Billboard: Barbra Streisand Beats FGL & Britney For No. 1

In a week where it seemed near impossible, Barbra Streisand works her magic once again and debuts at no. 1 on the Billboard 200.  Babs didn’t have it easy – she was going against Florida Georgia Line (Dig Your Roots) and Britney Spears (Glory).  It wouldn’t have been surprising had FGL or Spears topped the charts.  It is surprising, due to the competition, that Streisand came out on top.  Encore dropped 149,000 units, most of which (> than 99%) were pure sales.

Florida Georgia Line are probably deflated like a balloon.  A missed opportunity for a second no. 1 album with Dig Your Roots.  They shouldn’t feel too bad – it’s not like Babs handed their asses to them.  Dig Your Roots lands at no. 2 with 145,000 units, with ~87% of the total being pure sales.  Those numbers are down from previous album, Anything Goes, but still respectable.

Britney Spears ends up with the shortest end of the stick. Glory debuts at no. 3, corralling just 111,000 units.  That’s good contextually, but still underwhelming for Spears.  Sales are less impressive, accounting for only ~79% of that total.  That means that Spears sold below 100,000 copies in week one. Ouch.

While none of the top three debuting albums blew any sales records, according to Billboard, it’s big that the top-3 impacted more than 100,000 units.  Sad it is, but true. Ask yourself – who would’ve thought that selling 148,000 copies would be considered truly robust?

One more debut enters the top 10.  Young Thug takes Jeffery to no. 8.  Unfortunately for the up-and-coming rapper, his numbers weren’t as awesome.  Jeffrey settles for 37,000 units, with less than half of those being pure sales.

Beyond Babs, FGL, Britney, and Young Thug, the names are familiar in the top 10.  After sitting at either no. 1 or 2, Drake finds his Views demoted to no. 4.  Frank Ocean suffers a worst fate after Blonde debuted at no. 1 last week.  This week Ocean slipped to no. 5.  Still, both Drake and Ocean have respectable numbers, at least considering “the new normal.” Beyond those two heavyweights, Rihanna (Anti) and Twenty One Pilots (Blurryface) remain a top-10 fixture.  Beyoncé (Lemonade) re-enters following a hiatus.

Who’s Got Next?

After a jam-packed Billboard 200 this week, who’s got next? The most likely candidate is Travi$ Scott, who brilliantly shocked the world by releasing Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight during a slow week.  James Vincent McMorrow as released a new album, but chances are it won’t debut anywhere near the top…no shade.

Photo Credit: Columbia