Juice WRLD Earns Best Debut of 2020 | Scanning the Charts 📉

Scanning the Charts – Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 dated 7/25/20 – Juice World earns the biggest debut of 2020 with his posthumous album. 

SCANNING THE CHARTS is just what it says it is.  I, the quirky founder and do-it-all at The Musical Hype scans through the Billboard Charts and picks out things that catch my eye.  To reiterate what I said last week (Pop Smoke Debuts Big), this column won’t be extensive, but rather short and sweet, keeping that shit moving.  This week, I picked out five notable observations from the Billboard 200, as well as five four observations from the Billboard Hot 100, highlighting Juice WRLD, whose posthumous album earns the biggest debut of 2020. Check out my takeaways!

Billboard 200

💭 As expected, Juice WRLD earned a commanding no. 1 debut with his posthumous album, Legends Never Die. By commanding, I mean that the late rapper moved more units than anybody else has to date in 2020, to the tune of 497,000.  Even had sales been the only measurement as they once were, Legends Never Die sold an impressive 209,000 copies (yes, a merchandise/bundle option helped propel this according to Billboard).  Still, we don’t often see such robust album sales. 

💭 After securing his own massive debut last week, Pop Smoke only slips to no. 2 – still sporting respectable numbers – with his posthumous debut, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon.  Per Billboard, it’s the first time (1) two posthumous albums went back to back at no. 1, as well as (2) locked up the no. 1 and no. 2 spots.

💭 With Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke being the biggest stories on the Billboard 200, Summer Walker manages to get in on the action. Her EP, Life on Earth, debuts at no. 8.  Beyond the debuts of Juice and Walker, there are no other top-40 debuts…

💭 After Walker’s no. 8 start, the next debut comes from Brett Eldredge with Sunday Drive. The quietly released country album debuts quite modestly at no. 42.  Previously, his self-titled album, Brett Eldredge, released in 2017, debuted at no. 2! My, how the mighty fall… Static-X’s Project: Regeneration, Vol. 1 sneaks a top-50 bow (no. 48).

💭 The other five chart debuts are Quinn XCII (A Letter to My Younger Self) at no. 56; BTS (Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey) at no. 115; Margo Price (That’s How Rumors Get Started) at no. 151; Jimmie Allen (Bettie James) at no. 192; 100 gecs (1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clue) at no. 198.  Which of these low charting affairs has the best case to potentially extend its chart life or rebound? My initial answer would be BTS, but it is a live album, so…

Billboard Hot 100 

💭 DaBaby spends his sixth week at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his Blame it on Baby hit, “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch.  Dominant no. 1 hit to say the least.

💭 The bigger news, similar to last week, is the fact that 17 of Juice WRLD’s songs from Legends Never Die land on the Billboard Hot 100.  5 out of 17 appear in the top-10: “Come & Go” (no. 2), “Wishing Well” (no. 5), “Conversations” (no. 7), “Life’s a Mess” (no. 9), and “Hate the Other Side” (no. 10).

💭 Despite still being on the rise, Harry Styles sees his hit, “Watermelon Sugar” (Fine Line), slip from no. 7 to no. 11.

💭 Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo are on the rise with “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat),” ascending 10 spots from no. 29 to no. 19 in its fifth week on the chart.

💭 The highest non-Juice WRLD debut arrives courtesy of Kid Cudi and Eminem with “The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady” at no. 22.

Juice World Earns Best Debut of 2020 | Scanning the Charts 📉 [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, Grade A Productions, Interscope, The Musical Hype, Pixabay, Pexels]