Lil Baby Sits Pretty, HAIM Misses Top 10 | Scanning the Charts 📉

Scanning the Charts – Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 dated 7/11/20 – Lil Baby remains consistent while HAIM misses the top 10.

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 (Bob Dylan Makes History), this column won’t be extensive, but rather short and sweet, keeping that 💩 moving. 

This week, I picked out five six notable observations from the Billboard 200, as well as five four observations from the Billboard Hot 100, continuing to highlight the dominance of Lil Baby, as well as disappointing starts from HAIM and August Alsina. Yep – that’s about the size of it. Check out my takeaways on this week’s edition of SCANNING THE CHARTS!

Billboard 200 

💭  Lil Baby continues to dominate The Billboard 200, spending the rare fifth nonconsecutive week (and fourth consecutive week) at no. 1.  Once again, the dominant My Turn was able to take advantage of a Billboard 200 that lacked any top-10 debuts.   Unfortunately, following his historic week, Bob Dylan and his Rough and Rowdy Ways simply didn’t stand the test of the top echelon of the charts. Rough and Rowdy Ways free falls from no. 2 to no. 50.  Ouch!

💭  With the exception of a resurgent Harry Styles (Fine Line ascends from no. 13 to no. 6), the top-10 is comprised of hip-hop or R&B albums.  Of course, only The Weekend and After Hours is the sole R&B album, reentering the top-10 at no. 5.  The most notable happening within the top-10 is the rise of Lil Durk, who issued a deluxe version of Just Cause Y’all Waited 2.  It pays off, as the album jumps from no. 56 to no. 2 in its eighth charting week.

💭  Going into the latest edition of the Billboard 200, I fully expected HAIM to score a top-10 debut.  That, unfortunately, didn’t happen for the sisters.  Women in Music, Pt. III may be getting beaucoup critical acclaim, but it’s no. 13 start is modest, particularly following two previous top-10 albums.  The only other top-20 debut arrives courtesy of 6LACK via his 6pc Hot (EP) (no. 15).  Not a great week for new albums, particularly in the most coveted spots of the Billboard 200.

💭  Only two other albums earn top-50 fame on the Billboard 200 this week.  Khruangbin starts at no. 31 with Mordechai.  For Khruangbin, that’s actually a great start.  I can’t say the same about August Alsina, however.  The R&B artists has experienced commercial success, with Testimony debuting at no. 2 back in 2014, and This Thing Called Life landing at no. 14 on the first Billboard 200 of 2016 (the album arrived in December 2015).  No, a no. 14 bow isn’t game changing, but you must remember the context – it arrived in the busy fourth quarter, specifically the holiday season.  The Product III: stateofEMERGEncy is a straight-up bomb, debuting tepidly at no. 48. What makes this particular debut reek even more is because the album is north of 90 minutes, so, there’s plenty to stream… oh well…

💭  Shout out to Trevor Daniel, who sees his debut album, Nicotine, reenter the Billboard 200 at no. 84.  Nicotine got off to a modest start at no. 79, so renewed interest into this rising pop artist is definitely a big deal. If you haven’t checked him out, get on that!  Meanwhile, John Legend officially has a flop with Bigger Love, which slips from a disappointing start at no. 19 all the way to no. 115. Damn.

💭  I normally opt for just five takeaways about the Billboard 200, but I can’t leave off the horrid start G-Eazy gets off to with Everything’s Strange Here.  Not only does “This Shit Sux” (#Marteen) – referencing the quality of the album – but there’s no silver lining in launching at no. 143 after securing THREE top-five albums.

Billboard Hot 100

💭  DaBaby spends another week at no. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with his Blame it on Baby hit, “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch. This marks four nonconsecutive weeks at the penthouse. Nice. That’s about the size of it, ultimately.

💭  The ascent of Louisville, Kentucky-bred rapper Jack Harlow continues on the Billboard Hot 100. After ascending ten spots last week from no. 18 to no. 8 with “WHATS POPPIN”, he ascends from no. 8 to no. 2 this week, 21 weeks in! I have no doubt that the “WHATS POPPIN Remix” featuring DaBaby, Tory Lanez, and Lil Wayne plays a substantial role.  Worth noting, DaBaby has a both a no. 1 and no. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.  Double Nice.

💭  Megan Thee Stallion earns the highest debuting single on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Girls in the Hood” debuts at no. 28.  She beats BLACKPINK by five spots, who see their own “How Do You Like That” start at no. 33.  The final debut in the top half of the Hot 100 comes from Kanye West. “Wash Us in the Blood”, featuring Travis Scott, debuts at no. 49.

💭  I’ve shouted out Trevor Daniel once already, so why not give him so more love! “Past Life” (with Selena Gomez) debuts at no. 77.  The come-up for Daniel is in full force!

Lil Baby Sits Pretty, HAIM Misses Top 10: Scanning the Charts 📉 [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, Columbia, Interscope, The Musical Hype, Pixabay, Pexels]