Taylor Swift No. 1 for an 8th Week | Scanning the Charts

Scanning the Charts – Billboard 200 & Billboard Hot 100 (10/31/20): Taylor Swift returns to no. 1 for an eight week with Folklore. 

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 Returns to No. 1), this column won’t be extensive, but rather short and sweet, keeping that moving.  This week, I picked out FIVE notable observations from the Billboard 200, and FIVE observations from the Billboard Hot 100, with Taylor Swift returning to no. 1 with Folklore for an eighth, nonconsecutive week.

Billboard 200

Taylor Swift returns to no. 1 with Folklore for an eighth, nonconsecutive week. According to Keith Caufield of Billboard, it is the first album to SELL a million copies in 2020. Meanwhile, Pop Smoke slips from no. 1 to no. 2 with his popular posthumous debut album, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon.

Tom Petty reenters the Billboard 200 at no. 5 with the reissued edition of his 1994 album, Wildflowers.  The only new album to debut within the top 10 is Resonance, Pt. 1 courtesy of NCT.

Three more new albums bow within the top 20. BTS’s Skool Luv Affair lands at no. 12.  Eagles Live from the Forum MMXVIII launches at no. 16.  T.I., once a top-five machine, settles for a lukewarm, no. 18 start for The L.I.B.R.A. 

Further down the Billboard 200, there’s more fresh blood. Sturgill Simpson bows at no. 24 with Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1: The Shoppe Sessions, while Benny the Butcher starts at no. 29 with Burden of Proof.

So, Matt Berninger ( The National) released an album – Serpentine Prison.  It didn’t exactly ignite the charts at no. 161 though…

Billboard Hot 100  

24kGoldn and Iann Dior spend a second week in the top spot of the Hot 100 with “Mood.”

Justin Bieber is definitely impacting the Hot 100.   “Holy” ascends from no. 14 to no. 9 while “Lonely” (with Benny Blanco) launches at no. 14.

Young Bleu, with the help of Drake, launches at no. 52 with “You’re Mines Still.”

G-Eazy, assisted by blackbear, debuts at no. 71 with “Hate the Way”.  Worth noting, “Hate the Way” marks a return to rap by Eazy following his questionable alternative LP, Everything’s Strange Here.

Social media star Larray caused quite a stir with “Cancelled,” which transcends YouTube success and launches on the Hot 100 at no. 80.

Taylor Swift No. 1 for an 8^th Week: Scanning the Charts No. 19 [: Brent Faulkner, Columbia, The Musical Hype, Pexels, Pixabay, Records Label, Taylor Swift]