Next week”s Billboard 200 will likely see the debut of a controversial newcomer at No. 2 and a legendary singer, who, at 77, land the highest bow of his career. And, oh yeah, some chick named Adele.
That”s right, Adele”s “21” grabs another week at No. 1 by a wide margin, marking its 19th non-consecutive week at the summit. This week, it tied with Garth Brooks” “Ropin” The Wind.” The title is slated to sell between 100,000 and 110,000 next week. It”s running full-steam ahead to tie the record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the 20-year SoundScan era with the “Titanic” soundtrack, which spent 20 weeks at No. 1.
Poised to come in at No. 2 will be “Born To Die” from Lana Del Rey. The album received very mixed reviews and following her poor “Saturday Night Live” performance, many expected the set to not do as well. However, as they say, there”s no such thing as bad press: the album hit No. 1 on iTunes charts in 14 countries, according to Hits Daily Double.
Bowing at a career best No. 3 will be Leonard Cohen”s “Old Ideas,” his first new album since 2004″s “Dear Heather.”
The only other debut in the top 10 should be gospel singer Fred Hammond”s “God, Love and Romance,” which may come in at No. 6 if it can hold off Drake”s “Take Care.” Both are targeted to sell around 27,000-30,000.
The “2012 Grammy Nominees” set likely holds at No. 4, while Tim McGraw”s “Emotional Traffic” slips 2-5. “Kidz Bop 21” may fall 6-8, but the last two slots in the Top 10 belongs to albums that are getting big ticks upward: Rihanna”s “Talk That Talk” looks like it could jump 16-9, while Tony Bennett”s “Duets 2” gets a nice boost from the accompanying PBS special that has been running, as it is set to reenter the Top 10, jumping 28=10. That comes after a leap from 88-28 this week following the debut of the PBS show.
We don’t have the means to research it, but given that Cohen is 77 and Bennett is 86, that has to set some record for the oldest artists to ever chart in the Top 10 simultaneously.