The good news is Adele”s “21” will likely surpass the 100,000 weekly tally once more on the Billboard 200 next week. The bad news is the staggering low amount it takes for a title to land in the top 10.
While the top 4 titles will sell above 20,000, Hits Daily Double is projecting that positions 5-10 sell as low as between 17,000-19,000 each. It”s enough to make a grown man cry. This week marked the first time that a title selling 20,000 or less breached the top 10 as three titles met the low-water mark. One week later, as many as six could.
There are two presumptive debuts in the Top 10: Kidz Bop Kids” “Kidz Bop 21” at No. 2 with sales of up to 50,000 and rock band Attack Attack”s “This Means War” at No. 7.
Drake”s “Take Care” and The Black Keys” “El Camino” are in a dead heat for third place, with both slated to sell between 28,000-32,000. Same with Rihanna”s “Talk That Talk” and Young Jeezy”s “TM 103: The Hustler Ambition,” which are battling it out for the No. 5 spot with sales of 19,000-21,000.
Jockeying for Nos. 8-10 are Toby Keith”s “Clancy”s Tavern,” Coldplay”s “Mylo Xyloto” and the soundtrack to “Joyful Noise,” all of which will sell between 17,000-19,000 copies.
The good news is that there are some strong titles coming up over the next few weeks, including new releases from Tim McGraw, Ingrid Michaelson and the Grammy compilation on Jan. 24, and then Van Halen, Dierks Bentley, The Fray, Of Montreal and Paul McCartney on Feb. 7.