Jay-Z and Kanye West are set to spend another week as kings of the Billboard 200 as “Watch The Throne” is poised to sell up to 180,000 next week. The collaboration between the two rap titans sold 463,000 copies in its opening week: a princely, but hardly, staggering sum given the expectations.
Adele”s “21” will likely bob back up to No. 2 after dipping to No. 4 this week. “Now 39” hangs out at No. 3 for the second week in a row, while country boys with hats Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean snag spots No. 4 and No. 5, Bryan with “Tailgates and Tanlines,” which started at No. 2 this week, and Aldean with “My Kinda Party.” “My Kinda Party” is turning into this summer”s “Sigh No More” from Mumford & Sons: it just stays strapped into the Top 10 week after week no matter what else happens around it.
That means that we probably won”t see a debut until way down at No. 6 with Eli Young Band, whose “Life At Best” set may sell around 35,000 copies in its first week, according to Hits Daily Double. Hanging out at No. 7, and selling around that same number, is Eric Church”s “Chief,” which topped the chart last week. Please note that country artists, who, for the most part other than for artists like Taylor Swift, still tend not to cross over into any other genre, are commandeering four of the 10 spots.
In addition to Eli Young Band, the only act likely to debut in the top 10 is rock band Blue October”s “Any Man In America” at No. 10. “Kidz Bop 20” rises two places to No. 8, while Beyonce”s “4” stays in the Top 10 at No. 9.