In the least surprising result of the week, Miley Cyrus’ monumentally hyped “Bangerz” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
“Bangerz” sold 270,000 copies, giving Cyrus her fifth No. 1 album, if you count the albums she released as her former Disney character Hannah Montana. It’s also Cyrus’ first topper i several years. Her last release, “Can’t Be Tamed,” stalled out at No. 3, after selling 102,000 in 2010.
Veteran emo act Panic at the Disco’s “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die” took the No. 2 spot after selling 84,000 copies, a huge increase from 2011’s “Vices & Virtues.” That album bowed at No. 7 with 56,000 sold. Their 2008 set, “Pretty. Odd.,” also peaked at No. 2.
Drake’s “Nothing Was the Same” slid one spot from No. 2 to No. 3, after selling 83,000.
In fourth place, Pusha T’s “My Name Is My Name” moved 75,000 in its first week. The rapper’s former group Clipse hit No. 4 with “Lord Willin'” back in 2002.
Justin Timberlake’s latest bestseller, “The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2),” topped the chart last week and slid to No. 5 this week in the wake of so many strong debuts. It sold 70,000 sold, an 80% decrease from last week when it debuted. Kanye West’s “Yeezus” saw a similar sales decrease in its second week back in June.
Lorde’s “Pure Heroine” dipped to No. 6 with 63,000 sold.
“Glee’s” October 10 Cory Monteith tribute episode spawned a soundtrack EP “Glee: The Quarterback” which debuted at No. 7 with 47,000 sold. Proceeds from the EP are going to charity.
The FOX show was last in the top 10 in December, 2011 with “Glee: The Music, Season 3-Volume 7” debuted and peaked at No. 9. “The Quaterback” is the franchise’s 14th top 10 album.
Longtime hard rock act Korn returns back to the top 10 with “The Paradigm Shift” landing at No. 8, after shifting 46,000 units. It’s their twelfth top 10 record since their 1996 debut.
“The Voice” champ Cassadee Pope bowed at No. 9 with her major label debut, “Frame by Frame,” which sold 43,000 copies. It scored the No. 1 spot on the Top Country Albums chart.
Finally, rockers Mayday Parade closed out the top 10, as their “Monsters in the Closet” sold 30,000 copies.
It’s the group’s highest chart position to date; Their 2011 debut topped out at No. 12.
This week’s total album sales came to 4.80 million units, a minute 1% increase from last year (4.79 million) and down 6% from the same week in 2012 (5.1 million). 2013 sales totals equal 214.8 million, a 6% decrease from this same point in 2012 (228.9 million).