This week Chris Brown makes his Billboard 200 debut with his new album X. The singer went above and beyond the projected sales, moving 146,000 copies opening week. As some people noticed, on Twitter Chris Brown tweeted that X had sold 495k, according to the Billboard Consumption Chart. He tweeted, "TEAM BREEZY! The billboard consumption number for X is 495K! X is GOLD already! Thank you! I'm honored and I love y'all!" However, this isn't quite accurate, because the Billboard Consumption Chart measures album streams (whether it be songs or videos) which do not necessarily equal sales, and then it pairs those streams with the actual LP sales. Thus, if every person who streamed the album also purchased it, then yes, X would be well on its way to gold certification. However, the actual sales measure out to 146k, as we mentioned, and so he's got a bit of a ways to go before reaching gold status. Do you think the album will go gold quickly or will this be a long term endeavor? Let us know in the comments, and take a look at how Chris Brown's fellow r'n'b and hip-hop artists fared this week below.
1) Chris Brown— X: Chris Brown’s debut album didn’t quite make it to #1, with Barbara Streisand’s new album outselling X, but it nonetheless made a strong debut at #2. The r’n’b singer had a successful comeback (if you want to call it that), moving 146,000 units opening week.
2) Lecrae—Anomaly: Lecrae impressed us last week when he debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. He’s keeping afloat this week, dropping to #8, and selling another 31,243 units. He’s moved 118,829 copies total so far.
3) Jeezy— Seen It All: The Snowman falls down to #14 in his third week of charting with Seen It All. The Atlanta rapper moves out 21,537 units this week, while his total sales have reached 176,076.
4) Jhene Aiko— Souled Out: Jhene made a solid debut with her debut album last week, coming in at #3. This week she’s dropped off quite a bit, falling down to #15 right below Jeezy. We thought Jhene would do well in the longterm, but only time will tell. For now, she’s moved another 20,733 units while her total sales are approaching the 100k mark at 90,577.
5) Wiz Khalifa— Blacc Hollywood: Wiz’s most recent effort continues its descent, this week falling to #28 from #23. The album has been charting for 5 weeks, and sold another 9,194 copies this past week. The total sales for Blacc Hollywood are 161,348.
6) Iggy Azalea— The New Classic: Iggy’s new album has been reigning on the Billboard 200 for quite some time, but this week she finally sees a bit of a drop down to #30. The New Classic sold 8,998 copies this past week, while the total sales reached 360,547. She’s been charting for 22 weeks.
7) Trey Songz— Trigga: Mr. Trigga comes in at #35 this week, which happens to be up from last week’s position at #45. The r’n’b effort moved 7,631 units, while the grand tally for Trigga is at 250,224.
8) Joell Ortiz— House Slippers: Joell Ortiz makes an appearance on the Billboard 200 this week, arriving at #45 with his new album House Slippers. We definitely see him have more commercial success when he’s with his Slaughterhouse companions, but no matter, House Slippers moved 5,404 copies opening week.
9) August Alsina— Testimony: While August Alsina has been somewhat hindered as he lays up in a hospital bed, recuperating from a three-day coma, his album soars back up the Billboard 200. Testimony was sitting at #82 last week, but this week finds itself at #53. The album sold 5,105 copies, with total sales of 206,258.
10) Beyonce— Beyonce: Beyonce’s visual LP remains stagnant at #55 this week. The album has been charting for 41 weeks, during which its seen its fair share of ups and downs. This week Beyonce sold 4,909 units, while total sales are 2,072,735.
In more chart news, Childish Gambino's Because The Internet is still up there, coming in at #78 this week which is up from last week's #86. While not strictly hip-hop, we're seeing Jimi Hendrix re-enter the Billboard 200 this week at #91 with his album Cry Of Love, just as the new film starring Andre 3000 premieres. Below Jimi Pharrell's G I R L album comes in at #93, dropping down from #75. Finally, Drake's NWTS hasn't moved from its position at #95.