This week we see a few fluctuations within Charts Don't Lie, however Nicki Minaj keeps the #2 spot on lock with The Pinkprint. It's not a bad resting place per say, although we're sure #1 would have felt that much better. Nicki's numbers have been better than we expected, however, they're no Taylor Swift. In her second week out, she brought her total sales to just over 300k-- J. Cole, on the other hand, has already gone gold, and nears the 600k mark in his third week out. It not only proves the strength of his album and his fanbase, but the strength of his album release tactic (which wasn't much of one, to be sure). Fabolous is a new face on Charts this week, with The Young OG Project debuting at #12. For an iTunes-only release, that's not too bad. Finally, we're seeing a few familiar faces return to Charts Don't Lie, namely, Beyonce, Iggy Azalea and Eminem all have a little come-up on the charts, perhaps the after effect of holiday giving. Check out what else went down this week below.
1) Nicki Minaj— The Pinkprint: Nicki Minaj's The Pinkprint remains in her starting place this week, at #2 on the Billboard 200. She's been unable to top the unstoppable T. Swift's 1989 album, which has kept the #1 spot on lock. This week O'Nika moved 156,000 units (sales: 105,000) and brought her total sales number up to 303,000 in her second week on shelves.
2) J. Cole— 2014 Forest Hills Drive: It's been a Cole Winter, but J. Cole couldn't quite overcome The Pinkprint this week, albeit being relatively close. This week 2014 FHD drops from #4 to #6, after selling 120,000 copies (sales: 104,000). Cole's total sales are currently 576,000, thus, he's officially-officially gone gold.
3) Fabolous— The Young OG Project: The self-proclaimed Young OG slides in the Billboard 200 at #12, not too shabby. The Young OG Project sold a solid 71,000 copies opening week (sales: 66,312).
4) D'Angelo— Black Messiah: The unexpected comeback from D'Angelo continues to thrive in its second week out, although after debuting at #5 last week, he's fallen a bit this week to #25. Black Messiah pushed another 40,524 units (sales: 38,014), while his total sales have reached 149,054.
5) Beyonce— Beyonce: Queen Bey is never gone for too long, if at all. Her self-titled album climbs back up this week to #35, after selling 31,445 in physical copies and digital streams (sales: 17,819). Meanwhile, her total sales are 2,179,000.
6) Iggy Azalea— The New Classic: Iggy Azalea also made a resurgance on the Billboard 200, undoubtedly we have Christmas to blame, as we're sure plenty of tween girls received the Australian rapper's debut album as a gift. This week The New Classic arrives at #37, after selling 29,882 (sales: 10,193). Total sales are nearing the 500k mark, meaning, we can probably expect Iggy to receive a gold plaque soon enough, currently resting at 454,000.
7) Pitbull— Globalization: We may not always like to claim him as a rapper these days, but Pitbull's new album Globalization is charting at #42 after moving 26,632 units (sales: 11,547). He's sold a total of 84,755 copies thus far.
8) Mary J. Blige— The London Sessions: The veteran r'n'b singer has fallen off quite a bit, but we can still find her new album rounding out Billboard's top 50 at #50. This week The London Sessions did 23,393 in sales and streams (sales:22,515) with total sales climbing to 125,551.
9) Eminem— Shady XV: The Shady compilation album makes a return to Charts Don't Lie this week, possibly another result of Christmas gifts. This week the album climbed to #51, after selling 22,948 units (sales: 18,933). The total sales for Shady XV are at 224,743.
