As an actor, Common has definitely been in some major mainstream flicks and get his due recognition for it. As a rapper, Common borders on the underground/conscious scene, although he's not fully immersed in it because he does do double duty acting. Nonetheless, this is often reflected in his album sales-- he's not the kind of artist to do crazy big numbers, although both Be and Finding Forever were commercially successful releases debuting at #2 and #1 respectively on the Billboard 200. Both those albums had one thing in common (ha): they received plenty of assistance from Kanye West. Apart from those two Kanye-helmed releases, Common doesn't usually surpass the 100k mark in his first week. Nobody's Smiling found him departing from the G.O.O.D. Music roster and Kanye West production, opting for No I.D.'s imprint and strictly No I.D. beats. Could this have affected his debut week sales? Would his album sales have been way higher if he had Kanye on the boards? The album only moved 24,000 units, debuting at #6. The Dreamer/The Believer, his last album, debuted lower although it moved more than double that amount at 69,000. Contemplate those numbers as you look through this week's chart-toppers below.
1) Common—Nobody’s Smiling: Common made his debut on the Billboard 200 this week, with Nobody’s Smiling finding its footing at #6. This is actually Com’s highest-charting debut since 2007’s Finding Forever, although in terms of sales, not so much. The rapper who is no longer on G.O.O.D. moved 24,000 units opening week.
2) Trey Songz—Trigga: Trigga falls down this week to #13 from #9, as he leaves Billboard’s top 10 spots. The r’n’b singer has been charting for 4 weeks now, and sold another 15,763 copies, while his total sales climbed to 177,496.
3) Iggy Azalea— The New Classic: Iggy’s debut continues to fluctuate up and down on these Billboard charts, although never falling too far downwards. This week Ms. Azalea climbs back up a few spots to #18, after charting for 14 weeks. The rapper sold 11,957 units, while her total sales are 258,386.
4) Michael Jackson— Xscape: MJ rises up 3 spots this week to #30, with the post-humously released Xscape doing 8,778 copies in damage. The total sales are 383,024.
5) Pharrell— G I R L: Pharrell Williams has been consistent on the 200, and continues to do so this week, climbing up 11 spots to #37. After spending a solid 21 weeks on the charts, P moved another 7,568 copies of his new album. The total sales for G I R L have reached 483,497.
6) Marsha Ambrosius— Friends & Lovers: We saw this singer make her debut last week at #12, but she’s quickly descended in her second week down to #45. Friends & Lovers pushed 6,900 units this week, bringing her grand tally to 24,100.
7) John Legend—Love In The Future: Love In The Future has become a Billboard 200 staple, even if we don’t reference it every week. Nonetheless this week the album fell to #46, but keep in mind it’s been charting for 47 weeks now. The album still sold 6,600 units, while total sales are currently 583,282.
8) August Alsina—Testimony: The Young Alsina continues to make his mark on the 200 with his debut album Testimony. After spending 15 weeks on the charts, he climbs up from last week’s #57 to #48, moving 6,540 units. Total sales are 168,491.
9) Beyonce— Beyonce: Amid break-up/divorce rumors, Beyonce’s self-titled release is sitting comfy at #66, after selling 5,000 units this week. Her total sales are also quite comfy, with 2,022,000 albums sold.
10) Drake—Nothing Was The Same: We haven’t had Drizzy up here for a second, but Nothing Was The Same continues to take over a spot on the Billboard 200, although it’s down at #90. That’s up from last week’s #98 though. It’s likely Drake’s NWTS will still be charting whenever the new album Views From The Six drops. For now, NWTS sold 3,000 units and has total sales of 1,600,000.
After dropping off to #70 last week, Eminem’s MMLP2 spurts back up to #59. You can never keep him down for too long. G-Eazy also continues to chart with These Things Happen climbing up 4 spots from last week and landing at #60 this week.