Nicki Minaj dominates the charts this week, although, there is one artist she isn't able to dominate: you guessed it, Taylor Swift. No matter, Nicki outdid sales projections with her first week on shelves, after moving a sold 244,00 units; basically 100k more than we expected. Magic? Or did Cash Money snatch up 100k copies? We'll let you be the judge. We're also seeing D'Angelo make a return to the Billboard 200 after a good ten years, with his surprise new album Black Messiah. Despite being gone for a lengthy hiatus, his fanbase is still strong enough to move 117,000 units opening week. Peep what else went down below.
1) Nicki Minaj— The Pinkprint: As hard as she might have tried, Nicki Minaj was not able to dethrone T. Swift. Nonetheless her new album did better than we expected, after moving 244,000 units opening week (sales: 194,000), and debuting at #2. The projections only had it moving 155-166k, so she made quite the leap.
2) J. Cole— 2014 Forest Hills Drive: It’s a Cole Winter. After debuting at #1 last week on the Billboard 200, his spot has been reclaimed by Taylor Swift. Thus he falls a few spots to #4. After moving 371k units opening week, this week he follows that up with the equally strong amount of 135,000(sales: 119,000). His total sales are currently 473,000, so even if the album isn’t officially gold just yet, by next week, it probably will be.
3) D’Angelo— Black Messiah: After a 14-year gap in between albums, D’Angelo finally made his return with a surprise new album Black Messiah. The album began charting on the Billboard 200 this week, debuting at #5. He moved 117,000 units (sales: 111,000).
4) Kevin Gates— Luca Brasi 2: Baton Rouge native Kevin Gates finds himself charting on the Billboard 200 with his special edition Gangsta Grillz release Luca Brasi 2. Despite being available for free online, the fans came through, with Gates selling 26,224 units (sales: 22,892). He debuted at #38.
5) Mary J. Blige— The London Sessions: Mary J. Blige’s new album moves 22,919 units this week (sales: 22,000), and falls down to #46. Her total sales have climbed to 103,036.
6) Beyonce— Beyonce: Queen Bey is slowly slipping under the top 50, but not just yet. This week she lands at #49, after a combined sales and streams of 22,353 (sales: 14,915). Her total sales are an astounding 2,162,000.
7) Eminem—Shady XV: The Shady Records compilation definitely isn’t Eminem’s strongest release, but its still holding its own at #54 this week. The album did 19,635 in sales and streams this week (sales: 17,134), while the grand tally is at 205,810.
8) Chris Brown— X: Breezy’s summer time release is still charting as we enter the coldest months of the year. X is charting at #77 this week, after moving 15,287 (sales: 8,746). X’s total sales rise to 318,966.
