07.09.2020 – L.dK Weekly

TAYLOR SWIFT RULES FOR A SIXTH WEEK WITH FOLKLORE!

AS SWIFT STAYS AT THE SUMMIT, KATY PERRY OPENS AT NO.3.

Taylor Swift’s folklore achieves a sixth successive week at No.1 on the L.dK Top 50, tying Lady Gaga’s Chromatica for the year’s second longest run at the top – both albums trail Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia which ruled for eight consecutive weeks between April and May.

This week, folklore drew 126,000 units, rising 11 percent from the previous week when it moved 113,000 copies. The album, which debuted at No.1 in August with 259,000 first-week sales, has sold 881,000 units to date.

Rising back from No.3 to its No.2 peak is Carole King’s A Beautiful Collection selling 48,000 copies (down 2 percent). The compilation record has now spent a total of six weeks in the Top 50’s runner-up spot: it ties with Ariana Grande’s live release K Bye for Now for the second most weeks at No.2, behind Alanis Morissette’s The Collection which settled there for a total of nine weeks. This week, The Collection slides 4-6 with 39,000 sold (down 9 percent).

Katy Perry pays her first visit to L.dK Weekly as her fifth studio album Smile premieres at No.3 with first week sales of 46,000 copies.

Troye Sivan’s In a Dream EP drops 2-4 in its second week, moving 43,000 units (down 30 percent). Despite missing the No.1 spot last week, Dream is Sivan’s first release to spend multiple weeks inside the Top Five. Following Bloom‘s No.1 debut in September 2018, the LP slid to No.11; it would later re-enter the Top Ten and become one of 2018’s bestselling albums, but would never return to the Top Five.

Rounding out the Top Five: Lana Del Rey’s Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass stays at No.5 after hitting No.4 two weeks ago (41,000 – up 5 percent). Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! likewise sits steady at No.8 (27,000 – up 8 percent) as it becomes the first album in history to spend a full year (52 weeks) inside the Top Ten!

As it drops 6-7 (27,000 copies – down 13 percent), Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia surpasses total sales of 1.8 million units. It is just the sixth album to ever achieve this, and interestingly, it is the second to do so this week. More on that later…

Capping the Top Ten this week: Lady Gaga’s Chromatica slides 7-9 (25,000 – down 3 percent) and Hayley Williams’ Petals for Armor falls 9-10 (20,000 – down 9 percent).

Industry Sales: Total music sales this week swelled by 6.1 percent to 774,000 units overall.

Onto Next Week: The path looks clear enough for Taylor Swift’s folklore to earn its seventh week at Number One, likely with over 100,000 in sales yet again. The only new arrival: Declan McKenna’s Zeros could debut inside the Top Ten with roughly 30,000 sold.

Notable Moves in the Top 50

No.11 – BADLANDS: Live at Webster Hall / Halsey scores her fourth Top 20 hit on the L.dK Top 50 as Webster Hall opens at No.11 with 19,000 copies sold. The live set follows Top Five hits BADLANDS (No.4) & Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (No.2), and Manic which became her first Number One hit earlier this year.

No.18 – Ungodly Hour / The sophomore studio album from sister-duo Chloe x Halle entered the Top 50 at No.5 in June, and has sold steadily since its release, having spent its entire chart run inside the Top 20. This week, Ungodly sinks 16-18 (13,000 units) and becomes the pair’s first project to be certified Platinum for sales of over 300,000 copies.

No.19 – True Colors / Cyndi Lauper’s 1986 sophomore LP was a Top Five hit in July this year, but was unable to replicate the massive success of her 1983 debut set She’s so Unusual. Colors drops 17-19 this week with 12,000 sold, bringing its total sales figure to 304,000 units. It is Lauper’s second Platinum-certified hit, with the aforementioned Unusual having shifted in excess of 1.5 million units to date.

No.22 – Diva / Annie Lennox stays put at No.22 with her solo debut record (moving 10,000) in its 83rd week on the tally. The smash hit has now sold 1,801,000 units since its release, and has become the sixth album to be certified 8 x Platinum! Diva’s prestigious company is as follows:

1. A Star is Born , Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – 3,223,000 (Diamond)
2. Norman Fucking Rockwell! , Lana Del Rey – 3,165,000 (Diamond)
3. Lust for Life , Lana Del Rey – 2,484,000 (8 x Platinum)
4. Love + Fear , MARINA – 1,866,000 (6 x Platinum)
5. Future Nostalgia , Dua Lipa – 1,814,000 (6 x Platinum)
6. Diva , Annie Lennox – 1,801,000 (6 x Platinum)

No.30 – Club Future Nostalgia / Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia has certainly made a name for itself this year, becoming the fastest-selling record of 2020 upon its release (a record since broken), staying at No.1 for eight weeks (the longest run of the year to date), and moving more copies than any other album since the start of 2020 (1.814 million)! So, it’s odd to see it’s remix record Club Future Nostalgia limp onto the Top 50 at No.30 with just 6,000 sold in its first week. The original Nostalgia is still present in this week’s Top Ten.

The Top 50

1. [=/6] folklore – Taylor Swift (6)
2. [+1/6] A Beautiful Collection – Carole King (11)
3. [NEW] Smile – Katy Perry (1)
4. [-2] In a Dream – Troye Sivan (2)
5. [=] Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Lana Del Rey (6)
6. [-2] The Collection – Alanis Morissette (21)
7. [-1] Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa (23)
8. [=] Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey (53)
9. [-2] Chromatica – Lady Gaga (13)
10. [-1] Petals for Armor – Hayley Williams (17)
11. [NEW] BADLANDS: Live at Webster Hall – Halsey (1)
12. [-1] What’s Your Pleasure? – Jessie Ware (10)
13. [-3] Brightest Blue – Ellie Goulding (7)
14. [+1] The Whole Story – Kate Bush (61)
15. [-1] Fine Line – Harry Styles (38)
16. [-4] Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks – Stevie Nicks (39)
17. [-4] Such Pretty Forks in the Road – Alanis Morissette (5)
18. [-2] Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle (12)
19. [-2] True Colors – Cyndi Lauper (10)
20. [+6] After Hours – The Weeknd (24)
21. [+2] She’s so Unusual – Cyndi Lauper (65)
22. [=] Diva – Annie Lennox (83)
23. [-4] Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (19)
24. [-6] The Lion King: The Gift – Beyonce (5)
25. [-1] Medusa – Annie Lennox (57)
26. [+4] Shake the Spirit – Elle King (37)
27. [-7] A Star is Born – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (78)
28. [-1] Bella Donna – Stevie Nicks (103)
29. [-8] Bloom – Troye Sivan (50)
30. [NEW] Club Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa (1)
31. [-6] Greatest Hits – Fleetwood Mac (41)
32. [=] Glasshouse – Jessie Ware (77)
33. [-5] Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos (38)
34. [+5] 25 – Adele (89)
35. [-2] Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (67)
36. [-7] Sweetener – Ariana Grande (85)
37. [=] In Isolation – Elle King (8)
38. [-7] Heart – HEART (27)
39. [-5] K Bye for Now – Ariana Grande (32)
40. [-5] Map of the Soul: 7 – BTS (28)
41. [-1] Dancing Queen – Cher (76)
42. [-4] Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (17)
43. [-1] Love + Fear – MARINA (46)
44. [-8] Dedicated Side B – Carly Rae Jepsen (16)
45. [=] Love Stuff – Elle King (29)
46. [+2] Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (90)
47. [-6] How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – Florence + the Machine (32)
48. [-5] Lover – Taylor Swift (54)
49. [-5] 21 – Adele (44)
50. [=] Bad Animals – HEART (61)