05.10.2020 – L.dK Weekly

TAYLOR SWIFT TALLIES RARE TENTH WEEK AT NO.1!

Swift’s folklore holds Joji’s Nectar at bay, while Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! hits a new sales milestone.

Moving 90,000 copies in the most recent tracking week (down 22 percent), Taylor Swift’s folklore reigns for a tenth consecutive week, becoming just the fourth album in history to spend ten weeks at the top spot, and extending its record as the longest-running number one album of 2020!

Only three albums have led the L.dK Top 50 for a longer time: Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! (17 weeks), Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born (12 weeks), and Del Rey’s Lust for Life (11 weeks).

Settling for a No.2 start this week: Joji’s Nectar. The alternative set bows with 85,000 copies sold, marking the biggest debut for an album by a solo male artist since The Weeknd’s After Hours opened with 249,000 units sold in the week ending 30th March.

Lana Del Rey’s Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass bullets at its No.3 peak for a third non-consecutive week, earning its greatest sales week to date with 56,000 sold (up 47 percent). Del Rey’s 2019 juggernaut Norman Fucking Rockwell! follows at No.4 (up from No.5) with 47,000 units (up 46 percent).

NFR! has now sold 3.31 million copies, making it the first album in history to be certified 11 x Platinum (3.3 million) just a week after it became the bestselling of all time, passing Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born (3.25 million to date). This week marks the record-breaking set’s record-extending 36th week in the Top Five, and record-padding 56th turn in the Top Ten.

Rounding out the Top Five: Carole King tumbles 2-5 with A Beautiful Collection (39,000 – down 15 percent) after the album peaked at No.2 for a record nine weeks. While it drops to its lowest rank on the Top 50 so far, it goes 3 x Platinum this week for sales exceeding 900,000 copies!

Three further compilation records follow in the Top Ten: Alanis Morissette’s The Collection slides 4-6 on sales of 28,000 (down 15 percent), Kate Bush’s The Whole Story keeps at No.7 with 23,000 units (down 4 percent), and Stevie Nicks’ Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks fall 6-8 (22,000 – down 12 percent) while going 3 x Platinum! It is Nicks’ seventh album to be certified 3 x Platinum, a record among all artists.

Anchoring the Top Ten: Troye Sivan is down 8-9 with the No.2 hit In a Dream (20,000 – down 13 percent) and Harry Styles is down 9-10 with his former No.1 set Fine Line (17,000 – down 19 percent).

Industry Sales: Overall music sales totalled 699,000 albums this week, marking an uptick of 5.7 percent compared to last week’s figure of 661,000 units.

Onto Next Week: BLACKPINK’s The Album could start in the Top Ten with upwards of 20,000 units, while Taylor Swift’s folklore & Joji’s Nectar could both compete for No.1 with around 70,000-80,000 units.

Notable Moves in the Top 50:

No.22 – Zeros / Declan McKenna’s second full-length falls 19-22 this week with 8,000 units, and passes 60,000 in total sales. It is McKenna’s first LP to be certified Silver.

No.24 – After School / Melanie Martinez’ new EP (a follow-up to 2019’s K-12) launches at No.24 with 8,000 units in its first week. Martinez previously hit the Top Ten with both 2015’s Crybaby (No.4) and 2019’s K-12 (No.3) although neither have received a certification.

No.35 – Bloom / As his new Gold-certified EP In a Dream continues in the Top Ten for a sixth consecutive week, Troye Sivan’s 2018 No.1 record Bloom swings 38-35 moving 5,000 copies. The album (which has been present inside the Top 50 for a total of 54 weeks to date) has now sold exactly 600,000 units – it is Sivan’s first release to be certified Multi-Platinum!

The Top 50

1. [=/10] folklore – Taylor Swift (10)
2. [NEW] Nectar – Joji (1)
3. [=/3] Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Lana Del Rey (10)
4. [+1] Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey (57)
5. [-3] A Beautiful Collection – Carole King (15)
6. [-2] The Collection – Alanis Morissette (25)
7. [=] The Whole Story – Kate Bush (65)
8. [-2] Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks – Stevie Nicks (43)
9. [-1] In a Dream – Troye Sivan (6)
10. [-1] Fine Line – Harry Styles (42)
11. [-1] Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa (27)
12. [+9] What’s Your Pleasure? – Jessie Ware (14)
13. [-1] Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (23)
14. [-3] Chromatica – Lady Gaga (18)
15. [+5] Greatest Hits – Fleetwood Mac (45)
16. [+1] Such Pretty Forks in the Road – Alanis Morissette (9)
17. [-3] Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle (16)
18. [-3] Diva – Annie Lennox (87)
19. [-1] She’s so Unusual – Cyndi Lauper (69)
20. [-4] Petals for Armor – Hayley Williams (21)
21. [+6] Bella Donna – Stevie Nicks (107)
22. [-3] Zeros – Declan McKenna (4)
23. [=] Glasshouse – Jessie Ware (81)
24. [NEW] After School EP – Melanie Martinez (1)
25. [+5] Medusa – Annie Lennox (61)
26. [+5] Sweetener – Ariana Grande (89)
27. [-5] True Colors – Cyndi Lauper (14)
28. [-3] A Star is Born – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (82)
29. [=] 25 – Adele (93)
30. [-2] Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos (42)
31. [-7] After Hours – The Weeknd (28)
32. [=] Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (71)
33. [-7] Shake the Spirit – Elle King (41)
34. [+6] In Isolation – Elle King (12)
35. [+3] Bloom – Troye Sivan (54)
36. [+3] Dancing Queen – Cher (79)
37. [-2] Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (21)
38. [-1] Love + Fear – MARINA (51)
39. [re] The Wild Heart – Stevie Nicks (75)
40. [-7] The Lion King: The Gift – Beyonce (9)
41. [=] BADLANDS: Live at Webster Hall (5)
42. [-6] Heart – HEART (31)
43. [+3] Madame X – Madonna (48)
44. [+3] Rock a Little – Stevie Nicks (70)
45. [-3] Map of the Soul: 7 – BTS (32)
46. [-3] Love Stuff – Elle King (33)
47. [-13] Brightest Blue – Ellie Goulding (11)
48. [-4] Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (94)
49. [+1] Bad Animals – HEART (65)
50. [-5] Hounds of Love – Kate Bush (41)