30.11.2020 – L.dK Weekly

TAYLOR SWIFT RECLAIMS THE NO.1 SPOT!

folklore earns a fifteenth week at the top; BTS open at No.3 with BE!

Taylor Swift’s folklore returns to the summit of the L.dK Weekly Top 50, celebrating a fifteenth non-consecutive week in charge! folklore debuted at No.1 on the chart dated 3rd August, and stayed at the top for its fourteen weeks, and has yet to sink below No.3.

folklore sold 81,000 copies in the most recent tracking week, surging by 35 percent from last week’s haul of 60,000 units. The album is helped largely by the release of folklore: the long pond studio sessions which included live versions of all 17 of folklore’s tracks.

6 x Platinum: folklore has now sold 1,868,000 copies in its short 18-week life: it has now reached 6 x Platinum status, meaning it has sold more than 1,800,000 units. It is Swift’s first album to sell as many (her previous set Lover topped 1.5 million and is certified 5 x Platinum) and is just the ninth album ever to reach the threshold!

2nd Bestselling Album of 2020: Passing Alanis Morissette’s The Collection & Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, folklore now ranks as the 2nd bestselling album of 2020 to date! For now, it is some distance behind Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia (2.063 million).

2nd Longest Running No.1: Now with 15 weeks at the summit, folklore remains the 2nd longest running number one album of all time. Only Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! has spent more time at the top, with 17 weeks in command.

In non Taylor Swift related news: Ariana Grande’s Positions drops to No.2 after crowning the Top 50 for its first three weeks. Album sales are down 36 percent to 71,000 in the week.

BTS burst onto Top 50 at No.3 with BE. Selling 38,000 units, it earns the K-Pop boyband their second consecutive Top 5 album, following Map of the Soul: 7 which premiered at No.1 in March with 123,000 sold (the year’s biggest figure at the time). MOTS: 7 descends 43-45 (5,000 units) in its 40th successive week on the chart. It is currently certified Platinum!

Joji’s No.2 peaking Nectar sinks 3-4 moving 36,000 copies (down 3 percent).

Re-entering the Top Five for the first time since the end of June, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia bolts 9-5 moving 28,000 units (up 3 percent). The year’s bestselling smash has now spent 14 weeks inside the Top Five, including its 8-week tenure atop the list.

Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits sinks 5-6 after peaking at No.1 in 2019 (down 16 percent); Carole King’s A Beautiful Collection steps down 6-7 after logging nine weeks at No.2 (26,000 – down 17 percent).

Paloma Faith’s new Infinite Things is steady at its No.8 high following its debut one week ago. The LP sold 25,000 units this week (down 17 percent). It holds above Kylie Minogue, whose No.2 hit DISCO tumbles 4-9 in its third week (22,000 – down 39 percent).

Finally, Harry Styles’ Fine Line is steady at No.10 selling 19,000 copies (down 18 percent). The former No.1 hit has now spent 50 weeks inside the Top 50.

Industry Sales: Music sales overall dipped by 12.8% to 790,000 sold in the most recent week. Compared to the same week last year, it shows a slight dip of 1.2% (799,000 albums were sold in the same week in 2019). It marks just the second time that a week from 2019 has outperformed its mirror in 2020 – the other time this occurred was on the chart dated 24th February when 490,000 albums were sold, against 633,000 the previous year.

Onto Next Week: Miley Cyrus could score one the fastest-selling albums of 2020 with Plastic Hearts. The record is currently on track to sell around 200,000 copies in its opening frame!

Notable Moves in the Top 50

No.12 – GOOD NEWS / Megan Thee Stallion makes her first trip to the L.dK Weekly Top 50 this week as GOOD NEWS bows at No.12. It sold 17,000 copies in its first seven days.

No.13 – Sweetener / Ariana Grande’s 2018 iconic hit Sweetener leaves the Top Ten after a total of 32 weeks in the region, slipping 7-13 with 15,000 sold (down 50 percent). As a consolation prize, Sweetener becomes just the tenth album in history to sell 1,800,000 copies! Sweetener is Grande’s first album to be certified 6 x Platinum.

No.24 – 50 Words for Snow / The wintery dreamy set from Kate Bush debuts at No.24 with first week sales of 11,000 copies. Snow earns Bush her ninth Top 50 hit, although is currently her only release to land outside the Top 20. Apart from Snow, her lowest-charting album if 1978’s Lionheart which hit No.19 in 2017. Bush has collected five Top Five albums since the inception of L.dK Weekly, including her only No.1 hit Never for Ever.

No.32 – A Christmas Cornucopia / Debuting at a lowly No.32 this week is Annie Lennox’s A Christmas Cornucopia, originally released in 2010 and now benefitting from a re-release. The Christmas set bows with 8,000 copies sold. Like Bush’s aforementioned Snow, it is Lennox’s lowest-charting album to date currently. It is preceded by two No.1 hits 1992’s Diva and its 1995 follow-up Medusa – both rank among the bestselling albums of all time.

No.38 – Dangerous Woman / Grande again: this time its her 2016 hit Dangerous Woman receiving new honours. The album has now been certified Gold (100,000 sales) with weekly sales of 6,000 units.

Top 50

1. [+1/15] folklore – Taylor Swift (18)
2. [-1] Positions – Ariana Grande (4)
3. [NEW] BE. – BTS (1)
4. [-1] Nectar – Joji (9)
5. [+4] Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa (35)
6. [-1] Greatest Hits – Fleetwood Mac (53)
7. [-1] A Beautiful Collection – Carole King (23)
8. [=/2] Infinite Things – Paloma Faith (2)
9. [-5] DISCO – Kylie Minogue (3)
10. [=] Fine Line – Harry Styles (50)
11. [+1] Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey (65)
12. [NEW] GOOD NEWS – Megan Thee Stallion (1)
13. [-6] Sweetener – Ariana Grande (97)
14. [+1] Chromatica – Lady Gaga (26)
15. [-2] The Collection – Alanis Morissette (33)
16. [+4] What’s Your Pleasure? – Jessie Ware (22)
17. [-3] Live in Concert: the 24 Karat Gold Tour – Stevie Nicks (4)
18. [-2] Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks – Stevie Nicks (51)
19. [-8] Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (32)
20. [-3] The Whole Story – Kate Bush (73)
21. [-3] Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Lana Del Rey (18)
22. [=] Diva – Annie Lennox (95)
23. [-2] thank u, next – Ariana Grande (44)
24. [NEW] 50 Words for Snow – Kate Bush (1)
25. [-6] Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (102)
26. [+9] A Star is Born – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (90)
27. [=] Bella Donna – Stevie Nicks (115)
28. [-3] Piano Sketches – Birdy (3)
29. [=] Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle (24)
30. [-4] Album No.8 – Katie Melua (6)
31. [-3] After Hours – The Weeknd (36)
32. [NEW] A Christmas Cornucopia – Annie Lennox (1)
33. [-9] Such Pretty Forks in the Road – Alanis Morissette (17)
34. [-1] She’s so Unusual – Cyndi Lauper (77)
35. [+10] The Red Shoes – Kate Bush (54)
36. [-13] In a Dream – Troye Sivan (14)
37. [-1] Medusa – Annie Lennox (69)
38. [-1] Dangerous Woman – Ariana Grande (16)
39. [-5] Petals for Armor – Hayley Williams (29)
40. [+1] Glasshouse – Jessie Ware (89)
41. [-10] Love + Fear – MARINA (59)
42. [+6] Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos (49)
43. [-11] 25 – Adele (101)
44. [-2] Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (79)
45. [-2] Map of the Soul: 7 – BTS (40)
46. [-16] Shake the Spirit – Elle King (49)
47. [-8] Manic – Halsey (18)
48. [-2] Love Goes – Sam Smith (4)
49. [-9] Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (28)
50. [=] Hounds of Love – Kate Bush (47)

Certifications: Silver (60,000), Gold (100,000), Platinum (300,000), Diamond (3,000,000)