11.01.2021 – L.dK Weekly

TAYLOR SWIFT CONTINUES HER DOMINATION OF CONTEMPORARY ALBUMS!

evermore & folklore rank as the week’s top albums once again; Lana Del Rey reaches a new milestone!

Taylor Swift holds the No.1 spot on Top Contemporary Albums for a second straight week, moving 150,000 copies (up 6 percent).

Overall, evermore has logged a total of four weeks at No.1, including its two week reign atop the Weekly Top 50 in 2020. The album has sold 686,000 units to date, making it Swift’s fourth album to be certified Multi-Platinum. Her 2017 album reputation is certified 2 x Platinum, 2019’s Lover is 5 x Platinum, and evermore‘s sister set folklore was recently awarded 7 x Platinum status!

Speaking of folklore… that album holds the No.2 position on this weekly round-up with sales of 88,000 copies (up 18 percent).

For a fourth successive week, Taylor Swift holds the top two spots on L.dK Weekly. She achieved this historic feat in the final two weeks of 2020 on the Weekly Top 50, and currently is the only artist to reach No.1 or No.2 on Top Contemporary Albums.

Holding at No.3, Miley Cyrus’s three-week leader Plastic Hearts earns 2 x Platinum status as it moves 48,000 copies (down 10 percent).

Capping the Top Five: Ariana Grande’s three-week No.1 hit Positions stays at No.4 (39,000 – down 8 percent); Rina Sawayama’s SAWAYAMA keeps at No.5 after peaking at No.4 (24,000 – down 23 percent).

Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! (which this week sits at No.6 with 23,000 sold – on par with last week) reaches a new sales milestone as it becomes the first album in history to surpasses 3.6 million combined sales: to date, NFR! has sold 3,611,000 copies!

NFR! makes history as it attains 12 x Platinum status. It is one of only two albums to be certified Diamond or higher. The other, Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born soundtrack has sold 3.36 million and has been certified 11 x Platinum.

Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters steps up 8-7 with 17,000 sold (down 6 percent) after reaching No.4. It pushes Joji’s No.2 record Nectar down one rung to No.8 with 16,000 units (down 12 percent).

Harry Styles repeats at No.9 with his former No.1 Fine Line (15,000 – down 7 percent); Hayley Williams’ Petals for Armor completes the Top Ten as it rises 13-10 (12,000 – up 9 percent). Petals reached No.3 last year, and now nabs an 18th week inside the Top Ten!

Onto Next Week: Again, there are no new releases, opening the way for Taylor Swift to continue her rule. evermore could sell another 150,000 copies, while folklore will likely remain steady with around 80,000 units.

Notable Moves on Top Contemporary

No.16 – Piano Sketches / Birdy’s latest EP rises 17-16 this week, reaching a new highest-rank. The 4-track collection has sold 71,000 to date, and is now in its 9th week on the chart.

No.24 – Love Goes / Sam Smith’s first album in three years, Love Goes debuted and peaked at No.13 on the Weekly Top 50 last year but quickly slid down the list. While it failed to reach the Top Ten, it ties The Thrill of it All as the singer’s longest-charting LP with 10 weeks so far. Love sold 4,000 units this week, bringing its total sales figure to 60,000 sold. Of Smith’s two releases, Love is their second to be certified Silver (60,000); Thrill is a Platinum record (300,000).

Top Contemporary Albums

1. [=/4] evermore – Taylor Swift (4)
2. [=] folklore – Taylor Swift (24)
3. [=] Plastic Hearts – Miley Cyrus (6)
4. [=] Positions – Ariana Grande (10)
5. [=] SAWAYAMA – Rina Sawayama (5)
6. [=] Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey (71)
7. [+1] Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (38)
8. [-1] Nectar – Joji (15)
9. [=] Fine Line – Harry Styles (56)
10. [+3] Petals for Armor – Hayley Williams (35)
11. [+3] What’s Your Pleasure? – Jessie Ware (28)
12. [-2] Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa (41)
13. [-2] Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Lana Del Rey (24)
14. [-2] After Hours – The Weeknd (42)
15. [=] Album No.8 – Katie Melua (12)
16. [+1] Piano Sketches – Birdy (9)
17. [-1] Live in Concert: the 24 Karat Gold Tour – Stevie Nicks (10)
18. [+3] DISCO – Kylie Minogue (9)
19. [=] Such Pretty Forks in the Road – Alanis Morissette (23)
20. [=] Chromatica – Lady Gaga (32)
21. [-3] BE – BTS (7)
22. [+1] Map of the Soul: 7 – BTS (46)
23. [-1] Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle (30)
24. [+1] Love Goes – Sam Smith (10)
25. [-1] Infinite Things – Paloma Faith (8)

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE SOAR TO NO.1 ON TOP CATALOGUE ALBUMS!

High as Hope earns Florence + the Machine their second No.1 album, as the outfit doubles up in the Top Ten!

Florence + the Machine become the first act to debut atop the new Top Catalogue Albums survey, as their 2018 release High as Hope opens in pole position with 35,000 copies sold. It’s the 60th album to reach No.1 on L.dK Weekly!

Previously, the Machine snared three weeks at No.1 on the Weekly Top 50 way back in December 2017 with 2011’s Ceremonials, an album that has now sold over 400,000 units.

More recently, they reached No.3 in January 2020 with the 2015 set How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. How Beautiful is the band’s biggest selling album with almost 700,000 copies sold to date. It roars 19-9 on this week’s ranking, selling 9,000 copies (up 125 percent).

While it is their second No.1 hit, High as Hope starts with Florence + the Machine’s lowest opening sales week: 35,000 copies. Ceremonials topped the tally in 2017 with 145,000 copies in its first seven days, and while How Beautiful had to settle for a No.3 peak, it did so with a healthy 76,000 units.

Falling to No.2 after finally ascending to No.1 (following a nine-week stay at No.2 on the Weekly Top 50 in 2020) Carole King’s A Beautiful Collection shifts 19,000 units (down 14 percent).

Three further compilation records follow in the Top Five: Alanis Morissette’s No.2 peaking The Collection rises 4-3 with 13,000 sold (on par); Fleetwood Mac’s former chart-topper Greatest Hits falls 2-4 with 12,000 units (down 20 percent);; Kate Bush climbs 6-5 with The Whole Story selling 12,000 copies (on par). Story reached No.4 in 2017.

Stevie Nicks lifts 7-6 with Bella Donna (11,000 units – on par), while her best-of set Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks drops 3-7 (11,000 units – down 22 percent).

Capping the Top Ten: Annie Lennox’s Diva slides 5-8 (10,000 copies – down 17 percent) and Ariana Grande’s Sweetener sinks 8-10 (8,000 copies – on par).

Onto Next Week: Florence + the Machine & Carole King are likely to clash for No.1 on next week’s chart. Both High as Hope & A Beautiful Collection are set to sell around 20,000 units.

Top Catalogue Albums

1. [NEW] High as Hope – Florence + the Machine (1)
2. [-1] A Beautiful Collection – Carole King (29)
3. [+1] The Collection – Alanis Morissette (39)
4. [-2] Greatest Hits – Fleetwood Mac (59)
5. [+1] The Whole Story – Kate Bush (79)
6. [+1] Bella Donna – Stevie Nicks (121)
7. [-5] Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks – Stevie Nicks (57)
8. [-3] Diva – Annie Lennox (101)
9. [+10] How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – Florence + the Machine (38)
10. [-2] Sweetener – Ariana Grande (103)
11. [=] thank u, next – Ariana Grande (50)
12. [-2] Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos (55)
13. [=] She’s so Unusual – Cyndi Lauper (83)
14. [-5] Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (108)
15. [+8] Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (85)
16. [=] Glasshouse – Jessie Ware (95)
17. [-5] 50 Words for Snow – Kate Bush (7)
18. [=] Medusa – Annie Lennox (75)
19. [-4] Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (34)
20. [=] Heart – HEART (37)
21. [-7] A Star is Born – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (96)
22. [re] Rock a Little – Stevie Nicks (75)
23. [re] Dancing Queen – Cher (88)
24. [re] Heart of Stone – Cyndi Lauper (41)
25. [re] True Colors – Cyndi Lauper (20)

Industry Sales: Contemporary Albums drove sales of 542,000 units this week, as Catalogue Albums moved 237,000. This week, Contemporary makes up 69.5% of all sales; Catalogue was responsible for 30.5%.

With total industry sales of 779,000 units across all formats, album sales are up by 3.1% compared to last week’s haul of 755,000 copies. Consumption is up 56.1% compared to the same week last year which recorded sales of 499,000 albums.

Certifications: Silver (60,000), Gold (100,000), Platinum (300,000), Multi-Platinum (600,000 etc.), Diamond (3,000,000).