25.01.2021 – L.dK Weekly

TAYLOR SWIFT’S EVERMORE TIES A RECORD AS IT SELLS 1 MILLION UNITS!

As evermore leads Top Contemporary Albums for a sixth frame, The Weeknd’s After Hours revisits the Top Ten!

Dominating Contemporary Albums for a fourth straight week (and sixth overall), Taylor Swift’s evermore becomes just the ninth album to rule L.dK Weekly for six weeks or more. It is the first to spend at least weeks at the top spot since Swift’s own folklore ruled for fifteen weeks.

evermore moved 146,000 copies in the latest tracking week (down 15 percent).

To date, the record has shifted a total of 1,004,000 copies. By selling over 1 million units in just six weeks, evermore matches the record for the shortest amount of time needed to sell 1 million albums. Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life also surpassed the 1 million mark in its sixth week, having sold 1.047 million copies by the end of the week.

Holding at No.2 for a sixth successive week (after a staggering fifteen weeks at No.1) is Swift’s own folklore, moving 74,000 copies (down 10 percent).

The longest-running No.1 hit of 2020 has now sold 2,531,000 units since its release in July.

folklore – Swift’s bestselling album – now ranks as the third bestselling record of all time! It is just the third record in history to sell at least 2.5 million units. The album passes Del Rey’s Lust which has sold 2,494,000 to date.

folklore has now lived inside the Weekly Top Five for 26 consecutive weeks; it is just the fifth album to spend at least half a year inside the Top Five.

Three former chart-toppers follow in the Top Five: Miley Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts repeats at No.3 (48,000 sold – up 9 percent); Ariana Grande’s Positions holds at No.4 (40,000 – up 21 percent); and Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! keeps at No.5 (21,000 – down 5 percent).

NFR! adds a record-padding 40th week inside the Top Five, and record-furthering 66th week in the Top Ten.

Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters climbs 8-6 with 16,000 sold (up 6 percent) after hitting No.4 last year. Joji’s No.2 peaking Nectar remains at No.7 with 16,000 sold (down 16 percent).

Jessie Ware’s No.1 hit What’s Your Pleasure? inches 9-8 moving 15,000 copies (up 7 percent) as Rina Sawayama’s SAWAYAMA slides 6-9 following its No.4 debut, selling 15,000 copies (down 25 percent).

Finally, The Weeknd’s After Hours returns to the Top Ten for the first time since July. After sold 12,000 copies this week (up 50 percent from last week). The album has now spent 16 weeks inside the Top Ten.

Onto Next Week: Taylor Swift’s evermore will likely earn a seventh week at No.1, potentially with around 100,000 units.

Top Contemporary Albums

1. [=/6] evermore – Taylor Swift (6)
2. [=] folklore – Taylor Swift (26)
3. [=] Plastic Hearts – Miley Cyrus (8)
4. [=] Positions – Ariana Grande (12)
5. [=] Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey (73)
6. [+2] Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (40)
7. [=] Nectar – Joji (17)
8. [+1] What’s Your Pleasure? – Jessie Ware (30)
9. [-3] SAWAYAMA – Rina Sawayama (7)
10. [+6] After Hours – The Weeknd (44)
11. [+2] Petals for Armor – Hayley Williams (37)
12. [-1] Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Lana Del Rey (26)
13. [-1] Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa (43)
14. [-4] Fine Line – Harry Styles (58)
15. [-1] Album No.8 – Katie Melua (14)
16. [-1] Piano Sketches – Birdy (11)
17. [+2] Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle (32)
18. [-1] Live in Concert: the 24 Karat Gold Tour – Stevie Nicks (12)
19. [+2] Chromatica – Lady Gaga (34)
20. [-2] Such Pretty Forks in the Road – Alanis Morissette (25)
21. [-1] DISCO – Kylie Minogue (11)
22. [+1] Love Goes – Sam Smith
23. [+1] Map of the Soul: 7 – BTS (48)
24. [-2] BE – BTS (9)
25. [re] Kid Krow – Conan Gray (21)

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

CAROLE KING TALLIES THIRD WEEK ATOP CATALOGUE ALBUMS WITH A BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION!

Stevie Nicks surges to No.2 with Crystal Visions; Cyndi Lauper’s She’s so Unusual hits the Top Ten!

For a third cumulative week, Carole King’s A Beautiful Collection commands Top Contemporary Albums. The album sold 19,000 units this week (down 5 percent) and extends its record as the longest-running album to date on the Catalogue Chart.

Stevie Nicks’ Crystal Visions – the Very Best of Stevie Nicks rockets 19-2 as it soars by 260 percent to 18,000 copies sold in the latest tracking week.

This marks Crystal’s first visit to the Top Ten of Contemporary Albums, however the album peaked at No.1 on the Weekly Top 50 for a total of three weeks. This is the collection’s 28th week inside the Top Ten.

Nicks is present again further down the Top Ten: her 1981 debut solo album Bella Donna rebounds 9-7 moving 9,000 copies (on par with last week’s sales figure).

Alanis Morissette keeps at No.3 with the No.2 peaking The Collection, moving 14,000 units (down 7 percent). Annie Lennox’s chart-leading Diva springs 6-4 selling 13,000 units (up 8 percent).

Capping the Top Five: Kate Bush’s The Whole Story keeps at No.5 for a third term after hitting No.4, moving 13,000 copies (on par).

Outside the Top Five, Fleetwood Mac are up 7-6 with their former chart-topping Greatest Hits (9,000 – down 25 percent); Cyndi Lauper’s She’s so Unusual surges 13-8 to notch a 28th week in the Top Ten (8,000 – up 33 percent).

Florence + the Machine’s No.3 peaking How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful steps down 8-9 (8,000 – down 20 percent).

Capping the Top Ten: Ariana Grande’s Sweetener is steady at No.10 with 7,000 sold (on par).

Onto Next Week: Carole King’s A Beautiful Collection and Stevie Nicks’ Crystal Visions – the Very Best of Stevie Nicks both could challenge for No.1 as both albums could sell around 20,000 units.

Notable Moves on Top Catalogue

No.11 – High as Hope / Florence + the Machine notched their second chart-topping album (and third Top Five entry) when their 2018 set High as Hope opened at No.1 selling 35,000 units. Hope slides to No.11 in its third charting week, and has now sold 60,000 copies – the LP has now been certified Silver for selling more than 60,000 units. It is the band’s third effort to reach the sales mark following 2011’s Ceremonials (Platinum) and 2015’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2 x Platinum).

No.13 – thank u, next / Ariana Grande’s thank u, next followed her 2018 set Sweetener in becoming her second chart-topping album on L.dK Weekly, and until the release of Positions in October 2020 it stood as the singer’s fastest-selling release. next has sold 1,251,000 units since its release almost two years ago (it is certified 4 x Platinum) and this week becomes Grande’s second album to spend a full year on L.dK Weekly. Grande’s other – Sweetener – has lived on the chart for 105 weeks to date.

No.16 – 50 Words for Snow / Kate Bush’s wintery project has now been certified Silver with total sales of 62,000 units. Snow is the art-pop icon’s sixth album to receive a sales certification on L.dK Weekly. It joins The Whole Story (3 x Platinum); The Red Shoes (2 x Platinum); and Never for Ever, Hounds of Love & The Sensual World which have all been certified Platinum.

Industry Sales: Contemporary Albums recorded sales of 512,000 units this week (down 4.9%) while Catalogue Albums generated 226,000 units (down 0.9%). Contemporary was responsible for 69.3% of all consumption this week; versus 30.7% for Catalogue.

This week marks the lowest figure to date for Contemporary Albums: the previous low-mark for the format was last week’s haul of 534,000 units.

Total industry sales are down by 3.2% to 738,000 units this week. Compared to the same week last year (when 445,000 records were sold), consumption is up by a massive 65.8%!

Top Catalogue Albums

1. [=/3] A Beautiful Collection – Carole King (31)
2. [+17] Crystal Visions: the Very Best of Stevie Nicks (46)
3. [=] The Collection – Alanis Morissette (41)
4. [+2] Diva – Annie Lennox (103)
5. [=] The Whole Story – Kate Bush (81)
6. [+1] Greatest Hits – Fleetwood Mac (61)
7. [+2] Bella Donna – Stevie Nicks (123)
8. [+5] She’s so Unusual – Cyndi Lauper (85)
9. [-1] How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful? – Florence + the Machine (40)
10. [=] Sweetener – Ariana Grande (105)
11. [-9] High as Hope – Florence + the Machine (3)
12. [-8] Timespace: the Best of Stevie Nicks – Stevie Nicks (59)
13. [-2] thank u, next – Ariana Grande (52)
14. [-2] Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (110)
15. [-1] Glasshouse – Jessie Ware (97)
16. [=] 50 Words for Snow – Kate Bush (9)
17. [-2] Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos (57)
18. [+3] Medusa – Annie Lennox (77)
19. [+6] Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (36)
20. [re] Bad Animals – HEART (73)
21. [re] The Red Shoes – Kate Bush (59)
22. [re] The Sensual World – Kate Bush (54)
23. [-6] A Star is Born – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (98)
24. [-6] Rock a Little – Stevie Nicks (77)
25. [-3] True Colors – Cyndi Lauper (22)