TRACY CHAPMAN HITS NO.1!
Plus: Lana Del Rey’s Blue Banisters reaches new sales milestone
Tracy Chapman reaches No.1 on the Weekly Top Fifty with her eponymous debut album (1988), becoming the 76th No.1 record in the chart’s five-year history. Tracy sold 63,000 copies this week, marking an increase of 53 percent from the previous week when it sold 41,000.
The album (which has sold over 200,000 to date) originally peaked at No.4 in December 2021, but quickly dropped off the list. In February, it re-entered the Top Fifty at No.24 and hopped up to No.10 the following week (selling 20,000 copies) before then leaping to a new high of No.3 the week after.
Even more impressive than the LP’s flight to the top, is that it unseats Adele’s 30 after a staggering fourteen weeks at No.1! The juggernaut slips to No.2 in its 16th charting frame, selling a further 56,000 units (down 5 percent) and has sold 2.34 million to date.
Despite being knocked off its perch this week, 30 becomes the first album of 2022 to shift over 1 million copies, having moved 1.02 million since the start of the new year. It maintains its title as the bestselling album of the annum so far, boasting a lead of over 600,000 copies over its closest rival: Norah Jones’s Come Away With Me.
Currently, 30 is the bestselling album of 2022 (1.02 million); the 6th bestselling album of the decade (2.34 million); and the 9th bestselling album of all time. It became the fastest-selling album ever upon its release in November (650,000 units) and set the record for the fastest album to sell 1 million (three weeks) and 2 million copies (12 weeks)!
Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under regresses to No.3 after two weeks in the runner-up spot. It sold 48,000 copies this week (even with last week).
Lana Del Rey ascends 6-4 with three-week-leader Blue Banisters, on sales of 23,000 units (up 4 percent). Banisters has now sold 1.2 million units to date, earning it a 4 x Platinum certification! It is Del Rey’s fifth album to sell over 1.2 million copies following Norman Fucking Rockwell! (4.93 million); Lust for Life (2.88 million); Chemtrails Over the Country Club (1.77 million); and Born to Die: the Paradise Edition (1.35 million).
The singer is now tied with Stevie Nicks as the artist with the most albums boasting sales of over 1.2 million units. Nicks has achieved the feat with Crystal Visions – the Very Best of Stevie Nicks (2.28 million); Bella Donna (2.04 million); Rock a Little (1.42 million); The Wild Heart (1.28 million); and The Other Side of the Mirror (1.21 million).
Del Rey’s NFR! is also present in this week’s Top Ten: it rises 10-8 (20,000 units – up 11 percent) and nabs a record-adding 121st week in the Top Ten!
Norah Jones rounds out the Top Five as her No.2-peaking Come Away With Me rebounds 7-5 with 23,000 sold (up 9 percent).
Outside the Top Five: Joni Mitchell’s Blue retreats 5-6 (22,000 units – down 4 percent); and Arlo Parks is up 9-7 with her No.3-hit Collapsed in Sunbeams (20,000 units – up 11 percent).
Taylor Swift anchors the Top Ten with a pair of chart-topping juggernauts: folklore slips 8-9 (20,000 sold – on par with last week); and the wintery evermore tumbles 4-10 (19,000 units – down 24 percent).
Onto Next Week: Tracy Chapman’s self-titled LP should be set for a second week ontop, as it’s heading towards 60 – 65k sales for the tracking period. Adele’s 30 and Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under are both gunning to sell 50 – 55k and should compete for the No.2 position.
L.dK Weekly Top Fifty
Notable Moves in the Top Fifty
No.38 – If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power / Halsey’s fourth studio album was one of 2020’s biggest and bestselling hits, and spent a hefty eight weeks in the No.1 spot. This week, as it notches a 25th appearance in the Top Fifty, it becomes the 46th album to sell more than 1 million copies; it is Halsey’s first release to achieve this!
L.dK Weekly Top Artists
Industry Sales
Industry sales for the week stand at 653,000 units, essentially equal with the previous week’s figure of 652,000 units. Compared to the same week last year (when 874,000 albums were sold), consumption is down by 25.3%.
Note
Certifications: Silver (60,000); Gold (100,000); Platinum (300,000); Multi-Platinum (600,000 etc.); Diamond (3,000,000).
L.dK Music 