SAM FENDER’S SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER EARNS RECORD-PADDING FOURTH WEEK AT NO.1!
PLUS: Allison Russell scores Top Five debut; Harry Styles and Taylor Swift celebrate new milestones; HAIM re-enter Top Ten!
Sam Fender claims a fourth consecutive week at number-one on the L.dK Weekly Top Fifty with his sophomore record, Seventeen Going Under. The LP sold 54,000 copies this week (down 11 percent). It extends its record as the longest-running number-one album by a solo male artist, and Fender extends his record for the most weeks at number-one overall by a male soloist.
Adele holds firm at No.2 with the historic 30, on sales of 49,000 units this week (down 6 percent). The album previously spent fourteen weeks at the summit.
Currently, 30 is the bestselling album of 2022 (1.23 million); the 5th bestselling album of the decade (2.54 million); and the 8th 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)!
Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut remains at No.3 after spending a week atop the list in March. It sold 40,000 copies this week (down 9 percent).
Allison Russell collects the top debut of the week as her debut solo venture – Outside Child – premieres at No.4. Following Russell’s performance and nominations at this year’s Grammy Awards, Outside sold 31,000 units.
Harry Styles re-enters the Top Five this week as Fine Line – a former chart-topper – races 11-5 on sales of 29,000 copies (up 61 percent), basking in the glow of Styles’s new single, “As It Was” which trailers his upcoming third record, Harry’s House – due May 20th.
In addition to its return to the Top Five, Fine Line becomes the bestselling album of all time by a male artist, having sold 1.50 million to date. It passes The Weeknd’s After Hours which had previously held the record with sales of 1.49 million units.
Outside the Top Five: Lana Del Rey’s three-week-leader Blue Banisters backtracks 5-6 (26,000 units – up 4 percent); Joni Mitchell’s record-breaking Blue stays at No.7 (25,000 units – up 13 percent); and Norah Jones’s Come Away With Me tumbles 4-8 after peaking at No.2 (24,000 units – down 11 percent).
HAIM return to the Top Ten this week as Women in Music Pt. III bolts 13-9 (21,000 units – up 31 percent). Women – their third album – debuted and peaked at No.8 in July 2020, and saw moderate success continue into 2021, where it climbed as high as No.11 over the Summer. This marks its second week inside the Top Ten.
Taylor Swift rounds out the Top Ten with her mega-hit, folklore (19,000 units – down 5 percent). The decade’s bestselling hit has now sold 4.5 million copies, becoming just the second album in history to be certified 15 x Platinum! It follows Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! which is currently certified 16 x Platinum.
Onto Next Week: Both Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under and Adele’s 30 are currently tracking to sell 45 – 55k units, and should compete for the No.1 spot. Fender will be aiming for a fifth straight week in charge, while Adele will be hoping to return to the number-one spot for a fifteenth non-consecutive frame.
L.dK Weekly Top Fifty
Notable Moves in the Top Fifty
No.11 – Diva / Annie Lennox’s solo debut album is one of the biggest hits in L.dK Weekly history; it ranks among the top ten bestselling albums ever (2.68 million copies) and is the second-longest-charting hit ever (166 weeks). Diva celebrated thirty years since is initial release on 06 April, and so shoots from No.29 to No.11 on the Top Fifty, moving 18,000 units (up 125 percent).
No.13 – If I Could Turn Back Time / Cher’s best-of collection retreats after two weeks at its No.10 highpoint, moving 17,000 units. The compilation has sold just over 100,000 to date, earning it a Gold certification.
No.19 – Happier than Ever / Billie Eilish’s sophomore studio album hikes 34-19 (13,000 units – up 85 percent) following her performance and nominations at this year’s Grammy Awards. Happier debuted at No.1 upon its release last year, and has since become Eilish’s bestselling album.
No.24 – Positions / Ariana Grande’s most recent album springs 30-24 (9,000 units – up 12 percent) after its nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at this year’s Grammy Awards. Positions became Grande’s third chart-topper in October 2020, and has sold over 1.3 million to date.
No.28 – If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power / Halsey’s chart-topping album re-enters at No.28 (8,000 units – up 800 percent); the hit was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at this year’s Grammys.
No.29 – Ladies of the Canyon / Joni Mitchell’s third studio album returns at No.29 (8,000 units – up 700 percent) after Mitchell won the award for Best Historical Album at the Grammys this year. Her catalogue all increased in sales this week, as Blue (No.7) sold 25,000; Clouds sold 4,000 (up 400 percent); and Both Sides Now sold 2,000 (up 200 percent).
L.dK Weekly Top Artists
Industry Sales
Industry sales for the week stand at 754,000 units, down 3.6% from the previous week’s figure of 782,000 units. Compared to the same week last year (when 799,000 albums were sold), consumption is down by 5.7%.
Note
Certifications: Silver (60,000); Gold (100,000); Platinum (300,000); Multi-Platinum (600,000 etc.); Diamond (3,000,000).
L.dK Music 