Mumford & Sons remains a rock band to beat on the Billboard 200, gathering its second no. 1 record with Wilder Mind. Although the band's original alternative fan base has raised an eyebrow at the use of electric guitars on the new set, sales still came out to 249,000-trailing only Drake and Kendrick Lamar for biggest debut of 2015 thus far. Although nothing to frown at, it's still a relatively low sales figure for Mumford, which sold 600,000 copies of Babel when that album dropped during 2012.
Josh Groban stayed at no. 2 for a second consecutive week with Stages, once again selling more than 100,000 copies (101,000, to be exact). Billboard accurately suggests that Groban benefitted from the Mother's Day holiday, as he's a known charmer of moms (based on our personal experience). We're going to jump out of order temporarily and point out one other album that seemed to have seen a surge thanks to the holiday: The Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack may have stayed at no. 6 on this week's chart, but it boosted its sales from 36,000 to 53,000 in one week. As much as it may bother you to think about, your mom enjoys the film and the soundtrack.
Back to the order: The NOW series makes another entry into the Billboard Top 10 as Now 54 debuts at no. 3 with 71,000 copies sold, all full albums. Rapper Tech N9ne also had a big week, as the debut of his Special Effects was his highest sales week in a nearly 20-year career. The album moved 66,000 copies.
Last week's no. 1, the Zac Brown Band's Jekyll + Hyde, dropped steeply but still sold another 66,000 copies, settling at no. 5 on the chart.
We mentioned Fifty Shades coming at no. 6, which means for the first time in a while it's back as the no. 1 soundtrack on the Billboard 200. The music of Furious 7 (less appreciated by mothers) slips to no. 7 with 46,000 in equivalent sales.
The last three spots in the Top 10 all received a Mother's Day boost as well, albeit a less dramatic one: Sam Smith increased sales of In The Lonely Hour to 39,000 copies, Taylor Swift brought 1989 up to 36,000 copies and Ed Sheeran's x was right behind with 36,000 copies of its own.
