Things were looking good for new albums on the sales chart this week, as the Top 3 spots were held by releases from A$AP Rocky, Boosie BadAzz and (somewhat ironically considering the other two entries), Hillsong United.
Rocky topped the Albums chart for the second time in his career, as At.Long.Last.A$AP opened with 116,000 copies sold. All told, that's a drop from his debut record, which opened with 139,000 copies sold during 2011. Part of that drop could be explained by the "surprise" nature of the album release however. We'll see how he does in week two. BadAzz gives hip-hop the first two spots on this week's chart as Touchdown 2 Cause Hell was his best sales week ever, moving 53,500 copies. Hillsong United also had its best sales week yet, as its new collection Empires moved 42,500 copies.
Outside of the first Top 3 spots, the rest of the Top 10 was made up of titles we've gotten used to.
Pitch Perfect 2 stayed in the first five spots during its third week, selling another 36,000 copies. Taylor Swift maintains her presence during 1989's 31st week on the charts. That album sold 34,000 copies.
Twenty One Pilots, coming off the no. 1 spot last week, sticks around for at least one more. Its Blurryface took no. 6 by selling another 28,000 copies. Josh Groban has proven himself much more resilient on the Albums chart than on the Billboard 200. His Stages has now spent five weeks in the Top 10, and it sold another 27,000 copies last week, coming in at no. 7. Mumford & Sons are also hanging around, placing at no. 8 with Wilder Mind, which sold a further 20,500 copies.
The rather weak sales week allowed a few former no. 1's to jump back into the Top 10. The Zac Brown Band's Jekyll + Hyde comes back from no. 12 to no. 9, selling 18,500 copies along the way. Ed Sheeran and x comes from no. 14 to no. 10, moving 18,000 copies.
