U2 (photo:Anton Corbijn)
U2‘s Songs of Experience tops this week’s Billboard 200 chart with 186,000 equivalent album units, 180,000 of which were in traditional sales. Songs of Experience earned the biggest week for a Rock album this year. As with many major releases in 2017, its debut figures were boosted by a ticket/album bundle for U2’s 2018 Exprience + Innocence Tour. Billboard notes that U2 is now the only group to land a #1 album in the 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s and 2010’s. Their 2009 release No Line on the Horizon was U2’s last #1 debut.
Coming in at #2 is Chris Stapleton‘s From a Room: Volume 2, the companion to Volume 1, which also debuted at #2 back in May. Volume 2 earned 125,000 units, of which 116,000 were traditional album sales.
After two weeks on top, Taylor Swift‘s reputation is at #3 this time around. Streaming units for reputation skyrocketed by over 300 percent after it was added to all major streaming services.
Ed Sheeran is at #4 with A Pentatonix Christmas at #5. Demi Lovato‘s Tell Me You Love Me jumps from #21 to #6 on the basis of a ticket/album bundle after her tour next year with DJ Khaled went on sale. Sam Smith lands at #7 with Michael Buble‘s Christmas at #8. Miguel‘s latest record War & Leisure debuts at #9. It’s his third top ten release and also benefited from bundling with tickets for his own upcoming tour. The top ten is rounded out with Garth Brooks‘ box set The Anthology: Part I, The First Five Years.
