Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga‘s anticipated new album Chromtica debuts at #1 on this week’s Billboard 200 chart, giving the Pop superstar her sixth #1 album. According to Nielsen Music‘s data, Chromatica earned 274,000 equivalent album units, the largest single week total for any female artist in 2020. Additionally, it was the fifth biggest chart week overall so far in 2020. The largest opening release week this year was from The Weeknd with After Hours.
Album sales made 75 percent of Chromatica’s overall debut frame (205,000 units). Sales were also boosted by many different online merchandise bundles, as well as the album being bundled with ticket sales for her upcoming summer stadium shows.
Gaga’s previous #1 albums were the A Star Is Born soundtrack (with Bradley Cooper), which reached #1 in both 2018 and 2019, Joanne (2016), her duets album with Tony Bennett Cheek to Cheek (2014), Artpop (2013) and Born This Way (2011). She is one of only eight women in Billboard chart history with at least six #1 albums to their names.
Coming in at #2 is a debut from Jimmy Buffett with Life on the Flip Side, the veteran musician’s highest charting release in over 15 years. Buffett’s high chart debut is tied to a concert ticket/album bundle, though the majority of his tour dates were postponed into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At #3 is Lil Baby‘s My Turn, followed by Wunna from Gunna at #4 and Future‘s High Off Life at #5. Drake‘s Dark Lane Demo Tapes is at #6 with Polo G‘s The Goat at #7. Latin music star Anuel AA debuts at #8 with Emmanuel, with Blame It on Baby from DaBaby at #9.
The top ten is filled out by Run the Jewels with RTJ4. The duo released JTJ4 two days early digitally, though it also had a number of merchandise and album bundles. Run the Jewels also gave away the record as a free download alongside a charitable donation appeal, though Billboard notes any free downloads were not counted by Nielsen Music.
