Yesterday we reported that the Empire Season One Soundtrack had topped Madonna's Rebel Heart on the Billboard 200, thanks to the number of additional downloads and streams that it got, allowing it to take advantage of Billboard's new metrics and top the iconic chart. However pure album sales tell a different story. While Empire edged Rebel Heart by around 9,000 copies on the 200, the opposite was true on the Albums Chart, where Rebel Heart placed no. 1 with 116,500 copies sold and Empire took no. 2 with 107,000 copies moved.
What does this mean to Madonna? A slight in the record books for one. Had this occurred last year, she's be tied with The Rolling Stones and Garth Brooks for the sixth-most no. 1 albums of all time, with nine. For the moment, she sits at no. 8 with eight.
Luke Bryan, as on the Billboard 200, was the only other performer to bring new music to the Top 10, as his annual spring break tribute—this one by the title of Spring Break...Checkin' Out—came in at no. 3, having sold 83,500 copies.
Much of the Albums Chart this week mirrors what was going on over at the Billboard 200, but a few things have been switched around. For example, Taylor Swift topped the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, coming in at no. 4. That demonstrates just how strong the pure albums sales have been for 1989, as Swift didn't release the album to Spotify. Her album sold 39,000 copies, while 50 Shades took no. 5 after selling 36,500 copies.
The next three spots mimic the 200 exactly. Sam Smith is at no. 6 with In The Lonely Hour, which sold 29,000 copies (a jump forward from last week, due to poor sales elsewhere, not a personal increase in sales). Drake falls back with If You're Reading This It's Too Late, which sold 28,500 copies in its fifth week, and Ed Sheeran takes no. 8 with x, which sold 28,000 copies.
Kelly Clarkson gets a respite on the Albums Chart in her second week with Piece By Piece. Although the album fell from the 200 Top 10 entirely after debuting at no. 1 last week, it stays at no. 9 here, having sold another 26,000 copies. Rounding out this week's chart at no. 10 is Now 53, which also managed to hang on in the same spot last week as well. It sold 24,500 copies.
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