No surprise here! In only 3 days time, Beyoncé took over the music industry with her unexpected visual album release, and has debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Exceedingly beating out any competition, the R&B superstar comes in at just over 617,000 copies according to Nielson SoundScan. The number might seem low to some, as it was reported on Monday afternoon that Bey had already shifted close to 830,000 copies according to a press release by Apple, which is a new iTunes record.
The sales week ended with her moving 617,319 exactly, marking the highest debut of her career, but we can now assume the album is already platinum. Individual songs are expected to be available on iTunes by the end of the week, while the physical CD/DVD combo is now available to order online, and is expected in stores also by the end of the week.
Additionally, Bey has made history once again, becoming the first female artist to hit No. 1 with her first five studio albums!
Last week’s other big debut comes from R. Kelly, with his 12th studio album Black Panties, which has landed at No. 4, selling 133,000 copies. He was slightly beat out by Kelly Clarkson’s holiday album Wrapped In Red, which came in at No. 3 with 136k, and Garth Brooks new album Blame It All On My Roots, that shifted 171k, giving him the No. 2 spot. Both Clarkson and Brooks actually rose on the charts this week.
Mary J. Blige’s first holiday album A Mary Christmas continues to sell consistently as well, coming in at No. 11 with another 50k sold.
We can expect Beyoncé to remain at the top spot for the next 2-3 weeks, as the physical version of the album should continue to boost sales through the holidays.
I’M HAPPY FOR HER. I LIKE THIS ALBUM TOO