Chart Moves: Trio of Tribute Albums Arrive on Billboard 200, Luke Bryan’s ACM Gain, Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Unusual’ Returns
This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the “Frozen” soundtrack refused to budge from the No. 1 slot, clocking a ninth week atop the tally. The set sold 149,000 copies in the week ending April 6, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Five new albums entered the top 10, including 5 Seconds of Summer’s EP “She Looks So Perfect,” which bowed at No. 2 with 143,000.
Outside the top 10, there were a number of movers and shakers — let’s take a closer look at some of them:
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— Various Artists, “Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life” – No. 20 – There’s a bevy of new tribute albums on the Billboard 200, as three tribute sets debut on the April 19-dated chart. The celebratory lineup is led by “Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life” (No. 20 with 15,000 sold) and followed by “Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne” (No. 44; 8,000) and “Working Man’s Poet: A Tribute to Merle Haggard” (No. 85; 5,000).
The Dio set features Metallica, Anthrax, Killswitch Engage and Scorpions, among others. The two-disc Browne tribute includes more than 20 acts, including Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Springsteen. Finally, the Merle Haggard set — which is exclusive to Target and iTunes — boasts the likes of Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.
Also worth noting: Elton John has a quasi-tribute album on the chart as well. On the Billboard 200 dated April 12, his 40th anniversary deluxe reissue of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” returned to the chart, re-entering the list at No. 53. The expanded package includes a bonus disc of covers of “Goodbye” songs, as recorded by contemporary artists. (For example, Ed Sheeran covers “Candle in the Wind” while Fall Out Boy takes on “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting.”) “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” slips 53-95 on the April 19-dated chart.
— Steel Panther, “All You Can Eat” – No. 24 – The spoof-metal band collects its third No. 1 on the Comedy Albums chart with the debut of “All You Can Eat.” The set — the rock quartet’s third effort — also enters the Billboard 200 at a career-high No. 24 with their biggest sales week yet (13,000).
— Luke Bryan, “Tailgates & Tanlines” – No. 79 – Luke Bryan, who co-hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) on April 6 (with Blake Shelton) sees his “Tailgates & Tanlines” album earn the chart’s largest percentage sales gain and biggest positional jump. It is up by 103 percent and rises from No. 178 to No. 79 (5,000 sold). Bryan, like Shelton, also performed on CBS’ broadcast of the show, which aired live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Shelton’s own “Based On a True Story” album had a 100 percent gain, zipping from No. 73 to No. 32 with 10,000 sold.
A bevy of albums benefit greatly from appearances and performances by their respective artists on the ACMs. Those include Kacey Musgraves’ “Same Trailer Different Park” (114-65 with 6,000; up 75 percent), Eric Church’s “Chief” (104-185 with 4,000; 64 percent) and Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” (85-53 with 7,000; up 61 percent).
— Daughtry, “Baptized” – No. 89 – Daughtry’s most recent studio album, “Baptized,” re-enters the chart at No. 89 with 4,000 (up 126 percent), following the band’s performance on “American Idol” (April 3). It is the best sales week for the set since the week ending Feb. 16, when it shifted a handful of copies more.
On “Idol,” the band played “Waiting for Superman,” which peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January and reached No. 11 on the Adult Top 40 chart in March.
— Cyndi Lauper, “She’s So Unusual” – No. 150 – Cyndi Lauper’s classic debut album — which spawned five top 30 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — returns to the list thanks to a new deluxe reissue. The album, which was first released in 1983 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, was re-released on April 1 in both a standard and expanded deluxe edition. The standard set came with three new remixes, while the expanded edition is bolstered with additional demos, remixes, a b-side and live takes.
Four of the album’s singles reached the top 10 — a historic chart feat at the time. Lauper became the first artist to earn four top 10 hits from a debut album, thanks to the chart success of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (which peaked at No. 2), “Time After Time” (No. 1), “She Bop” (No. 3) and “All Through the Night” (No. 5). A fifth single, “Money Changes Everything,” reached No. 27.
— The Hold Steady, “Teeth Dreams” – No. 176 – The rock band’s latest album suffers the chart’s largest percentage decline this week, falling by 79% in its second week (down to No. 176 from its No. 28 debut a week ago). The album sold a little under 3,000 copies in the week ending April 6 — down from its 12,000 bow a week earlier.
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