Chart Story: One Direction Rules the Roost as Black Friday Fuels Big Boosts (12/3p)
Midnight never looked so bright.
In addition to ruling the hearts of countless lovestruck fans, SYCO/Columbia’s One Direction rule the HITS Album Sales Chart this week, moving 530k of their Midnight Memories and inspiring much celebration by Messrs. Stringer, Klaiman and team.
In fact, celebration was the norm on this week’s chart, as Black Friday and bargain pricing drove huge (and often triple-digit) increases across the board. Sweet, right?
Eminem snagged the #2 spot as The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) picked up another 195k (+59%); the hip-hop iconoclast’s RTD total has now passed 1.3m.
Next comes Pearl’s Garth Brooks, whose Walmart-exclusive set racked up 190k in its debut week. If this guy ever finds out about iTunes, he’s gonna be dangerous. On the other hand, you can pick up his new box set when you stop in for more shotgun shells.
Kelly Clarkson’s yuletide set Wrapped in Red (RCA), sold a very festive 133k (+215%), causing her to vault from #9-4; Capitol’s Katy Perry rounds out the Top 5, jumping six spots on the chart with 133k (+237%).
Who else gained big? To name but a few: RCA’s Justin Timberlake (#11, 77k, +349%, the session’s greatest gainer; and #32, 22k) and Miley Cyrus (#10, 78k, +224%); EMI Nashville’s The Robertsons (#6, 123k, +106%); Interscope’s Lady Gaga (#7, 115k, +130%); Capitol Nashville’s Luke Bryan (#8, 103k, +298%); YM/CM/Republic’s Drake (#12, 71k, +132%); Republic Nashville’s Florida Georgia Line (#13, 64k, +195%); KidinaKorner/Interscope’s Imagine Dragons (#14, 62k, +172%); Mary J. Blige’s holiday set on Verve (#15, 56k, +82%); 2011’s Christmas by Reprise’s Michael Buble (#16, 51k, +144%); and Warner Nashville’s Blake Shelton (#19, 41k, +294%).
Streeting today are RCA’s Britney Spears, Sony Masterworks’ new Sound of Music soundtrack, RCA Nashville’s Jake Owen and an iTunes exclusive EP by sensibility/Columbia’s The Civil Wars, among others. With holiday fare like Sound and TV specials starring Clarkson and Buble, among others, airing over the next week or so, look for corresponding spikes at retail.
Speaking of spiking, is it wrong to start putting eggnog in our coffee now?
CHART DATE: 12/02/2013
LAST UPDATE: 12/03/2013 12:47:03
NOW IN: FINAL
LW TW artist / album label power index % change
-- 1 ONE DIRECTION SYCO/COLUMBIA 530,377 -- MIDNIGHT MEMORIES
1 2 EMINEM SHADY/AFTERMATH/INT 195,195 +59% MARSHALL MATHERS LP 2
-- 3 GARTH BROOKS PEARL 190,834 -- BLAME IT ALL ON MY ROOTS
9 4 KELLY CLARKSON RCA 133,253 +215% WRAPPED IN RED
11 5 KATY PERRY CAPITOL 133,081 +237% PRISM
4 6 THE ROBERTSONS EMI NASHVILLE 123,147 +106% DUCK THE HALLS: ROBERTSON FAMILY
7 7 LADY GAGA INTERSCOPE 115,469 +130% ARTPOP
15 8 LUKE BRYAN CAPITOL NASHVILLE 103,471 +298% CRASH MY PARTY
3 9 NOW 48 UME 77,893 +24% VARIOUS ARTISTS
16 10 MILEY CYRUS RCA 77,613 +224% BANGERZ
21 11 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE RCA 77,491 +349% THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE: 2 OF 2
13 12 DRAKE YM/CM/REPUBLIC 71,581 +132% NOTHING WAS THE SAME
18 13 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE REPUBLIC NASHVILLE 64,150 +195% HERE'S TO THE GOOD TIMES
17 14 IMAGINE DRAGONS KIDINAKORNER/INTERSCOPE 61,687 +172% NIGHT VISIONS
14 15 MARY J. BLIGE VERVE 55,604 +82% A MARY CHRISTMAS
19 16 MICHAEL BUBLE REPRISE 50,680 +144% CHRISTMAS
12 17 LORDE REPUBLIC 46,022 +43% PURE HEROINE
-- 18 FROZEN WALT DISNEY 45,560 -- SOUNDTRACK
32 19 BLAKE SHELTON WARNER BROS. NASHVILLE 40,524 +294% BASED ON A TRUE STORY
-- 20 DANIELLE BRADBERY BIG MACHINE 39,147 -- DANIELLE BRADBERY
5 21 DAUGHTRY 19/RCA 37,406 -35% BAPTIZED
20 22 SUSAN BOYLE SYCO/COLUMBIA 33,458 +64% HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
-- 23 ARIANA GRANDE REPUBLIC 32,191 -- YOURS TRULY
26 24 CELINE DION COLUMBIA 30,436 +132% LOVED ME BACK TO LIFE
2 25 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH PROSPECT PARK 30,048 -61% THE WRONG SIDE OF HEAVEN & THE
-- 26 ROBIN THICKE STAR TRAK/INTERSCOPE 29,296 -- BLURRED LINES
-- 27 SONGS FOR THE PHILIPPINES UNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL 28,598 -- VARIOUS ARTISTS
37 28 JOSH GROBAN REPRISE 28,279 +249% NOEL
45 29 MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS MACKLEMORE 25,559 +247% HEIST
-- 30 SCOTTY MCCREERY MERC NASH/19/INTERSCOPE 25,029 -- SEE YOU TONIGHT
6 31 HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE REPUBLIC 23,737 -57% SOUNDTRACK/VARIOUS ARTISTS
-- 32 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE RCA 22,353 -- THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE: 1 OF 2
-- 33 PENTATONIX MADISON GATE 22,210 -- PTXMAS
-- 34 CARRIE UNDERWOOD 19/RCA NASHVILLE 22,015 -- BLOWN AWAY
25 35 ARCADE FIRE MERGE 21,782 +63% REFLEKTOR
42 36 LADY ANTEBELLUM CAPITOL NASHVILLE 20,809 +175% ON THIS WINTER'S NIGHT
8 37 YO GOTTI EPIC 20,292 -54% I AM
-- 38 TEEN BEACH MOVIE WALT DISNEY 20,180 -- SOUNDTRACK
49 39 TAYLOR SWIFT BIG MACHINE 19,745 +182% RED
-- 40 ONE DIRECTION SYCO/COLUMBIA 18,496 -- TAKE ME HOME
-- 41 BILLIE JOE & NORAH REPRISE 18,120 -- FOREVERLY
41 42 LADY ANTEBELLUM CAPITOL NASHVILLE 17,814 +127% GOLDEN
22 43 BEST MAN HOLIDAY RCA 17,233 +11% SOUNDTRACK
-- 44 IL VOLO GEFFEN 16,992 -- BUON NATALE: THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM
-- 45 TAMAR BRAXTON EPIC 16,902 -- LOVE & WAR
-- 46 GERARDO ORTIZ SONY MUSIC LATIN 16,823 -- ARCHIVOS DE MI VIDA
34 47 BLAKE SHELTON WARNER BROS. NASHVILLE 15,751 +79% CHEERS, IT'S CHRISTMAS
24 48 CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS FANTASY 15,480 +4% SOUNDTRACK
39 49 MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER AMERICAN GRAMAPHONE 15,066 +91% CHRISTMAS SYMPHONY II
-- 50 ROD STEWART VERVE 14,743 -- MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY
YOUR BLACK FRIDAY TOP 15 (PLUS 3): Doing projections on Black Friday is like a blind man playing darts with his back to the board--things can land anywhere. Eminem, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, among others, are all on sale for $7 at Walmart and Target. Meanwhile, Amazon and Google are waging an online battle, with digital albums as low as $1.99, including Avicii, Ariana Grande, Fall Out Boy and Kanye West. This makes things a little difficult to pin down. One thing's for certain, though: One Direction will debut at #1. Here's how it looks going into Black Friday.
1.
One Direction (SYCO/Columbia)
550-575k
2.
Eminem (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope)
180-190k
3.
Katy Perry (Capitol)
130-140k
4.
The Robertsons (EMI Nashville)
115-125k
5.
Lady Gaga (Interscope)
105-115k
6.
Kelly Clarkson (RCA)
90-100k
7.
Garth Brooks (Pearl)
80-90k (Walmart Exclusive)
8.
Miley Cyrus (RCA)
80-90k
9.
Now 48 (UMe)
75-85k
10.
Justin Timberlake (RCA)
65-75k
11.
Drake (Young Money/Cash Money/Republic)
65-75k
12.
Luke Bryan (Capitol Nashville)
65-75k
13.
Florida Georgia Line (Republic Nashville)
50-60k
14.
Imagine Dragons (KidinaKorner/Interscope)
50-60k
15.
A Day To Remember (ADTR)
45-55k
16.
Susan Boyle (SYCO/Columbia)
40-50k
17.
Mary J. Blige (Verve)
40-50k
18.
Lorde (Lava/Republic)
40-50k
You may now resume your compulsive repurposing of leftover turkey and stuffing. See you at the gym on Monday?
(11/30p)
THE FUTURE OF MEMORIES: Our latest sales projection for One Direction's Midnight Memories is 525-575k, with the odds favoring a bow that beats that of the SYCO/Columbia lads' prior release. Just how big will the Pop princes' new one (still #1 at iTunes, with the #3 single as well) get? Could Hanukkah gift cards tip the balance? You bet your latkes! And speaking of latkes, we full bloated just thinking about the next few days.
(11/27p)
YOUR NEW RELEASES: After one day of sales, Midnight Memories by One Direction looks set for an even bigger bow than that of their previous release, 2012's Take Me Home, which opened with 540k. Here's what we're looking at for the week's key debuts.
One Direction (SYCO/Columbia)
550-600k
A Day to Remember (ADTR)
45-50k
Danielle Bradbery (Big Machine)
35-40k
In other news, we've decided to forego the stuffing and fill this year's turkey with booze.
(11/26p)
MEMORIES IS MADE OF THIS: After one day of sales, we’re projecting the first week of One Direction’s SYCO/Columbia album Midnight Memories at 550-600k, which would their previous release, 2012’s Take Me Home, which opened with 540k. We’ll give you additional new release projections as soon as we finish counting.
(11/26a) 
woah, slay a bit
how .???
, but this is still stable from the 540k of their last album ....
