YOUR NEW RELEASES: J. Cole is “Apparently” (to borrow his single title) headed for a boffo bow; he’s due to unseat Taylor Swift for #1 on next week's chart. Here are this week's key releases, with album reads first, followed by Sales Plus Streaming (SPS):
In other new-release news, the FX/Fox/Columbia ST to biker drama Sons of Anarchy, which concluded last night, is now in pre-order at iTunes. We've already noted that both the Ed Sheeran song from a prior episode and a cover version from The Voice are in the Top 10 singles there; keep an eye on "Come Join the Murder" by SOA house band The White Buffalo & the Forest Rangers, which accompanied the wrenching final scene of the series finale. It's now at #25. Try not to kill anybody after listening. (12/10a)
COLE IN YOUR STOCKING: Early, early reads suggest that Roc Nation/Dreamville/Columbia's J. Cole is on track to move a whopping 240k-270k in his opening week with album 2014 Forest Drive. The set is currently #1 at iTunes on its first day of release; single "Apparently" is just impacting radio now. (12/9p)
