These days, if an album ever makes it to No. 1, it usually does so right out of the gate. When one reaches the top after having started lower down the chart, it is often because the album has held strong against its competition, or because sales have sunk all around. In the case of J. Cole's “Born Sinner†(Roc Nation/Columbia), both scenarios apply.
Three weeks ago, Mr. Cole's album had a strong opening with 297,000 sales, but that week's No. 1 was Kanye West's “Yeezus†(Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), which had 327,000. Since then “Born Sinner†has held up better than “Yeezus†has, and this week Mr. Cole's album finally reaches the summit with 58,000 sales - a low figure for a top seller, meaning that last week was a particularly slow one for music sales. But No. 1 is still No. 1.
“Yeezus†holds at No. 3 this week with 39,000 sales, bringing its three-week total to 431,000 copies, while “Born Sinner†is slightly ahead, at 439,000.
Also this week, Wale's “Gifted†(Maybach Music Group/Atlantic), last week's chart-topper, fell to No. 2 with 50,000 sales - meaning that this is the third week in a row that the top three slots on Billboard's album chart have been held by rappers. “Night Visions†(Interscope) by the Las Vegas rock band Imagine Dragons is No. 4 with 36,000 sales, and Florida Georgia Line's “Here's to the Good Times†(Republic Nashville) is in fifth place with 32,000.
On the singles chart, Robin Thicke's “Blurred Lines†holds at No. 1 for a fifth week, with 423,000 downloads and 5.9 million plays on streaming services in the United States.
