Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ Makes It a Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
Taylor Swift’s Folklore reigns at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a third week – marking the first album by a woman to spend its first three weeks at No. 1 since 2018. Aided by the arrival of its CD version in stores, Folklore earned 136,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 13 (up 1%), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Aug. 22-dated chart (where Folklore is steady at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Aug. 18.
Of Folklore’s units earned in the latest tracking week, SEA units comprise 68,000 (down 33%, equaling 89.77 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales total 67,000 (up 119%) and TEA units equal 1,000 (down 45%).
Folklore’s album sales grew dramatically courtesy of the set’s CD edition reaching brick-and-mortar stores and such online retailers as Amazon on Aug. 7. The album was previously only available via Swift’s official webstore and digital retailers such as iTunes.
Folklore is the fourth album to spend at least three weeks at No. 1 in 2020, following Lil Baby’s My Turn (five weeks), The Weeknd’s After Hours (four) and Roddy Ricch’s Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial (three in 2020; four in total, as the album had one week at No. 1 in 2019). Folklore is the first non-R&B/hip-hop album, or album of any genre by a woman, to tally three weeks in total at No. 1 since Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? scored its third (and so far) final nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the June 18, 2019-dated chart.
Notably, Folklore is the first album by a woman to spend its first three weeks at No. 1 since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack tallied its first three frames atop the list (Oct. 20-Nov. 3, 2018). Star clocked one more week at No. 1, on the March 9, 2019 chart.
The last album by a woman, unaccompanied by another act, to spend its first three weeks at No. 1 was Swift’s own Reputation. It bowed atop the Dec. 2, 2017-dated chart, and ruled for the next two frames. It returned for a fourth nonconsecutive week in charge on the Jan. 6, 2018 chart.
At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die rises one spot with 117,000 equivalent album units earned (up 33%). The former No. 1 surges following the release of the new song “Smile,” with The Weeknd, which was added to the album’s track list during the tracking week. The album also gets a boost from an array of new merchandise/album bundles sold via Juice WRLD’s webstore.
Pop Smoke’s former No. 1 Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon falls 2-3 with 92,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%), while Rod Wave’s Pray 4 Love vaults 23-4 with 75,000 units (up 258%). Pray 4 Love’s gain is owed to its reissue on Aug. 7 with 11 additional tracks. The set was first released on April 3 as a 14-track album. Pray 4 Love is one of over 10 notable R&B or hip-hop albums released in 2020 that have been reissued in a deluxe format with additional tracks.
Country superstar Luke Bryan lands his 11th top 10 album as Born Here Live Here Die Here debuts at No. 5 with 65,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, 48,000 were in album sales (aided by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with his upcoming tour), while SEA units total 14,000 (equaling 19.68 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units total 2,000.
Bryan got his first top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with Doin’ My Thing, which peaked at No. 6 in 2009. He then reached the top 10 with Tailgates & Tanlines (No. 2, 2011), Spring Break 4… Suntan City (EP) (No. 9, 2012), Spring Break… Here to Party (No. 1, 2013), Crash My Party (No. 1, 2013), Spring Break 6… Like We Ain’t Ever (EP) (No. 2, 2014), Spring Break… Checkin’ Out (No. 3, 2016), Kill the Lights (No. 1, 2015), Farm Tour: Here’s to the Farmer (EP) (No. 4, 2016) and What Makes You Country (No. 1, 2017).
The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical falls 4-6 with 61,000 equivalent album units (down 6%).
Alternative rock band Glass Animals achieves its first top 10 album as Dreamland arrives at No. 7 with 60,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales total 43,000, while SEA units total 17,000 (equaling 21.8 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs) and a TEA units total a negligible figure. The album’s sales were assisted by merchandise/album bundles sold via the band’s website, as well as a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with a series of shows that took place in early 2020, as well as a couple upcoming gigs.
Glass Animals previously topped out on the chart at No. 20 with How to Be a Human Being in 2016.
DaBaby’s former No. 1 Blame It on Baby is pushed back 6-8 despite a 23% increase to 52,000 equivalent album units earned. The set continues to benefit from its deluxe reissue on Aug. 4 with 10 additional tracks.
Lil Baby’s previous leader My Turn dips 5-9 with 47,000 equivalent album units (down 6%).
Rapper NLE Choppa closes out the top 10 as his Top Shotta album bows at No. 10 with 36,000 equivalent album units earned. SEA units represent 27,000 of that sum (equaling 44.59 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs), while album sales total 9,000 (goosed by an array of merchandise/album bundles) and a negligible TEA figure.
Top Shotta is promoted as NLE Choppa’s first studio album. He previously hit the Billboard 200 with the Cottonwood mixtape, which peaked at No. 57 on the Jan. 4-dated chart.