Plus: Beyoncé’s “The Lion King: The Gift” returns to the top 10 after its premiere of “Black Is King” on Disney +.
Taylor Swift’s Folklore holds on top of the Billboard 200 album chart for a second week, earning 135,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending August 6, according to Nielsen Music / MRC Data. The set is 84% down from the opening of 846,000 units – the biggest week for any album in 2020.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the US based on multimetric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units include album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit is equal to one album sale, as 10 individual tracks sold from an album, as 3,750 ad support as 1,250 paid / subscription on demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new August 15-dated card (where Folklore remains at no. 1) will be fully placed on Billboard‘s website on August 11th.
Fan FolkloreThe second-week units, SEA units comprise 102,000 (53% down), album sales total 30,000 (95% down) and TEA units equal to 3,000 (81% down).
A few previous no. 1’s are next on the Billboard 200, as Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the moon climbs 4-2 with 97,000 equivalent album units (though 9% down) and Juice WRLDs Legends Never Die is stable at no. 3 with 88,000 units (18% down). The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical increases one place to No. 4 by 66,000 units (7% down). The former leader of Lil Baby My turn steps up 7-5 with 50,000 units (5% down).
DaBaby’s Blame It on Baby returns to the top 10, skipping 11-6 with 43,000 equivalent album units (up 47%), after the album was re-released on August 4 with 10 additional tracks. The LP debuted at no. 1 on the 2-dated tally.
Blame It on Baby is one of at least 10 R&B and hip-hop albums released in 2020 that have been re-released in a deluxe format with additional tracks. It follows recent reissues of Lil Durk’s Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 (Released May 8; re-released June 26 with seven additional tracks), Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the moon (Released July 3; re-released July 20 with 15 extra tracks), Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo (released March 6; reissued on July 17 with nine extra tracks) and Gunna’s Wunna (released on May 22; re-released on July 24 with eight additional tracks).
Back on the new Billboard 200, Harry Styles’ former no. 1 Fine Line helps its third straight weekly unit win as it climbs 10-7 with 39,000 equivalent album units earned (up 26%) The rise coincides with focused promotion around the current hit single “Watermelon Sugar.”
Gunna’s previous leader Wunna slips 6-8 with just under 39,000 equivalent album units (42% down) and Post Malone’s previous no. 1 Hollywood’s Bleeding is a net mover at no. 9 with 33,000 units (1% down).
Beyoncé excludes the top 10, as her album The Lion King: The Gift again, the diagram takes on no. 10 with 27,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1,462%). The album originally debuted and came out at no. 2 on the August 3, 2019-dated card.
The Lion King: The Gift runs back on the map after the July 31 premiere of Black Is King at Disney +.
Black Is King is based on the music of The Lion King: The Gift, and was written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé.
The Lion King: The Gift album also benefits from its July 31 release with three additional tracks. The Lion King: The Gift album was first released on July 19, 2019, as a companion project to the remake of last year’s film The Lion King (in which Beyoncé voices the character Nala).
