It’s the first by a woman to log her first four weeks on the map at no. 1 since 2015.
Taylor Swift’s Folklore stands at no. 1 on the Chartboard 200 album chart for a fourth straight week, and becomes the first album of a woman spending her first four weeks at no. 1 spend in almost five years.
Folklore earned 101,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending August 20 (26% down), according to Nielsen Music / MRC Data. It’s the fourth straight week that the set has numbered at least 100,000 units – a rarity for a non-R&B or hip-hop album.
Folklore launched at no. 1 on the map dated August 8 with 846,000 units – the largest week of 2020, and the largest for any album since the last release of Swift, Leaver, bent at no. 1 with 867,000 units on September 7, 2019, chart.
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 equals 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 29-dated card (where Folklore spends a fourth week at no. 1) will be fully placed on Billboard‘s website on 25 Aug.
Fan FolkloreThe units earned in the latest consecutive week, SEA units comprised 53,000 (down 22%, equivalent to 70.48 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales totaling 46,000 (31% down) and TEA units equal to 2,000 (up 73%).
In the week ending August 20th. Folklore benefited from the release of a deluxe version of the album by digital retailers and streamers who added a bonus track, “The Lakes”, which was previously exclusive to the physical formats of the album. In addition, Swift is launching new merchandise / album bundles in its official webstore and selling signs Folklore CDs at independent record stores (which generate buzz with Swift fans and owners of indie stores).
At the same time three different Folklore singles do continue to make inroads on radio. On the most recently published airplay charts (dated August 22, reflecting the following week ending August 16), the former no. 1 Billboard Hot 100-hit “Cardigan” 22-18 on the airplay chart of Pop Songs; ‘Exile,’ with Bon Iver, went 27-29 on the airplay of the Alternative Songs for Adults and ‘Betty’ jumped 52-49 on Country Airplay.
100,000 units in four weeks: As Folklore earning 101,000 equivalent album units in its fourth week, it’s just the second album in 2020 to release at least 100,000 units in each of the first four weeks. Early July was rapper Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the moon saw its first four weeks also at least at 100,000 units. (Another hip-hop set, Juice WRLDs Legends never die, is the only other album with four weeks of 100,000-plus units in 2020, but they were inconsistent.)
Folklore is the first non-R & B / hip-hop album to earn four weeks of 100,000-plus units since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack notched a fourth, and final, non-consistent week of 100,000-plus units on March 9, 2019.
Furthermore, Folklore is the first non-R & B / hip-hop attempt to see them first four weeks each earning 100,000-plus since owning Swift Reputation (2-23 Dec. 2017).
Woman’s first album to spend his first four weeks at no. 1 since 2015: As Folklore spend a fourth week at no. 1, it becomes the first album of a woman ruling for her first four weeks since Adele’s 25 tops the list in the first seven weeks (out of a total of 10 inconsistent weeks at No. 1). 25 debuted at no. 1 on the December 12, 2015 dated card, and was no. 1 through January 23, 2016. It then came back to no. 1 on 13 February 2016 for one week, and then for another two weeks on 5-12 March 2016.
The latest album from elk trading for his first four weeks at no. 1 – and the only other album to do so separately in 2020 Folklore – was The Weeknd’s After hours (April 4-25).
Since Adele’s 25, the only albums of women with four total weeks at no. 1 are Swift’s Reputation (four weeks; with three in a row between 2-16 Dec. 2017, and another at No. 1 on January 6, 2018) and Lady Gaga’s A Star Is Born soundtrack, featuring Bradley Cooper (four weeks; with three consecutive between October 20 and November 3, 2018, and one more on March 9, 2019).
Bonus fun fact: Folklore is Swift’s first album to spend his first four weeks at no. 1. She previously saw three albums (Red, 1989 en Talk now) each count their first three weeks at no. 1.
Could ‘Folklore’ go for five? As Folklore spends a fifth week at no. 1, it will be the first album to release her first five weeks at no. 1 spends since Drake’s Scorpion (July 14-August 11, 2018).
Further, as Folklore comes a fifth week, it will bind Lil Baby’s My turn for the most part total weeks at no. 1 in 2020. My turn debuted at no. 1 on the chart of March 24, and then returned for four straight weeks in the lead from June 20 to July 11.
Op nr. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the moon is one place up with 86,000 equivalent album units earned (7% down). Juice WRLD’s Legends never die dip 2-3 with 79,000 units (32% down).
Rapper Young Dolph logs his second top 10 album as Rich Slave starts at no. 4 with 65,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, 33,000 comprise SEA units (equivalent to 44.31 million streams on demand of the set’s songs), 32,000 are album sales and a negligible sum is TEA units. The sale of the set was supported by merchandise / album bundles sold through the artist’s webstore.
As a whole, Rich Slave is Young Dolph’s ninth charting attempt since arriving on the list in 2016. He has previously topped the top 10 with Stupid and Stupid, a collaboration set with Key Glock that debuted and peaked at no. 8 in August 2019.
The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical climbs 6-5 with 56,000 equivalent album units earned (9% down). Rod Wave’s Pray 4 Love falls 4-6 with 48,000 units (down 36%), Lil Baby’s My turn increases 9-7 by 44,000 units (6% down), DaBaby’s Blame It on Baby is stable at no. 8 with 39,000 units (27% down) and Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding rises 11-9 by 31,000 units (4% down).
Harry Styles’ Fine Line excludes the top 10, as it returns to the region with a 12-10 bull and earned 30,000 equivalent album units (down 7%).
