1989 IN 2015

With no debuts in the first week of Q1, Tay Tay continues to slay, topping the HITS Building Album Sales Chart at #1 with 1989, but we could have told you that. A monkey could have told you that.

If you actually read our site, a bunch of monkeys have already informed you that Big Machine’s pop princess did in fact surpass Disney’s Frozen by a hair’s breadth with the highest sales number of 2014. This week’s 179k brings her total to over 3.8m.

Meanwhile, Frozen keeps its cool at #9 with 31k, raising the RTD to 3.9m.

Slightly less expected, Hollywood’s Guardians of the Galaxy ST snagged the #2 spot with 76k. The classic rock-fueled movie, which hit theaters in August, was released on DVD last month, while the soundtrack was discounted in some holiday sales.

FYI, Guardians has been confirmed as the top-grossing film of 2014 with 333m+ domestically.

If you can’t get enough of that hot band “Various Artists,” then look no further than the #3 spot, as Disney’s Into the Woods gets a big look with 52k. The Sondheim-based flick has raked in just under $100m at the box office since its Christmas release.

YMCMB/Republic’s Nicki Minaj holds strong, appearing at #4 with 51k in her third week with The Pinkprint.

And the undeniable juggernaut that is Capitol’s Sam Smith rounds out the Top 5 at the start of 2015 with another 50k for his June release, In the Lonely Hour. That brings U.K. soulster’s total to 1.25m.

For all of this week’s album stats, click here.

On our Sales Plus Streaming (SPS) Chart, Sam Smith moves to #3, buoyed by sales of single "I'm Not the Only One" (and streaming, of course); Columbia's Hozier enjoys the #6 spot thanks to "Take Me to Church" and Republic's Ariana Grande, #27 on the album chart, sits at #12 as her "Love Me Harder" continues to grow.

Streeting this week is an album from EarDrummers/Interscope’s Rae Sremmurd. The Mississippi-bred young rap duo, backed by producer Mike WiLL Made-It, became viral sensations with “No Flex Zone,” which currently sits at 3.5m views on YouTube and was remixed by Nicki Minaj.