BRINGING LIFE TO THE CHARTS

It shouldn’t surprise you to know that, once again, a Drake release conquers all, but it remains impressive, especially considering that More Life is really more of a mixtape than an album. That said, the YMCMB/Republic set bows at #1 on the HITS Sales Plus Streaming (SPS) Chart with a whopping 505k—the new biggest debut of the year so far.

Meanwhile, with 114k, Ed Sheeran maintains triple-digit numbers at #2 and Epic’s Rick Ross, who comes in at #3, scores the week's second-biggest bow with approximately 100k for Rather You Than Me.

Three other debuts make it in the Top 15 this week: Depeche Mode’s Spirit (Columbia) is #5 with 62k, Spoon’s Hot Thoughts (Matador) is #12 with 27k and Elevation Worship’s There Is a Cloud (Elevation/Provident) is #14 with 26k.

As the 52nd ACM Awards approach, Capitol Nashville’s Keith Urban—who’s up for Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Album, Single and Song of the Year—sees his Ripcord jump #34-27. MCA Nashville’s Sam Hunt, whose “Body Like a Back Road” is #8 on our Song Revenue Chart (just above Migos’ “Bad and Boujee”), re-enters at #48. And both of the aforementioned are among the country artists to benefit from iTunes promotions, as well. Other Music City acts to enjoy pre-show boosts are Valory/BMLG’s Brantley Gilbert and Big Machine/BMLG’s Brett Young, who re-enter at #49 and #50, respectively.

Then there’s Republic’s Sing soundtrack, which breaks back into the Top 15 in tandem with the DVD release.

When it comes to SPS marketshare, UMG leads with 54%. Then there’s SME at #2 with 24%, followed by WMG with 23%.

Over on the Album Sales Chart, Drake’s More Life is also #1 with 230k. There, Rick Ross is #2 with 69k, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast soundtrack is #3 with 68k and Depeche Mode is #4 with 61k, while Sheeran rounds out the Top 5 with nearly 49k.

And one more debut manages to make the Top 15, as Pitbull’s Climate Change (Polo Grounds/Mr. 305/RCA) pulls in 10k—enough to bow at #13. [INSERT POLITICAL JOKE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING AND THE DECLINE OF THE COUNTRY HERE].

It’s also worth noting that as fans mourn the death of the legendary Chuck Berry, Interscope’s The Definitive Collection re-enters at #24.

The results from the Album Sales marketshare battle look similar to the SPS rankings. For this chart, UMG is #1 with 49%, SME is #2 with 27% and WMG is #3 with 23%.

Streeting this week are albums from WMGs Trey Songz and James Blunt, as well as Interscope’s Mike Will Made-It and RCA’s Betty Who.

Also, some big debuts are in store for Sony, as Disruptor/Columbia’s The Chainsmokers and RCA’s Pentatonix are both coming on 4/7.

Now please excuse us as we chainsmoke ourselves into 2020.