After a squeaker for #1 on last week’s HITS Top 50, the first chart of Q4 could be shaping up for a similar race. First-day sales and streams have MMG/Atlantic’s Meek Mill projecting about 90k with his 18-track Expensive Pain project. Last week’s runner-up, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy (OVO/Republic), would need to fall by one-third to give Meek a path to #1 based on today’s projection.

The real fight, however, may not come from a new release but from Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version), via Republic. Vinyl pre-orders are shipping for this week’s chart, along with the signed CDs that were offered for 72 hours last week. While info is still forthcoming, a similar rollout was executed for evermore’s vinyl just three months ago; the album soared back to #1 with more than 200k in activity and set a single-week vinyl sales record for the modern era. Will Tay repeat this stunning performance? Stay tuned.

Meek Mill (MMG/Atlantic) 85-95k total activity, 1-3k albums
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga (Interscope/Columbia) 35-40k, 33-37k
Lil Wayne & Rich The Kid (Republic) 12-15k, <1k

We might add that Love for Sale, the re-teaming of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga on a set full of Cole Porter gems, referenced above, is the week's only release that makes us want to day-drink martinis.

Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels