Selenators, rejoice: Your queen, Selena Gomez, has notched her first No. 1 album. Meanwhile, Robin Thicke’s summer anthem “Blurred Lines” was finally dethroned from its perch atop the Digital Songs chart. Would you like to know more? #SoundScanner investigates…
Gomez goes to No. 1: Disney star-turned “Spring Breaker” Selena Gomez earns her first No. 1 album this week with Stars Dance. Maybe The Scene was holding her back this whole time: Gomez’ fourth CD (and first billed as a solo artist) sold 97,000 copies its debut frame, a career-best for Gomez, whose previous best came with 2011’s When the Sun Goes Down. That album started with 78,000 sales and earned a No. 4 bow on the chart. Gomez’ previous albums, 2010’s A Year Without Rain and 2009’s Kiss and Tell, both sold around 66,000 copies their debut week. Stars Dance, which is credited to more than a dozen producers, was bolstered by the hit single “Come & Get It,” which has sold more than 1.8 million copies to date.
Surf’s up for Teen Beach: Selena Gomez may no longer be under the Disney umbrella, but the Mouse House keeps cranking out hits: The soundtrack to the Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie leaps from No. 8 to No. 3 on this week’s chart on a 128 percent sales surge. (Side note: How is Teen Beach not a reality show yet?) Teen Beach sold 57,000 copies this week, which puts it one spot behind Jay Z’s Magna Carta… Holy Grail, which falls one spot to No. 2 with 77,000 copies sold. This week’s Top 10 also includes three debuts: Marc Anthony’s latest, 3.0 (No. 5, 39,000); Troy, Michigan rockers We Came as Romans’ Tracing Back Roots (No. 8, 26,000); and the Young Money/ Cash Money compilation album Rich Gang (No. 9, 24,000), which features contributions from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Birdman, R. Kelly and more.
One Direction kicks out Thicke: “Blurred Lines” no longer reigns supreme on the Digital Songs chart, as it was swept aside by “Best Song Ever,” the latest from British boy band sensation One Direction. But it was no knock-out blow: “Best Song Ever” edged out “Blurred Lines” by just 10,000 copies, tallying 322,000 sales to Thicke’s 312,000. “Best Song Ever” is a little softer than 1D’s last big splash, which came with last year’s “Live While You’re Young,” which opened with 341,000 sales. Over on the YouTubes, “Best Song Ever” is a monster, and has racked up more than 47 million views its first week.
Grande makes a grand debut: A little further down the Digital Songs chart, Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande (she stars as Cat Valentine on Victorious) makes a splash at No. 6 with “Baby I,” which sold 141,000 copies its first week. It’s the second single from Grande’s debut album Yours Truly, which is due out in September. And making a big jump to No. 13 is British singer-songwriter Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful,” which is up 37 spots from No. 50. The song, which features Emeli Sande and was co-written by Mike Posner, sold 92,000 copies this week, bringing its total to 390,000.
Cody Simpson wipes out: Sixteen year old Australian pop singer Cody Simpson made a No. 10 debut last week with his second album Surfer’s Paradise, but the album falls 75 spots this week to No. 83 on an 83 percent sales slide. It’s the steepest decline of any album in the Top 100 this week, as the album sold 4,000 copies, down from last week’s total of 25,000. Don’t feel too bad for Simpson, though: He’s currently on the road opening for Justin Bieber, and we’re sure those screaming teenage girls make everything feel a little better.
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[Photo Credit: Getty Images]