Lorde claims she’ll never be a royal, but she becomes chart royalty this week, as her massive single “Royals” leapfrogs over singles from Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus to capture the No. 1 spot on Nielsen SoundScan’s Digital Songs chart. Elsewhere, the latest album from Jack Johnson captures the No. 1 spot on the albums chart. Here’s #SoundScanner with the latest:
’ROYALS’ RUMBLE SEES LORDE BODYSLAM PERRY, CYRUS: It was a three-way dance between Lorde, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus at the top of this week’s Digital Songs chart, with a little under 6,000 sales separating the three entries. The current VH1 You Oughta Know artist Lorde’s “Royals” snags the top spot for her first week at No. 1, as her song sold 307,000 downloads, up 17 percent from last week and bringing its total sales to 1.56 million. Katy Perry’s “Roar” holds at No. 2, selling 301,000 downloads, for a six-week total of 2.4 million sales. And Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” falls two spots on a 37 percent dip in sales from last week, finishing with 301,000 sales – just 111 less than “Roar.” Meanwhile, Perry’s “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J, launches at No. 4 with 194,000 downloads.
BRITNEY WORKS IT: Also in the top 10, Britney Spears’ “Work B**ch!” – the first offering from her forthcoming eighth album – debuts at No. 6 with 174,000 downloads. The club-heavy (or Zumba-class heavy, depending on your perspective) track starts much slower than “Hold It Against Me,” the first single from 2011’s Femme Fatale, which launched with 411,000 sales. If she wants to compete with Lorde, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus, well, she’ll have to work a bit harder.
JACK JOHNSON MELLOWS OUT AT NO. 1: Chill surfer bro Jack Johnson’s From Here to Now to You debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Top Current Albums chart, selling 117,000 copies its first week in stores. It’s Johnson’s fourth No. 1 album, but sales are down sharply from 2010’s To the Sea (which opened with 243,000 sales) and 2008’s Sleep Through the Static (which started with 375,000 sales). In fact, Johnson’s start is his slowest since his 2001 debut, Brushfire Fairytales. But that’s nothing a few waves can’t solve.
JUSTIN MOORE, MORE DEBUT: After Johnson, five other albums debut in the top 10, including three albums by solo male country stars. Justin Moore saddles up at No. 2 with Off the Beaten Path, which starts with 97,000. That’s up from his last album Outlaws Like Me, which began its chart run at No. 5 with 65,000 sales. Chris Young’s A.M. follows at No. 3 with 53,000 sales, which is up one spot from the No. 4 debut of his last album Neon, although that album sold 73,000 copies its first week. Billy Currington is the third country star in the top 10, launching at No. 10 with his We Are Tonight, which sold 26,000. Elsewhere, the Rick Ross-led compilation MMG Presents: Self Made 3 starts at No. 4 with 50,000 – down from the 98,000 start of last year’s Self Made 2 and off slightly from the 59,000 start of 2011’s Self Made Vol. 1. And Avicii’s True kicks off at No. 5 with 50,000.
PHILLIPS GOES PLATINUM: Eleventh season American Idol winner Phillip Phillips crosses the 1 million sales marker this week. In its 44th week of release, Phillips’ debut album The World From the Side of the Moon (No. 87 this week) sold 4,400 copies, bringing its total sales to 1.004 million copies. Phillips isn’t the only Idol star celebrating a sales milestone this week; Kelly Clarkson hits gold this week with her Greatest Hits: Chapter 1 set (No. 145), which sold 2,600 copies this week, bringing its total sales to 502,000 copies. And while we’re counting platinum sales achievements, congratulations are in order for Mumford & Sons, whose Sigh No More (No. 84) sold 4,700 copies this week, bringing its 188-week total to 3.004 million copies. (Last year’s Babel isn’t far behind; in its 52nd week on the charts, it has sold 2.46 million copies.)
[Photos: Getty Images]