Disney’s Frozen soundtrack is iced out of the top spot this week by the latest in a series of popular hits compilations, while Bruno Mars continues his post Super Bowl buzz and several artists land Top 10 debuts. Let’s dive in and have a look at this week’s SoundScan charts, shall we?
Now freezes Frozen: The soundtrack to the Disney smash Frozen ends its run at No. 1 on SoundScan’s Top Current Albums chart this week, as it is displaced by the hits compilation Now That’s What I Call Music 49. Yes, even in a streaming world, people are still buying these comps, and Now 49 – which features hits by Lorde, Katy Perry, Drake, Imagine Dragons and more – sold 98,000 copies this week. It’s the first Now compilation to hit No. 1 on the chart since Now 43 back in summer 2012. Frozen dips a spot to No. 2, falling just 6 percent this week and adding another 88,000 to its total sales. The album has sold 952,000 copies to date and, barring a disaster, will cross the 1 million sales marker on next week’s chart.
Bruno’s buzz continues: A week after Bruno Mars rode a wave of buzz from his Super Bowl performance into the Top 10, he charts even higher this week, bringing his Unorthodox Jukebox in at No. 3, up four spots from last week, on a 92 percent sales bump. (SoundScan charts track sales from Monday to Sunday, so this marks the first full frame since the Super Bowl performance.) The set’s 81,000 sales this week puts it over the double platinum marker; the album has now sold 2.05 million copies in the 61 weeks since its release.
Toni Braxton, Broken Bells debut: Following Now 49, the week’s top debut comes from Toni Braxton and Babyface’s Love, Marriage & Divorce, which arrives at No. 4 with 67,000 sales. It’s a better launch than Braxton’s last album, 2010’s Pulse, which started at No. 9 with 54,000 sales, and it marks the highest charting album of Babyface’s career. Broken Bells follows at No. 5 with After the Disco, which sold 44,000; the duo’s self-titled 2010 debut sold better, with 49,000 first week sales, but it debuted lower, arriving at No. 7. The Top 10’s final debut comes from U.K. girl group act Little Mix, who land at No. 6 with Salute, which sold 43,000 copies. The group’s previous set, DNA, arrived at No. 4 with 50,000 sales.
Grammys giveth, Grammys taketh away: Last week’s big story on the charts was the hearty sales boost provided by the Grammy Awards. Now comes the fall, as many of those albums that experienced gains last week get the legs chopped out from underneath them this week. Daft Punk’s Album of the Year-winning Random Access Memories, which jumped up to No. 10 last week, drops 17 spots to No. 27 on a 62 percent sales collapse. The 2014 Grammy Nominees CD, last week’s runner-up, falls to No. 9 on a 60 percent sales drop. Best New Artist winners Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ The Heist falls from No. 11 to No. 20, tumbling 55 percent. And Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park, which climbed to No. 12 last week on the strength of Musgraves’ Grammy performance and her two wins – including Best Country Album – drops 23 spots to No. 35 on a 64 percent sales slide. Can’t the Grammys be every week?
Pharrell gains on Katy Perry: Katy Perry and Juicy J continue their run at No. 1 on this week’s Digital Songs chart, as “Dark Horse” adds another 291,000 downloads to its tally to bring its 21-week total to 2.98 million. But hot on their heels is Pharrell Williams with his Oscar-nominated Despicable Me 2 theme “Happy,” which jumps up one spot to No. 2 this week with 252,000 downloads. That’s up 15 percent over last week, bringing its total to 989,000, and if it continues its current trajectory, “Happy” could soon hit No. 1. Also in this week’s Top 10, Passenger’s “Let Her Go” and Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” notch their highest showings yet at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively.
[Photo: Getty Images]