The contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top Advertising sign charts and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated April 13), it's pretty much everything cowboy carter, as Beyoncé's eighth official studio LP sets her sights on the chart-topping six-shooter.
beyonce, Cowboy Carter (Parkwood/Columbia): Even in a first quarter that saw full-length releases from some pretty huge artists — including Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign, Ariana Grande, and Future & Metro Boomin — Beyoncé's albums remain a next-level event in the pop realm. Cowboy Carter hit the stage last Friday (March 29) to more buzz and anticipation than any other 2024 LP so far, and the results haven't disappointed: The album right now has a score of 92 on review aggregator site Metacritic, making it the second best-reviewed set by any artist this year, and it's also starting to get serious Grammy buzz as the set to finally win the long-overdue debut album of the year trophy.
Unsurprisingly, the release is expected to make an impressive debut — helped by a number of its physical releases Cowboy Carter that Beyoncé currently sells exclusively through her website. (Vinyl and CD are scheduled to hit retail on April 12, giving it a nice sales boost in its third week on the chart.) The vinyl release of the set includes four different color variants, each with different back cover image Beyoncé. The CD version includes an extra song, “Flamenco,” and comes in four variations (each also with a different cover by Beyoncé), while two of the CDs are exclusively available inside the boxes he sells — three versions of which are on present. sold, each with a t-shirt and a CD copy of the album in a branded box. And of course, there's a digital version for sale and streaming, which includes five tracks that don't appear on the physical release (“Flamenco,” “Spaghettii,” “The Linda Martell Show,” “Ya Ya,” and “Oh Louisiana”).
All of this should add up to a high sales total for Beyoncé, who has become a reliable performer in terms of physical sales, moving 190,000 such copies. Cowboy Carter's Predecessor of 2022 Renaissance in the American debut frame, according to Luminate. The new album is also streaming very well – at 27 tracks, it's the biggest album of Bey's career to date, which will surely help boost those totals – and Spotify even confirmed that it was the service's most-streamed album in one day of 2024 so far after its release last Friday. That said, aside from the previously released lead single (and former Billboard Hot 100 No. Metro Boomin's “Like That” — as of Tuesday (April 2), the only new song from the set on Spotify's Daily Top Songs in the US it was Miley Cyrus' duet “II Most Wanted,” at No. 10. (Both “II Most Wanted” and Bey's rendition of Dolly Parton's “Jolene” were Apple Music top 10s, at No. .10 and 8, respectively.)
However, the combination of high sales volume and streams should result in a huge first week for Cowboy Carter — likely setting a new high-performance mark for 2024 past Future and Metro Boomin's We Don't Trust You, which entered with 251,000 units on this week's chart. It may also be in line to pass 332,000 units Renaissance moved on his debut album two years ago, and became Beyoncé's best debut album since her beloved Lemonade bowed out with 653,000 units in 2016.
IN THE MIX
J-Hope, Hope on the Street, Vol. 1 (BigHit Music/Geffen/ICLG): J-Hope's latest is his youth musical accompaniment to the Amazon Prime documentary of the same name, where the BTS alum hits the streets to meet dancers around the world and reconnect with his dancing roots. The six-track set features guest appearances from bandmate Jung Kook as well as club legend Nile Rodgers, and is available on eight CD collector's editions, including exclusives to Target, Walmart and the Weverse store, all branded paper goods (such as posters, photo cards and stickers);
mgk & Trippie Redd, Genre: Sadboy (10K Projects/EST 19XX/Interscope/ICLG): The artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly's first full-length release since officially rebranding as mgk is a 10-piece group with a long-term partner Trippy Red. The resulting set is closer to the former's hip-hop roots than his recent pop-punk-oriented albums, one of which (2020 tickets for My Downfall) debuted atop the Billboard 200. Genre: Sadboy not yet available for purchase on vinyl, but can be purchased on CD through mgk's official website.
Aaron Lewis, The hill (Valory/BMLG): Longtime Staind frontman Aaron Lewis has found success in the country world since making a career turn a decade ago, particularly with right-wing conservative anthems like 2021's surprise Top 20 Hot 100 hit “Am I the Only One.” His latest country-driven effort The hill is a 10-track acoustic affair and is available on both CD and pure vinyl.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/beyonce-cowboy-carter-number-one-album-first-week-1235648338/