Will Ariana Grande have the biggest debut of the year with 'Eternal Sunshine'?

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 March 23), Ariana Grande's first album of 2020 may end up having the biggest immediate impact of the still-early calendar year.

Ariana Grande, Eternal sunshine (Democracy): For a minute there, it looked like Ariana Grande might get a little lost in the shuffle. Not that one of the biggest pop stars of the last decade was ever going to be completely overshadowed, but since announcing his release Eternal sunshine and when the album was released last Friday (March 8), a lot happened elsewhere on pop's A-list. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Ye also announced new albums for February and March, and the latter two scored Hot 100 hits from them — both of which were much bigger in the culture than Grande's No. 1 single “Yes, And?”, which fell out of the top 10 in just its third week and has yet to return to the region.

But Grande is more of a full-album artist now – arguably has been since at least Sweetener in 2018 – and so far, it seems that the positive reception to Eternal sunshine by fans and critics helps the album get off to an impressive start. The album of course debuted with all of its tracks filling the real-time charts on Spotify and Apple Music, but more impressive than its first day is how well the set is doing four days later, with six of the songs of still being on top. 15 on Spotify and three on Apple — led by second single “We Can't Be Friends,” which has risen since its release and tied Ye & Co's “Carnival” for the top spot on both chart.

Grande's very busy and visible weekend — after several years of being mostly out of the public eye — helped her get her voice Eternal sunshine (and “We Can't Be Friends” in particular) in its early days of release. On Friday, the video for “Friends” was released, garnering attention for co-star Evan Peters and his portrayal of several scenes from the classic 2004 surreal rom-com. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from which the album takes its name. Then on Saturday, she made her first appearance in a decade Saturday night live, performing “Friends” and album highlight “Imperfect for You” and also appearing in several skits. Then, on Sunday, she presented (next to her Bad co-star Cynthia Erivo) at the Oscars — not actively promoting her new set, but generally adding to Ariana's weekend with her presence at the weekend's most-watched event.

The multiple variants in which the set is available for purchase should help the first week's numbers even more than all the intense cultural exposure. This includes six different vinyl LPs, five with alternate covers (including a Target exclusive cover; the other four are exclusive to her online store), as well as five different CDs, four with alternate covers and one signed CD (all CDs are exclusive in its online store). Plus a “slightly deluxe” digital version of it Sunshine was released over the weekend with four additional tracks — all remixes and alternate versions of songs from the standard album, including a remix of 'Yes, And?' previously released by Mariah Carey featuring Mariah Carey. and a version of “Supernatural” with her former “Dance to This” co-star Troye Sivan.

Easily the biggest new release of the week, all of this should be enough to secure Grande her sixth Billboard 200 No. 1 album. 1 in seven attempts. (Dangerous woman was her only official LP to fall behind, debuting at No. 2 behind Drake's Republic label Views in 2016.) SunshineIts consistent streaming performance throughout the week may also help it surpass the 174,000 units its predecessor had in 2020 Seats, was released in its first week and will likely help it easily clear the 148,000 units moved by Ye & Ty Dolla $ign's Vultures 1 in its February debut week, making it the best-performing album of the year so far.

IN THE MIX

Judas Priest, Invincible Shield (Columbia/Epic): The biggest non-Grande debut of the week may come from metal legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Judas Priest, who released the 19th album of their 50-year career with Invincible Shield. The album probably won't get much streaming presence, but it should sell quite well – with the help of five vinyl variants, including an indie retailer exclusive red vinyl and an artist-only picture disc, as well as three CD editions, including exclusives for both Target and Amazon.

norah jones, Visions (Blue Note): Two decades ago, Norah Jones sold over a million copies in the first week of her second album It feels like homecoming off the multi-platinum success of the RIAA blockbuster Come with me debut. Her commercial returns should be much more muted 20 years later for ninth album Visionsbut the album has received rave reviews for its rawer, more rock-oriented sound and is available for purchase in both three CD editions and four vinyl variants, including exclusives to indie retailers and Barnes & Noble.

Homeless spectator seats at a match, Homeless spectator seats at a match (Bleachers Band Recording/Dirty Hit): Jack Antonoff has been a writer and producer on some of the biggest albums of the 2020s so far – notably many by increasingly close collaborator Taylor Swift – but he's yet to see that kind of crossover success translate to his own mainstream artistry. project, Bleachers. He tries again this week with the namesake Homeless spectator seats at a matchthe outfit's first release since moving to UK indie label Dirty Hit (home of Antonoff's recent collaborators The 1975) — which has at least seven different vinyl variants (in various colors, with alternate arrangements and four bonus tracks), as well as a signed CD, three CDs in deluxe packaging and a pair of deluxe boxed CD sets, both in the shape of pizza boxes with a branded t-shirt inside.