Will Twenty One Pilots leapfrog Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish on next week's Billboard 200?

The contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top Advertising sign charts and the strategies behind their efforts. Next week (for next Billboard 200 due June 8), a cult-favorite act seems to be standing in the way of Billie Eilish's latest film and Taylor Swift's bottomless blockbuster.

twenty one pilots, Clancy (Powered by Ramen): For a few years in the mid-10s, the duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dunn made the leap from local Columbus, Ohio sensations to national hitmakers to legitimate A-listers, scoring a trio of top five hits on the Hot 100 and receiving Grammys in their underwear. Those days of massive crossover success are probably behind Twenty One Pilots at this point – their only Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit of the 2020s came at the start of the decade, with the theme song “Anxiety Level” COVID – but the massive following the group amassed over those years has largely hung on, and should make them a contender to top the Billboard 200 this week for their latest LP Clancy.

The new album (released two Fridays ago, May 17) follows in 2021 Scaled and frozenwhich debuted at No. 3 with 75,000 equivalent album units. Clancy has the benefit of arriving as the much-hyped final installment of their concept series dating back to 2015's revolutionary set Blurry face, loosely telling the story of the titular Clancy in the dystopian city of Dema. The set should have moderate streaming success – helped by the album's visual aspect of the release, with videos shot for each of its 14 tracks – but will likely do the most damage in physical sales. To this end, the duo was released Clancy on 11 different colored vinyl variants, as well as signed and unsigned zine/CD and CD digipak packs and some deluxe CD sets with branded merchandise included inside. On May 29, the band also released a limited time Clancy – Digital Remains deluxe edition – available only until midnight on May 30 – which includes four newly recorded live bonus tracks, as well as an extensive exclusive digital booklet offering behind-the-scenes photos.

Even with impressive sales and steady streams, Clancy will continue to fight an uphill battle to reach No.1 next week with the two sets that battled for No.1 last week – Taylor Swift's Department of Tormented Poets and Billie Eilish Hit hard and soft – is still posting massive streaming numbers. With both of these artists essentially clearing the counter last week of their remaining deluxe editions and on-sale CD variants of their respective new albums, however, Clancy could have a real sales advantage. But the album should post a much better first week number than it did Scaled and frozen75,000 – probably at least in the low six figures – will have a real chance of passing.

IN THE MIX

RM, Right place, wrong person (Big Hit/Geffen): BTS' 2022 No. 3 Billboard 200 Debut album Follow-Up Indian it's even looser, more expansive and more sonically diverse than that impressive first effort. This means that RM has yet to achieve a solo single or global streaming mega-smash like his bandmates Jimin and Jung Kook – who both topped the Hot 100 in 2023 – but it does mean that he is cultivating a joint album, which will have the option of purchase Right place, wrong person on 13 different CD variants, all containing branded paper goods and other collectibles.

bullets, Model (Atlantic): Like Twenty One Pilots, the Wallows are no longer at the height of their crossover moment – ​​which was far more modest than that duo's early days – but retain a fiercely loyal following, which should help their third album Model became one of the top debuts of the week. The set is available on twelve different colored vinyl variants – with three signed versions available on their website, one signed by each member – as well as two cassette and CD versions, while the group spent this week making in-store promotional appearances at independent retailers.

Sexy Red, At Sexyy We Trust (Rebel/gamma.): Sexyy Red was one of the biggest stars of 2023, with the famous Hood Hot Princess mixtape and hits “Pound Town” and “SkeeYee,” which he's already surpassed this year with the No. 20 Hot 100 hit “Get It Sexyy.” This song is on her new mixtape At Sexyy We Trust, as well as a new team-up with her “Rich Baby Daddy” collaborator Drake, “U My Everything,” which features the “BBL Drizzy” beat that producer Metro Boomin used to tease Drake as part of his ongoing of the latter's feud with Kendrick. Lamar. This song has taken off slower than expected on some DSPs – perhaps as the sell-out with the biggest feud finally kicks in – but the set should do well on streaming, with the album currently only available digitally.