Selena Gomez Earns First No. 1 Album

31 Jul, 2013

“Stars Dance” bumps Jay Z’s “Magna Carta” from the top spot.

This week, Selena Gomez collects her first No. 1 title on the Billboard 200 with the arrival of “Stars Dance.” The Hollywood Records release sold 97,000 copies in its first week — a career-high frame for the singer.

Each of her four albums have steadily grown larger in their debut weeks, bowing with successively bigger sums and placing higher on the chart.

Her 2009 debut, “Kiss and Tell,” opened at No. 9 with nearly 66,000. It was followed by the No. 4-ranking “A Year Without Rain” in 2010 (which slightly exceeded 66,000) and then 2011’s “When the Sun Goes Down” (No. 3 peak, a week after it launched at No. 4 with 78,000).

Gomez has been red hot this year, scoring her biggest hit single yet with the lead track from “Stars Dance,” “Come & Get It.” The cut sailed to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 (her first top 10) and No. 2 on the Pop Songs airplay chart.

Gomez, who just turned 21 last week, is also the youngest solo female artist to hit No. 1 since her friend Taylor Swift in 2010. On the chart dated Nov. 13 of that year, the then-20-year old Swift debuted at the top with her second leader, “Speak Now.”

Gomez bumps Jay Z’s “Magna Carta . . .  Holy Grail” down to No. 2 with 77,000 (down 40%). It had ruled the list for two weeks.

It’s a good week for all things Disney, as Hollywood Records’ sister label, Walt Disney Records, sees its “Teen Beach Movie” soundtrack soar from No. 8 to No. 3. The set sold 57,000 in its second week of release, jumping into the top three with a monster gain of 128%.

The increase follows a full week’s worth of impact from the movie’s Disney Channel premiere on July 19. In addition, repeated airings of film—along with its quick turnaround DVD release on July 30—should ensure another solid sales week for the soundtrack.

The “Kidz Bop 24” album falls 3-4 with 39,000 (down 37%), while Marc Anthony debuts at No. 5 with his new Spanish-language album “3.0” (nearly 39,000). “3.0” marks Anthony’s best sales week and highest-charting set since his 2002 English album “Mended” debuted and peaked at No. 3 with 111,000. He previously tallied two top 10 sets, but both were English affairs: “Mended” and his 1999’s self-titled effort.

“3.0” is the highest-charting Spanish set by any act since April 30, 2011—when Mana’s “Drama y Luz” debuted at No. 5 with 47,000—and the biggest sales frame for a Spanish effort since Nov. 25, 2011, when Romeo Santos’ “Formula: Vol. 1” launched with 62,000 at No. 9.

Back in this week’s top 10: Florida Georgia Line’s “Here’s to the Good Times” slips 5-6 with 30,000 (down 6%), and Imagine Dragons’ “Night Visions” falls 6-7 with 27,000 (down 4%).

Rock band We Came As Romans notches its first top 10 album and best sales week yet, as “Tracing Back Roots” starts at No. 8 with 26,000. The group previously topped out at No. 21 in 2011, where its last release, “Understanding What We’ve Grown to Be” launched with 19,000.

Next up in the top 10 is the “Rich Gang” compilation from Young Money and Cash Money Records, which starts at No. 9 with 24,000. It’s the highest-charting hip-hop compilation since the “Good Music Cruel Summer” set ranked at No. 7 on Oct. 13, 2012. (It debuted at No. 2 the week previous.)

Rounding out the top 10 is Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience,” which falls one rung to No. 10 with 21,000 (down 14%).

Billboard

Mentioned In This Post:

About the author

Related Posts