WZRD Debuts in Top 3, Whitney Houston Dominates Albums Chart

Kid Cudi worked his magic on the albums chart this week as his rock band WZRD debuts in the top 3, while the late Whitney Houston continues to dominate the top 10.

WZRD, the G.O.O.D. Music signee’s collaborative album with producer Dot Da Genius, bows at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 66,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album fared better than Cudi expected. Last week, he took to Twitter to complain that his label didn’t ship enough copies of the disc to stores, but he seemed pleased with the final results.

“Not too bad. Not too bad at all,” tweeted the WZRD frontman. “No major promo, no single on the radio, no music video. Just the music. All for the music. That’s really special.”

Following her tragic death last month, Whitney Houston claims nine albums on the Billboard 200 this week, with three entries in the top 10. The pop legend’s Greatest Hits compilation holds the No. 2 spot (112,000), The Bodyguard soundtrack follows at No. 5 (43,000), and her self-titled debut rounds out the top 10 (25,000).

After opening at No. 5 with 61,000 copies, Tyga’s Careless World: Rise of the Last King racks up 37,000 additional units in its second week, falling two spots to No. 6. The album was not available at all physical retailers in its initial week due to a clearance issue.

Meanwhile, Adele continues to lock down the top spot with her Grammy-winning album 21, which sits at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the 23rd week, selling 247,000 copies.