The Weeknd Debuts at No. 1
The Weeknd is No. 1. The Canadian crooner scores the second-biggest debut of 2015 with his album Beauty Behind the Madness.
The project, which features appearances from Lana Del Rey, Ed Sheeran, and Labrinth, opens atop the Billboard 200 with 412,000 equivalent album units. Of that number, 326,000 were pure album sales.
The Weeknd earns the second-largest weekly total and pure sales week for an album this year, following Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (535,000 units; 495,000 in album sales).
NUMBER 1 ALBUM, THANK YOU XO : https://t.co/H9U49wN7Y1
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) September 6, 2015
Beauty Behind the Madness is the third consecutive top 10 album for The Weeknd. It follows 2012’s Trilogy (No. 4) and 2013’s Kiss Land, which peaked at No. 2 with 95,000 copies.
Three singles from the album have reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100—”Earned It” (No. 3), “Can’t Feel My Face” (No. 1), and “The Hills” (No. 4).
Elsewhere on the chart, Halsey’s Badlands debuts at No. 2 with 115,000, Dr. Dre’s Compton falls to No. 5 (32,000), and Ed Sheeran’s x slides 5-6 with 28,000.
Billboard 200 Top 10
1. The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness – 412,000
2. Halsey – Badlands – 115,000
3. Luke Bryan – Kill the Lights – 50,000
4. Taylor Swift – 1989 – 44,000
5. Dr. Dre – Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre – 32,000
6. Ed Sheeran – x – 28,000
7. Maddie & Tae – Start Here – 28,000
8. Beach House – Depression Cherry – 27,000
9. Ben Rector – Brand New – 26,000
10. Disturbed – Immortalized – 26,000