Lady Antebellum earned another No. 1 album with Golden, which topped the Billboard 200 album chart this week. It debuted just ahead of the soundtrack to The Great Gatsby, which was produced by Jay-Z.
Golden beat expectations, selling 167,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers. Billboard suggests that Mother’s Day may have played a role in the boost, with people looking for a last-second gift for country music fans. The holiday was on the last say of the sales week, May 12.
Lady Antebellum’s first album topped out at No. 4 in 2008, but 2010’s Need You Now opened to a huge debut week, with 480,000 copies sold. Their last album, Own The Night, started with 347,000 copies. Those last two albums started at No. 1 as well, making Golden their third straight No. 1.
The Gatsby soundtrack sold 137,000 copies in its first week, which coincided with the film’s release on Friday. It’s the best sales week for a soundtrack since The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond debuted to 175,000 copies sold. It’s worth noting that Gatsby’s sales were mostly driven by downloads, with 119,000 of those copies being downloaded.
The Now 46 compilation holds the No. 3 spot this week, with 91,000 copies, notes Reuters. It follows the No. 3 debut for Now 45, which sold 87,000 in its first week.
Michael Buble’s To Be Loved dropped to No. 4 with 84,000, while Pistol Annies’ Annie Up sold 83,0000. Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience comes in at No. 6 with 66,000 copies.
The rest of the Top 10 includes Rod Stewart’s new release Time (52,000); Kenny Chesney's Life on a Rock (48,000); Blake Shelton’s Based on a True Story (38,000); Bruno Mars' Unorthodox Jukebox (32,000).
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Can't Hold Us" topped the Digital Songs chart with 241,000 downloads.
image: CBS