The numbers are in and Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail is officially the No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart. Ciara’s new self-titled release came in a distant second.
Nielsen SoundScan numbers show that Magna Carta Holy Grail sold 527,000 copies this past week, making it the second biggest debut of the year, notes Billboard. While it did top Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, it fell far short of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience’s 968,000 copies. (Coincidentally, Jay-Z and Timberlake appear on each other’s albums.)
Still, Jay has plenty to celebrate. It’s his 13th No. 1 album, which means that he’s extended the record for most No. 1s for a solo act. He still has to release a few more albums to top The Beatles, who have 19 No. 1 albums.
Magna Carta Holy Grail also topped the charts in the U.K., making it Jay’s first album to do so across the pond.
Meanwhile, Ciara’s self-titled release sold just 58,000 copies in its first week, but that was enough to earn the No. 2 slot. It is her fourth album and at least did better than 2010’s Basic Instinct, which debuted with 37,000 copies.
J. cole’s Born Sinner fell to No. 3, selling 39,000 copies. Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions sold another 32,000, while Florida Georgia Line’s Here’s to the good Timies added 31,000.
The rest of the Top 10 includes Yeezus by Kanye West (29,000); Wale’s The Gifted (28,000); Skylar Grey’s Don’t Look Down (24,000); Random Access Memories (23,000) and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist (22,000).
“Blurred Lines” from Robin Thicke sold another 384,000 downloads and kept the No. 1 slot on the Digital Songs Chart. Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” added another 216,000.
image: Amazon