Travis Scott finally makes it to number 1 thanks to vinyl: NPR

Travis Scott’s 2014 mixtape days before the rodeo thanks to a huge surge in vinyl sales, it jumps from #106 to #1.

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Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images

The billboard The charts are volatile this week. Sure, Shaboozey remains firmly at the top of the Hot 100 singles chart, where “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” sits for the eleventh week in a row. But Sabrina Carpenter is in the album charts Short and sweet is pushed from No. 1 by the 10th anniversary release of Travis Scott’s 2014 mixtape days before the rodeo. Thanks to a huge surge in vinyl sales, this record jumps from No. 106 to No. 1. And while physical media is also helping to bring Eminem back into the top 10, last week’s most prominent debuts are all seeing massive drops – in many cases completely off the charts.

TOP ALBUMS

The battle for first place began at the beginning of this month billboard There was a neck-and-neck race on the 200 album charts between pop star Sabrina Carpenter Short and sweet and rapper Travis Scott days before the rodeoa mixtape that was just officially released to mark its 10th anniversary. Sales of both albums were driven up by variant editions and/or online discounts, and the race was so close that Scott’s team even argued billboard‘s chart data as Carpenter took the top spot and Scott landed at #2.

From then on, however Short and sweet seemed to have far more longevity as it stayed at #1 for three weeks days before the rodeo slipped from No. 2 to No. 30 and then to No. 106. This week, however, Scott’s fortunes improved dramatically, thanks to a phenomenon that existed well before the advent of online streaming: vinyl sales. days before the rodeo is now rewarded with sales of around 149,000 vinyl copies – more than any other hip-hop album has sold on vinyl in a week during the streaming era – climbing from number 106 to number one, which was previously denied three weeks previously. All of these vinyl copies were sold through Scott’s webshop, which had several different deluxe editions on offer.

There are a number of precedents for vinyl-fueled chart climbs. In 2022, for example, Tyler, The Creator’s Call me if you get lost rose from No. 120 to No. 1 due to the strong vinyl release. And Scott isn’t the only rapper capitalizing on physical media this week: Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)which topped the charts earlier this summer, rebounds from No. 42 to No. 7 thanks to a deluxe reissue and CD release. (A star-studded appearance in the opening moments of the VMAs couldn’t have hurt, either.)

Carpenter takes second place this week, followed by Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess (holding steady at #3) and a whole bunch of sliders: Post Malone’s F-1 trillion (#2 to #4), Morgan Wallen’s One thing at a time (#4 to #5), Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department (No. 5 to No. 6), Billie Eilish Hit me hard and soft (No. 6 to No. 8), Noah Kahans Embroidery season (#8 to #9) and Zach Bryan’s The great American bar scene (No. 7 to No. 10).

TOP SONGS

Once again, there are no new entries in the top 10 – and there are minimal shifts between the old, reliable entries. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has now been at No. 1 for 11 consecutive weeks, ranking it fourth among songs that have spent the most weeks at the top of the chart in the 2020s, followed by another week at 1st place. 2 for Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” which features Wallen. Carpenter has three songs in the top 10 for another week: “Espresso” (No. 3), “Taste” (No. 8) and “Please Please Please” (No. 9).

Chappell Roan rounds out the top 10, reaching a new chart peak with “Good Luck, Babe!” (which climbs from No. 7 to No. 4), Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” slips from No. 4 to No. 5, Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” falls from No. 5 to No . 6, Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” rises from No. 9 to No. 7 and Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” remains at No. 10. Roan and Swims seem to have at least experienced a blowback from the top. Performances at the VMAs are also impressive , but it can be difficult to figure out the exact source of the chart movement from week to week.

For those lamenting the Hot 100’s late-summer stagnation, there’s a little hope in the Top 20 – especially in the chart debuts of three new songs. The Weeknd, who knows a thing or two about tracks that stay on the charts, enters this week’s Hot 100 with “Dancing in the Flames” at No. 14, while Playboi Carti’s “All Red” shows up right behind at No. 15.” It’s ok I’m ok” by pop singer Tate McRae also made it into the Hot 100 and landed at number 20.

Remarkable

Last week, this column pointed out how often new albums make high chart debuts but then plummet precipitously in the weeks that follow. It’s common billboard Things are evolving these days, especially considering how many catalog titles and greatest hits collections have been clogging up the charts for years. So when six albums entered the Top 50 last week, I had to wonder how long they would last, given how quickly other albums had burned out in recent months.

Well, they all collapsed.

The luckiest among them is singer-songwriter Jessie Murph That’s not a man, that’s the devil, fell from No. 24 to No. 97; Her decline may have been slowed at least a little by the appearance of her VMAs. But four of the six have completely disappeared from the charts: George Strait Cowboys and dreamers (No. 14 last week), K-pop singer Tzuyu’s abouTZU: The 1st mini album (No. 19), Paris Hilton’s Infinite icon (which turned out “Infinity” meant “One Week at No. 38”) and LL Cool J’s The POWER (No. 50) are all nowhere to be found. The other title, David Gilmours Lucky and strangehas now seen both ends billboard 200 Up Close: It debuted at No. 10 last week and is now at No. 198, seven days later.

So I note the following chart debuts with only a tiny hint of optimism: Miranda Lamberts Postcards from Texas (No. 21), Keshi’s requiem (No. 27) and BOYNEXTDOOR’s 19.99 (No. 40). I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Don’t be too attached.