Taylor Swift has finally passed the torch: Eminem now holds the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, unseating “The Tortured Poets Department” for the first time since its April release.
“The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” the emcee’s 12th album, opens at the top of the all-genre-inclusive chart with the equivalent of 281,000 equivalent album units in the United States. It also logs 220 million streams and 114,000 sales, according to data by Luminate.
Eminem first announced “Death” during the NFL Draft in April, and later published an obituary in the Detroit Free Press bidding adieu to Slim Shady, his career-long alter ego that he’s played as a character in his songs and in videos. The LP is Eminem’s first record since “Music to Be Murdered By,” a January 2020 release.
“Death” is Eminem’s 11th album to reach No. 1, a figure that puts him at a tie with Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Ye (Kanye West).
Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” meanwhile, slips to No. 4 following a record-breaking 12-week streak at No. 1. It held the post with unrivaled availability in variants — multiple different vinyl, CD or cassette versions of an already-released album or EP — that were released across numerous weeks. This approach is a trending topic for the music industry as, according to Luminate Data’s 2024 mid-year report, the top 10 U.S. physical albums of 2024 carried an average of seven different vinyl variants.
Enhypen scores the highest-selling album of the week with “Romance: Untold” earning 2117,000 sales across 17 different CD variants. “Romance” opens at No. 2, becoming the K-pop group’s highest-charting album ever, and fourth top 10 album. The nine-song album opens with 124,000 equivalent album units earned and nearly 10 million streams.
Also new in the Top 10 this week is Clairo, who scores her highest-charting album ever, and first top 10, as “Charm” enters the list at No. 8 with 47,000 equivalent album units earned. It debuts with a staggering 32,000 units sold across vinyl variants and deluxe boxed sets.
Megan Moroney also lands her first top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with her sophomore album. “Am I Okay?,” landing No. 9 with 43,000 units in its first week.
Zach Bryan’s “The Great American Bar Scene” is at No. 3 and is the second most-streamed album of the week behind Eminem. Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” is at No. 5, Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” is at No. 6 and Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is at No. 7. Rounding out the Top 10 is Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season.”
Source Agencies
