The Contenders is a midweek column that appears at artists aiming for the highest of the Billboard charts, and the methods behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated Sept. 23), certainly one of rap’s most self-contained stars goals for his third straight No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – although one of many summer time’s largest new releases nonetheless stands in his means.
Rod Wave, Nostalgia (Alamo): Florida singer-rapper Rod Wave continues to quietly construct his case as probably the most constantly profitable artists in common music. Without any main breakout Hot 100 hits – he’s reached the highest 30 seven instances up to now, however nonetheless by no means the highest 10 – Wave has nonetheless hit the Billboard 200’s prime 10 with every of his 5 official units to date, and topped the chart together with his final two albums: 2021’s SoulFly and 2022’s Beautiful Mind.
Two of these prime 30 Billboard Hot 100 hits (the No. 16-peaking “Fight the Feeling” and the No. 26-debuting “Call Your Friends”) arrived upfront of his new LP, Nostalgia, which was launched on Friday (Sept. 15). As has historically been the case with Wave’s albums, the 18-track Nostalgia is comparatively quick on big-name options – although he does get one main carry from visitor rapper 21 Savage on “Turks & Caicos.”
The album’s efficiency will rely solely on its digital efficiency, as it’s not but obtainable for any type of bodily buy. However, Wave has been recurrently dominant on streaming since his breakthrough on the finish of the 2010s, and Nostalgia seems to be no exception to date — 5 days after its launch, the album nonetheless claims 15 of the highest 18 spots on Apple Music’s real-time chart. It’ll want sturdy numbers to get by Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts in its second week, although: The 302,000 items that album debuts with on this week’s Billboard 200 was the yr’s fourth-biggest whole to date, and the set stays sturdy in streams and gross sales.
Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (Dead Oceans): Indie darling Mitski made an enormous soar into the mainstream in the beginning of the last decade, turning into an enormous favourite on TikTok over the pandemic and cashing in on her newfound visibility with a prime 5 Billboard 200 debut for her Laurel Hell album in early 2022. She appears to maintain that momentum going with this month’s The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, which is accessible in 4 vinyl variants (in addition to on cassette and CD), and which eschews the glowing synth-pop of its predecessor’s singles for the dustier singer-songwriter balladry of a few of its deeper cuts. It’s already paid off with one breakout hit: “My Love Mine All Mine” climbs to a brand new excessive of No. 50 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart immediately.
Dan + Shay, Bigger Houses (Warner Bros. Nashville): After practically breaking apart following their tour in help of 2021’s Good Things, the hitmaking nation duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney make a giant return this week with their Bigger Houses album. The set, launched in 5 variants on vinyl and two on CD (with signed copies obtainable in each codecs), ought to promote effectively – but it surely won’t be as large a performer on streaming as previous units, since not one of the advance songs have actually taken off there but (“Save Me the Trouble” has been the best Hot 100-charter to date, at a modest No. 84.). The duo has a streak to guard with Houses: Each of their 4 full-lengths up to now have reached the Billboard 200’s prime 10.
IN THE MIX
Diddy, The Love Album: Off the Grid (Love/Motown): Diddy’s long-awaited Love Album is his first solo launch in 17 years, and his first main launch of any form since 2010’s cult traditional Last Train to Paris set as a part of Diddy – Dirty Money. The new album has no advance hits to help it, but it surely does have quantity on its aspect: each with its size (23 tracks) and a sturdy visitor checklist that features such big-name friends as The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Justin Bieber, H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, Swae Lee, Mary J. Blige, Summer Walker and Babyface.
Sleepy Hallow, Boy Meets World (Winners Circle/RCA): Two years after hitting the Billboard 200’s prime 20 with debut album Still Sleep?, New York rapper Sleepy Hallow returns with sophomore set Boy Meets World. The set features a handful of the one-offs he’s launched over these two years (like 2022 Hot 100 hit “Die Young”), in addition to new collabs with hitmakers Fivio Foreign and Doechii – the latter on “Anxiety,” which has already discovered some early success on TikTok.
Thirty Seconds to Mars, It’s the End of the World But It’s a Beautiful Day (Concord): One of the largest rock bands of the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, the Jared Leto-led 30STM scored their best Billboard 200 debut in 2018, with their America album. That set finally gets its follow-up this month with the more pop- and electronic-influenced It’s the End of the World But It’s a Beautiful Day, with 13 separate vinyl variants obtainable to draw the type of gross sales that powered America’s debut. Beautiful Day gained’t have the benefit its predecessor did of with the ability to depend live performance ticket/album sale redemption gives in the direction of its ultimate tally, although, with such bundles being faraway from BB200 calculations in July 2020.
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