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      ‘Encanto’ Soundtrack Returns to No. 1, Beating Gunna and the Weeknd

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      When the soundtrack to “Encanto,” Disney’s latest animated film, came out two months ago, it was by no means a hit, entering the Billboard 200 chart at No. 197.But the film’s catchy and eclectic songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda — drawing on salsa, bachata, hip-hop and classic Broadway — became sleeper hits once the film began streaming on Disney+, a month ago. For weeks, the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has been unavoidable on TikTok, with fans making dance and singalong videos, helping make “Bruno” one of the top tracks on Spotify and Apple Music.This week, the “Encanto” soundtrack returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart, beating out competition from the Weeknd, Gunna and a new release by the Americana band the Lumineers. It is the second time “Encanto” has topped the chart, after going to No. 1 two weeks ago and then dipping to No. 3.“Encanto” had the equivalent of 104,000 sales in the United States, including 125 million streams and 17,000 copies sold of the album as a complete package, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm. “Encanto” is the first Disney soundtrack to have multiple turns at No. 1 since “Frozen,” which notched a total of 13 weeks at the top in the first half of 2014. “Bruno” is No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, behind Adele’s “Easy on Me,” which is at the top for a 10th week.Last week’s top seller on the album chart, “DS4Ever” by the Atlanta rapper Gunna, falls one spot to No. 2 in its second week out, losing 36 percent of its equivalent sales, while the Weeknd’s “Dawn FM” lost 59 percent, sliding one to No. 3.Adele’s “30” is No. 4, Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” is No. 5, and the Lumineers’ “Brightside,” its first LP in two and a half years, starts at No. 6. More

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      Adele’s ‘30’ Crosses a Million Sales and Holds at No. 1

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      The singer’s first album in six years became the first release to reach that milestone since Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” a year ago. But in 2015, Adele’s “25” sold 3.4 million its first week.Adele holds the No. 1 spot on the Billboard album chart for a third time this week with “30,” with no major new releases to challenge it.Her first album in six years, “30” had the equivalent of 193,000 sales in the United States, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm. That included 58 million streams and 149,000 copies sold as a complete package. “30” has now sold more than one million copies as a full album, the first release to do so since Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” a little over a year ago — though Adele’s last LP, “25,” sold nearly 3.4 million in its first week out in 2015, when Adele withheld the complete album from streaming services.Also this week, Swift’s “Red (Taylor’s Version)” holds at No. 2. Polo G’s “Hall of Fame,” which opened at No. 1 back in June, jumped 66 spots to No. 3 thanks to a new version with extra tracks. Michael Bublé’s “Christmas,” a seasonal hit each year since its release a decade ago, is No. 4, and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” is No. 5.Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album,” which had a 10-week run at No. 1 at the start of the year and has never dipped further than No. 9 on the chart, holds in sixth place. More

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      Youngboy Edges Past Drake for Billboard No. 1 Album Slot

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      “Sincerely, Kentrell” narrowly beat Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” to earn this Louisiana rapper his fourth Billboard chart-topping album in two years.In a close race for No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, the new release by YoungBoy Never Broke Again, a 21-year-old from Baton Rouge, La., narrowly beat fourth-week sales for “Certified Lover Boy,” the streaming smash by Drake, who was dethroned after three straight weeks on top.YoungBoy’s “Sincerely, Kentrell” tallied 137,000 album units in total (including 186 million streams and 10,000 in traditional sales), enough to squeak by the 135,000 overall sales units for “Certified Lover Boy,” according to Billboard.“Sincerely, Kentrell” becomes the fourth No. 1 album in less than two years for YoungBoy, who is incarcerated awaiting trial in Louisiana, where he faces federal charges that he possessed an unlicensed gun as a felon. YoungBoy was among 16 people arrested in Baton Rouge in September 2020 on drug and firearm charges, not long after his album “Top” became his third No. 1 in less than a year.YoungBoy — among the most popular musicians on YouTube — has been dogged by legal problems since signing with Atlantic Records as a teenager in 2016. In the current case, his lawyers have said he did not possess any of the contraband himself and are seeking to suppress evidence they say was unconstitutionally obtained, according to court filings.In its first month out, Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” earned the equivalent of over 1 million sales in the United States, including more than one billion streams, and it held off a formidable challenger in Lil Nas X’s debut album, “Montero,” last week. This time, “Certified Lover Boy” settled for No. 2, although it is expected to contend for the top spot again next week.The rest of the Top 5 is rounded out by “Montero,” at No. 3; Kanye West’s “Donda,” repeating its position at No. 4; and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour,” which also held steady at No. 5. More

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      Pop Smoke’s Second Posthumous Album, ‘Faith,’ Hits No. 1

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      The new release by the Brooklyn rapper, who was shot and killed last year, tops Billboard, but fell short of his studio debut.“Faith,” the second album by the Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke to be released since he was shot and killed in February 2020 at the age of 20, tops the Billboard chart this week, just as the previous one did.But the difference in listenership was stark: “Faith” opened with 88,000 equivalent album units, including 113 million streams and 4,000 in sales, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm, while “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon,” from last July, was nearly three times more popular in its opening week, earning the equivalent of 251,000 albums sold, with 268 million streams and 59,000 in sales (including now-restricted merchandise bundles).“Faith” received tepid album reviews, with some questioning its posthumous assembly and the inclusion of more than 20 guests (Dua Lipa, Kanye West, Chris Brown) across the album’s 20 tracks. A deluxe edition adding four more songs was released on July 21, the day before the chart week ended.Pop Smoke, born Bashar Jackson, once a leader of Brooklyn’s rising drill movement, was killed last year during a home invasion in the Hollywood Hills after inadvertently revealing his address on Instagram. Los Angeles police officers said at a hearing in May that five teenagers had plotted to rob the rapper, coming away only with a watch that they sold for $2,000.Three people have been charged in juvenile court with Pop Smoke’s killing, while the alleged getaway driver, who the authorities say conceived of the plot and was 19 at the time, is being charged as an adult. A 15-year-old boy has been accused of firing the fatal shots, the authorities said, according to The Los Angeles Times. One person remains at large.Also on the Billboard chart this week: “Sob Rock,” a 1980s tribute by John Mayer, debuts at No. 2 with 84,000 in equivalent units, including 29 million streams and 61,000 in sales. “Sour” by Olivia Rodrigo is No. 3 with 77,000 units; “Planet Her” by Doja Cat is No. 4 with 59,000; and “Dangerous: The Double Album” by Morgan Wallen, who has apologized for his use of a racial slur in February, is No. 5. More

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      Silk Sonic or J. Cole Has the No. 1 Song, Depending on the Chart

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      In a rare but not unheard-of discrepancy, Billboard and Rolling Stone named two different singles as the week’s biggest.What is the No. 1 song in the country? These days, it depends on the chart.On Wednesday, Billboard announced, after a two-day delay, that “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic, the new retro-soul project of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, reached the top spot on the Hot 100, the magazine’s singles chart and the industry standard since 1958.But days earlier, the competing Rolling Stone 100 crowned J. Cole’s new “Interlude” as its No. 1, with “Leave the Door Open” just No. 10. On Billboard’s latest chart, “Interlude” reached only as high as No. 8.Even more strange, both charts are now owned by the same company. When Rolling Stone introduced its rankings in 2019, they were positioned as competitors to Billboard’s, with different data sources and methodologies. Rolling Stone chart positions are often hyped by fans and press agents, but have not proved a major challenge to Billboard’s authority.Last year, a deal between the publishers of Rolling Stone and Billboard brought both companies under a new joint venture, P-MRC. Jay Penske, the young media entrepreneur who represents half that deal, controls those publications as part of a portfolio that now also includes The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline, WWD and Vibe. P-MRC also has a 50 percent stake in the South by Southwest festivals.A spokeswoman for MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm, said the delay in the magazine’s Hot 100 was a result of data anomalies that were being investigated by its chart experts, and was not related to Rolling Stone having a conflicting song at No. 1. It is also not the first discrepancy: Early this year, Olivia Rodrigo’s blockbuster “Drivers License” topped the Billboard chart for eight weeks, but Rolling Stone’s for only five.Rolling Stone looks at songs’ sales and popularity on audio streaming services, but not radio; for the Hot 100, Billboard considers sales, audio and video streams, along with radio spins. Still a persistent head-scratcher in the music world is why the same company maintains two separate and competing charts.In a slow week for albums, the Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo reclaims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart with “A Gangsta’s Pain.” It had the equivalent of 61,000 sales in the United States, mostly from streaming, according to MRC Data. “A Gangsta’s Pain,” which had opened at the top two weeks ago, then dipped to No. 2, had the lowest sales number for a No. 1 album since early January, when Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” notched its third time at the top with 56,000 sales in the post-holiday doldrums.Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” is in second place, while last week’s top seller, DJ Khaled’s “Khaled Khaled,” falls to No. 3 in its second week out. Justin Bieber’s “Justice” is No. 4.Dua Lipa is in fifth place with her album “Future Nostalgia.” Lipa’s song “Levitating,” featuring the rapper DaBaby, is No. 2 on Billboard’s singles chart thanks in part to its popularity on TikTok. More

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      ‘Slime Language 2,’ by Young Thug and Friends, Reaches No. 1

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      The compilation featuring the Atlanta rapper and various artists from his Young Stoner Life label bested Taylor Swift for the top spot on Billboard’s album chart.Mixtape, playlist or compilation album — what’s the difference?These days, on streaming services, not much. But whatever you call it, “Slime Language 2,” the new project from the Atlanta rapper Young Thug’s Young Stoner Life label, is No. 1 on the album chart.“Slime Language 2” topped the latest edition of the Billboard 200 with the equivalent of 113,000 sales in the United States, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm. That total was largely dependent on streams — 143 million of them — while sales of the full album topped out at 6,000 copies.Credited to Young Thug and various artists — many from under Thug’s YSL umbrella — “Slime Language 2” features 23 songs from a mix-and-match collection of Atlanta rappers like Lil Baby, Gunna, Lil Keed, Lil Duke and Unfoonk, plus less local guests like Drake, Big Sean and Lil Uzi Vert. (A week after the album’s release, a deluxe version of the album added eight more tracks for a total of 31.)First-week streams for “Slime Language 2” — the sequel to a compilation released in 2018 — matched Taylor Swift’s total the week before, for her rerecorded version of “Fearless,” which also hit No. 1 with the year’s biggest numbers to date. This week, “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” fell to No. 2 with 57,000 in equivalent sales, down 80 percent.The rest of the Top 5 includes the semi-sidelined country singer Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” at No. 3; “Justice” by Justin Bieber, at No. 4; and, in its chart debut, “Heart” by Eric Church, at No. 5. More

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      Justin Bieber Reclaims No. 1, With Demi Lovato Close Behind

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      The manager Scooter Braun’s clients battled for the Billboard 200’s top spot, while Rod Wave slipped to third place.Justin Bieber’s new album, “Justice,” has returned to No. 1 for a second time, beating out Demi Lovato’s latest in a tight race for the top.“Justice,” which opened at No. 1 two weeks ago, then dropped to No. 2, reclaimed the Billboard 200 chart’s peak position with the equivalent of 75,000 sales in the United States, including 89 million streams and 6,000 copies sold as a complete package, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking service. Bieber, 27, has had eight albums go to No. 1, but this is the first time that one of them has accumulated more than a single week at the top since “My World 2.0,” which notched four chart-topping weeks in 2010.Close behind is Lovato’s “Dancing With the Devil … The Art of Starting Over,” which opened with the equivalent of 74,000 sales, including nearly 47 million streams and 38,000 copies sold as a full package.Bieber and Lovato share the same manager, Scooter Braun, who has also been in the news lately as the former owner of Taylor Swift’s first six albums, which she has pledged to rerecord as an assertion of control and economic revenge. (Over the last 21 months, Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, bought Swift’s former label, Big Machine, for $300 million to $350 million, then sold Swift’s recordings to an investment firm associated with the Disney family, also for more than $300 million, and then Ithaca sold itself for just over $1 billion.)Swift’s first rerecorded album, “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” was released last Friday and is expected to open at No. 1 on next week’s chart with big numbers.Also this week, “SoulFly” by Rod Wave, last week’s top seller, fell to No. 3 in its second week out. Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” is No. 4. And “Destined 2 Win” by the New York rapper-singer Lil Tjay opened at No. 5. More

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      Justin Bieber’s ‘Justice’ Debuts at No. 1, Ending Morgan Wallen’s Run

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      The pop superstar’s new album and the latest from Lana Del Rey bumped the country singer-songwriter to No. 3 after 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200.After 10 weeks of domination by the country singer-songwriter Morgan Wallen, the Billboard album chart has a fresh champion: Justin Bieber.Bieber’s new album, “Justice,” opened at No. 1 with the equivalent of 154,000 sales in the United States, including 157 million streams and 30,000 copies sold as a complete package, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking service. It is Bieber’s eighth time in the top spot; at 27, he is the youngest solo artist to achieve that feat. (Elvis Presley was rounding 30 by the time his “Roustabout” soundtrack topped the chart, in early 1965. The members of the Beatles were all 26 or younger when “Yesterday and Today” became their eighth No. 1, in 1966.)Bieber also takes the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart with “Peaches,” the fifth single from “Justice,” after a long marketing campaign that began in September.The No. 2 album this week is also new: Lana Del Rey’s long-awaited “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” debuted with the equivalent of 75,000 sales.Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album,” which came out in early January, became a streaming blockbuster — still a rarity among country releases — and has ruled the chart ever since, surviving an industry rebuke after Wallen was caught on video using a racial slur. Wallen held on through a combination of fan loyalty and a lack of serious competition. This week, “Dangerous” falls to No. 3.The arrival of new albums by two boldface-name artists heralds a change on the chart, and the return of a more competitive release schedule. Many artists held off from releasing new music over the winter, in part over uncertainty about this year’s touring prospects. But with a return of concerts looking more likely this summer or fall, albums are beginning to flood the market. New titles from Carrie Underwood and the rapper NF are already out, to be followed soon by releases from Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift and many others.Also on the album chart this week, Pop Smoke’s “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon” is No. 4 and Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” is No. 5. More