On the Charts: ‘Hamilton Mixtape’ Shoots Up to Number One
The Hamilton Mixtape, the all-star compilation that features artists like Sia, Nas, Chance the Rapper, Alicia Keys and dozens more reimagining the music from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning Broadway show, debuted atop the Billboard 200, selling 187,000 total copies in its first week of release.
The Hamilton Mixtape has already out-charted its Broadway cast recording predecessor, which peaked at Number Three on the Billboard 200 following its huge Tony Awards night, Billboard reports.
The musical’s cast recording, which debuted at Number 12 in October 2015, has been a mainstay in the Top 10 ever since the Tonys; Hamilton is 2016’s fifth highest-selling album. Unfortunately, a wave of high-charting new releases prevented the mixtape and the cast recording from populating the Top 10 this week.
The Rolling Stones‘ Blue & Lonesome, the group’s first album in 11 years, reached Number Four in its debut week, selling 123,000 total copies, 120,000 of which were traditional album sales. Blue & Lonesome nearly matched the first week totals of 2005’s A Bigger Bang, which debuted at Number Three and 129,000 copies in its debut week. The album of blues covers also extended the Stones’ charts record of 37 Top 10 LPs.
Three more new releases cracked the Top 10: Childish Gambino‘s Awaken, My Love! dropped in at Number Five on the strength of 101,000 total copies. America’s Got Talent star Grace VanderWaal entered at Number Nine with her EP Perfectly Imperfect, with Kane Brown’s self-titled debut closing out the Top 10.
Last week’s winner, The Weeknd’s Starboy, dropped one spot to Number Two with another 151,000 total copies. Pentatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmas also slipped one spot to Number Three, while their That’s Christmas to Me dipped to Number Eight.
Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic (Number Six) and the Moana soundtrack (Number Seven) closed out the Top 10.
Next week, J. Cole is expected to easily nab Number One with his 4 Your Eyez Only.