On the Charts: Sam Smith Captures First Number One With ‘Thrill of It All’
Sam Smith captured his first Number One album as the British singer’s The Thrill of It All debuted atop the Billboard 200.
The Thrill of It All sold 237,000 copies in its first week of release, marking career highs both sales-wise and in chart position for Smith; the singer’s In the Lonely Hour – led by the Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammy-winning “Stay With Me” – peaked at Number Two and 166,000 copies in its debut week in July 2014.
It was another debut-heavy week as five new releases entered the Top 10: After Smith, Maroon 5‘s new Red Pill Blues bowed at Number Two with 122,000 total copies. As Billboard notes, sales of both The Thrill of It All and Red Pill Blues were aided in large part by a deal that bundled tickets for both acts’ upcoming tour with free copies of their new albums.
The same scheme allowed Kenny Chesney’s Live in No Shoes Nation to become the first live album to land at Number One the Billboard 200 in seven years; Chesney’s album dropped to Number Six in its second week of availability.
Adam Levine’s fellow The Voice star Blake Shelton slotted at Number Four with the country singer’s new LP Texoma Shore sold 63,000 copies and gave Shelton eight Top 10 albums in as many years. Country singer Kelsea Ballerini also made her Top 10 debut as Unapologetically opened at Number Seven. Kid Rock‘s Sweet Southern Sugar was the week’s final Top 10 entrant at Number Eight and 43,000 copies.
Chris Brown’s sprawling Heartbreak on a Full Moon held at Number Three for the second straight week with 73,000 more copies to lead the returnees. 21 Savage, Offset and Metro Boomin’s Without Warning at Number Five, Post Malone’s Stoney at Number Nine and Ed Sheeran’s Divide at Number 10 closed out the Top 10.
With Taylor Swift’s Reputation assured to open at Number One on next week’s Billboard 200, the only question is how many millions of copies the LP sells in its opening week.