Dua Lipa’s ‘Radical Optimism’ Debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart

Keith Caulfield
·4 min read
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Dua Lipa achieves her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as her third full-length studio effort, Radical Optimism, debuts atop the list dated May 18. In the week ending May 9, the album sold 51,500 copies in the U.S. according to Luminate – marking the singer-songwriter’s biggest sales week yet. Her previous best week, both in terms of sales and chart rank, came when her last studio set, Future Nostalgia, debuted at No. 4 with 18,000 sold on the April 11, 2020-dated chart.

Also making waves in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart: the latest releases from SEVENTEEN, NCT Dream and Sia arrive, while vinyl releases prompt big re-entries for Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 and Dave Matthews’ Some Devil.

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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new May 18, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 14. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Radical Optimism’s 51,500 copies sold, physical sales comprise 39,000 (20,000 on vinyl – her best week ever, 18,000 on CD and less than 1,000 on cassette) and digital download sales comprise 12,500.

The album’s sales were bolstered by its availability across 20 physical variants, all with the same 11 songs. There were 11 vinyl editions in assorted colors (one of which was signed, and most variants were exclusive to specific retailers) and two cassette tapes. In terms of CDs, there was a widely available standard CD with a lenticular cover, and then multiple CD iterations sold exclusively in Lipa’s webstore (a signed standard CD, a zine CD package, and four deluxe CD boxed sets – each containing a branded T-shirt and a CD, and two of the boxes also included a signed art card).

In addition, the album was issued as a widely available standard 11-song digital download and a deluxe digital album with two live bonus tracks sold exclusively in Lipa’s webstore.

Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department falls 1-2 (51,000; down 53%) after spending its first two weeks atop the list.

SEVENTEEN’s retrospective compilation SEVENTEEN Best Album ‘17 Is Right Here’ bows at No. 3 with 49,000 copies sold. It’s the seventh top 10-charting effort from the group. The set’s sales were supported by its availability across a dozen CD variants, all containing branded paper merchandise like posters and photocards (some randomized). Exclusive iterations were sold by Barnes & Noble and Target, while signed editions were also available.

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 4 following the set’s arrival on vinyl. The effort sold 31,000 copies across all available configurations (up 37,841%). Essentially all of its sales were from vinyl – nearly 31,000, which marks the biggest sales week on vinyl for both Ye and Ty Dolla $ign. The vinyl edition of the album was exclusively sold via Ye’s official webstore, and was initially sold as a pre-order when the album was first released on Feb. 10 (as a paid download and via streaming services). At that time, when customers pre-ordered the vinyl, the webstore stated the vinyl would ship in “2024.”

Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) climbs 7-5 with 7,000 sold (though down 20%).

NCT Dream’s DREAM()SCAPE debuts at No. 6 with nearly 7,000 sold, marking the third top 10-charting set for the act. Effectively all of the album’s sales were on  CD, and the set was available in three iterations (all containing branded paper merchandise, with some randomized elements).

Swift’s former leader Lover steps 8-7 with just 6,500 (down 19%).

Dave Matthews’ Some Devil, originally released in 2003, returns to the chart for the first time since 2004, following the set’s release on vinyl for the first time. The set sold 6,000 copies, with basically all of that from vinyl sales. It was issued in three vinyl variants – a widely available black edition, a blue colored version sold through Matthews’ webstore, and an Amazon-exclusive “fog colored vinyl.”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s chart-topping minisode 3: TOMORROW rises one spot to No. 9 with 5,500 sold (down 25%).

Sia rounds out the top 10 with the No. 10 debut of her new album, Reasonable Woman. It sold a little more than 5,000 copies, and was available across eight vinyl variants, as well as a standard CD, cassette and digital download album. It’s the third top 10-charting effort for Sia, and the first since 2016’s This Is Acting debuted and peaked at No. 4.

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