Chart Watch: Solange & Beyoncé Are First Sisters to Each Score #1 Albums
Solange lands her first #1 album as A Seat at the Table enters the Billboard 200 in the top spot. Her older sister, Beyoncé, has debuted at #1 with all six of her solo albums. Solange and Beyoncé are the first set of sisters — and only the third set of siblings — who have each had #1 albums. I don’t think this is what Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin had in mind when they recorded “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves,” but the title of that 1985 hit seems applicable here.
The two other pairs of siblings who have each had #1 albums are a very famous sister and brother and a pair of brothers whose fame is, for the most part, limited to the rap world. Janet Jackson and her older brother Michael have reached #1 with seven and six #1 albums, respectively. Master P topped the chart with Ghetto D in 1997 and MP Da Last Don in 1998. His younger brother Silkk the Shocker scored with Made Man in 1999.
Beyoncé’s Lemonade debuted at #1 in May. Janet and Michael also both had #1 albums in the same calendar year. They each scored in 2001 — Janet with All for You in May, Michael with Invincible in November.
There’s a pretty big age gap among all three of these sets of siblings. Beyoncé is nearly five years older than Solange. Michael Jackson was nearly eight years older than Janet. Master P is more than nine years older than Silkk the Shocker. That age gap may have helped give the younger sib enough time and space to have a chance at establishing his or her own identity.
Two other pairs of sisters — Toni and Tamar Braxton and Ashlee and Jessica Simpson — just missed joining this little club. Toni’s debut album, Toni Braxton, reached #1 in 1994. Tamar’s highest-charting album, Love and War, reached #2 in 2015. Ashlee landed a pair of #1 albums (Autobiography in 2004 and I Am Me in 2005). Jessica climbed as high as #2 in 2004 with In This Skin.
A Seat at the Table is Solange’s second top 10 album. Her sophomore release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, reached #9 in 2008. Her first album, Solo Star, peaked at #49 in January 2003. Solange’s slow but steady growth is heartening to see. It’s extremely difficult to establish yourself in music when you’re the sibling or (child) of a superstar.
Top Songs
The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” (featuring Halsey) tops the Hot 100 for the eighth straight week. The song also heads Top Digital Songs for the ninth week (with sales of 123K this week). “Closer” is one week away from tying Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” for most weeks at #1 on the digital sales chart so far this year.
The Chainsmokers have two other songs in this week’s top 20. The duo’s previous hit, “Don’t Let Me Down” (featuring Daya), holds at #9 in its 33rd week. Their new song, “All We Know” (featuring Phoebe Ryan), is the week’s top new entry at #18. It’s vying to become the duo’s fourth top 10 hit in a row. Each of those three previous singles has sold 1.3 million or more copies. They have sold a combined total of 4,476,000 copies, and they’re still going strong.
The Weeknd’s “Starboy” (featuring Daft Punk) jumps from #3 to #2 in its third week. It’s The Weeknd’s third song to reach the top two; Daft Punk’s second. That duo’s 2003 smash “Get Lucky” (with Pharrell Williams) logged five weeks in the runner-up spot. “Starboy” holds at #1 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the second week.
twenty one pilots’ “Heathens” dips from #2 to #3 in its 16th week.
Justin Bieber is featured on a pair of top five hits for the third week in a row. Major Lazer’s “Cold Water” (which also features MØ) holds at #4 its 11th week. DJ Snake’s “Let Me Love You” holds at #5 in its ninth week.
D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli” (featuring Lil Yachty) jumps from #8 to #6 in its 17th week.
Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better” dips from #6 to #7 in its 18th week.
Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” (featuring Sean Paul) dips from #7 to #8 in its 34th week.
Gnash’s “I Hate You, I Love You” (featuring Olivia O’Brien) jumps from #13 to #10 in its 25th week. Billboard‘s Gary Trust reports that this is the slowest-climbing top 10 hit in nearly three years — since Imagine Dragons’ “Demons,” which took 27 weeks to finally break into the top 10.
Calvin Harris’s “This Is What You Came For” (featuring Rihanna) drops out of the top 10 this week.
Ariana Grande’s “Side to Side” (featuring Nicki Minaj) jumps from #19 to #12 in its sixth week. It’s the third top 15 hit from Grande’s third album, Dangerous Woman. Her sophomore album, My Everything, spawned five top 15 hits.
Singer/actress Hailee Steinfeld lands her first top 20 hit as “Starving,” a collabo with the brother duo Grey which features EDM star Zedd, jumps from #24 to #20 in its 10th week. Paul Revere & The Raiders had a top 10 hit in 1966 titled “Hungry,” but this new song goes even further along the hunger spectrum.
Niall Horan’s first solo single, “This Town,” vaults from #63 to #25 in third week.
X Ambassadors’ “Unsteady” and Adele’s “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” both top the 1 million mark in digital sales this week.
Top Albums
Bon Iver’s 22, A Million debuts at #2. It’s the folk band’s second album in a row to debut in the runner-up spot. Bon Iver, Bon Iver, debuted and peaked at #2 in June 2011. That album brought the band two Grammys: Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. 22, A Million was #1 this week in terms of traditional album sales; Solange came out on top when streaming and digital track sales were factored in. Bon Iver’s album also enters the U.K.’s Official Albums chart at #2, behind Craig David’s Following My Intuition.
Drake’s Views dips from #2 to #3 in its 23rd week.
The Suicide Squad soundtrack dips from #3 to #4 in its ninth week. It’s #1 on Top Soundtracks for the ninth week.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ The Getaway rebounds from #24 to #5 in its 16th week. The album debuted and peaked at #2 in June. The resurgence is due to redemptions of concert ticket bundles.
Shawn Mendes’s Illuminate drops from #1 to #6 in its second week.
Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman rebounds from #10 to #7 in its 20th week. The album debuted and peaked at #2 in May.
twenty one pilots’ Blurryface dips from #7 to #8 in its 73rd week. The album debuted at #1 in May 2015.
Van Morrison lands the highest-charting album of his long career as Keep Me Singing debuts at #9. Though Morrison has been charting as a solo artist since 1967, all three of his top 10 albums have come in the past nine years. Keep It Simple reached #10 in 2008. Born to Sing: No Plan B reached #10 in 2012.
Travis Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight drops from #6 to #10 in its fifth week.
Four albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Luke Bryan’s limited-time, digital EP Farm Tour: Here’s to the Farmer plummets from #4 completely off the chart. Bruce Springsteen’s Chapter and Verse dives from #5 to #21. Jason Aldean’s They Don’t Know drops from #8 to #19. Rihanna’s ANTI drops from #9 to #12.
Hamilton holds at #13 in its 54th week. The album peaked at #3 in June, following the Tony Awards. The album has ranked in the top 20 for 32 weeks, including the last 30 weeks in a row.
Bob Weir’s Blue Mountain debuts at #14. Weir first cracked the top 20 with The Grateful Dead’s 1973 album Wake of the Flood.
John Prine lands his highest-charting album as For Better, or Worse debuts at #29. Prine’s previous best was Fair & Square, which reached #55 in 2005.
Look for Green Day to land their third #1 album next week with Revolution Radio. Also due: Norah Jones’s Day Breaks, One Republic’s Oh My My, Alter Bridge’s The Last Hero, and Phantogram’s Three.
