Despite an approving nod from Lou Reed, Kanye West’s Yeezus has plunged in its second week on the US charts, sustaining the fourth-largest drop in the history of Nielsen SoundScan.
West’s sixth solo album was released on 18 June, debuting at No 1 both in America and the UK. On 3 July, SoundScan reported that sales had dropped by 80% in its second week – the largest second-week sales drop for any No 1 since Madonna’s MDNA. Yeezus finishes at No 3, behind Wale’s The Gifted and J Cole’s Born Sinner. J Cole’s success is germane: Born Sinner was released the same day as Yeezus, but dropped “only” 72%.
Because almost every major record sells less in its second week than in its first, the only surprise here is the degree of West’s decline. In 2013, the average second-week drop for a No 1 debut is 69%, according toBillboard. Many releases do worse than that: in recent months, Taylor Swift’s Red plunged by 72%, and Justin Bieber’s Believe fell 79%. West’s last LP, 2010′s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, slid by 78% after seven days on the charts.
But in the 22 years that SoundScan has been monitoring US sales, only three chart-topping albums have seen a bigger second-week drop than Yeezus just sustained: Madonna’s MDNA, from 2012, which fell a scandalous 87%; Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (2011), which dropped 84%; and Mac Miller’s Blue Slide Park (2011), whose 83% fall sent it screeching from No 1 to No 24.
In the UK, Yeezus’s second week saw it drop 52%, from No 1 to No 6. The rapper’s label may be hoping to staunch the bleeding: despite West’s claim, pre-release, that “we ain’t [gonna] drop no single to radio”,Def Jam have done just that. A radio version of Black Skinhead is already out to stations, and a video is expected soon.
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