Adele takes No. 1 on The Billboard 200 for a sixth week

No new albums in top 10; Explosions in the Sky blow up at No. 16

By Katie Hasty Wednesday, May 4, 2011 12:59 PM

Adele

Not a single new album bowed inside the top 10 on The Billboard 200 album sales chart this week, which also helps clear the way for Adele’s “21” to take No. 1 for a sixth non-consecutive week. The British singer’s sophomore set moved 124,000 copies, down 19% from last week sales-wise.

Foo Fighters’ “Wasting Light” ascends No. 3 to No. 2 (34,000, -52%), Mumford & Sons’ “Sigh No More” climbs No. 7 to No. 3 despite a 17% decline (to 32,000), Britney Spears’ “Femme Fatale” moves No. 5 to No. 4 (30,000, -34%) and the soundtrack to “Lemonade Mouth” slip No. 4 to No. 5 (30,000, -57%).

Chris Brown’s “F.A.M.E.” rises No. 9 to No. 6 (28,000, -22%) while “Glee, the Music Presents: The Warblers” descends No. 2 to No. 7 (28,000, -68%). Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” re-enters the top tier from No. 11 to No. 8 (24,000, -31%), Wiz Khalifa’s “Rolling Papers” shifts No. 12 to No. 9 (24,000, -30%) and Paul Simon’s “So Beautful or So What” moves No. 8 to No. 10 (24,000, -36%).

That’s right: all the albums in the top 10 this week had sales decreases.

The closest any debut got to the top is Explosion in the Sky’s “Take Care, Take Care, Take Care,” at No. 16 with 19,000. It is the rock band’s best sales and charting week ever.

Album sales are down 17% compared to last week and down 2% compared to the same sales week last year. Sales are down 2% overall compared to last year.

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

After five years as a columnist and editor at Billboard, Katie Hasty joined HitFix in 2009 for music and film reporting out of New York. The Midwest native has worked as a writer, music promoter and in A&R since 1999 and performs with her band Numbers And Letters.