Music

In addition, the effort marks the highest sales week for an R'n'B album in nearly a year since Mary J. Blige's 'Strength of a Woman' sold 72,000 units in its first week in May 2017.

• Apr 9, 2018

AceShowbiz - The Weeknd nabs his third consecutive No. 1 album with his latest effort "My Dear Melancholy", which debuts atop the Billboard 200 chart. The surprise effort racked up 169,000 equivalent album units, including 68,000 in traditional album sales, in the week ending April 5, according to Nielsen Music. The singer previously ruled the chart with "Starboy" and "Beauty Behind the Madness".

"My Dear Melancholy" also marks the highest sales week for an R&B album in nearly a year since Mary J. Blige's "Strength of a Woman" sold 72,000 units in its first week in May 2017. The effort also logs the largest week for an R&B album in over a year since the singer's previous album, "Starboy", launched at No. 1 with 209,000 units in December 2016.

Additionally, The Weeknd scores the largest EP streaming debut of all time with his new release. Lead track "Call Out My Name", on the other hand, tops streaming and digital song chart with nearly 50,000,000 streams on Spotify. The tune is likely headed for a top 10 debut on the Billboard Hot 100.

At No. 2 on this week's Billboard 200 chart is rapper Rich the Kid. His full length debut studio album, "The World Is Yours", arrives with 59,000 units, including 6,000 in traditional album sales. Trailing behind the set is XXXTentacion's "?", which slips from No. 2 to No. 3 with 57,000 units.

Another effort which debuts on this week's chart is Kacey Musgraves' "Golden Hour", which bows at No. 4 with 49,000 units. The set marks the highest charting country album since Luke Bryan's "What Makes You Country" debuted atop the chart in December 2017. Meanwhile, the soundtrack album to "The Greatest Showman" descends to No. 5 with 46,000 units.

Similarly, the soundtrack album to "Black Panther" falls to No. 6 after staying at No. 3 on the chart last week. The effort sold additional 43,000 units. On the other hand, Migos' "Culture II" drops two spots to No. 7 with 41,000 units. Post Malone's "Stoney" dips to No. 8 with 29,000 units, while Ed Sheeran's "Divide (division sign)" climbs down to No. 9 with 28,000 units.

Closing out the top 10 for this week is Logic's "Bobby Tarantino II". The mixtape falls four spots to No. 10 with 27,000 units.

1. "My Dear Melancholy" - The Weeknd (169,000 units)
2. "The World Is Yours" - Rich the Kid (59,000 units)
3. "?" - XXXTentacion (57,000 units)
4. "Golden Hour" - Kacey Musgraves (49,000 units)
5. "The Greatest Showman" soundtrack album - Various Artists (46,000 units)
6. "Black Panther" soundtrack album - Various Artists (43,000 units)
7. "Culture II" - Migos (41,000 units)
8. "Stoney" - Post Malone (29,000 units)
9. "Divide (division sign)" - Ed Sheeran (28,000 units)
10. "Bobby Tarantino II" - Logic (27,000 units)