WARSAW, POLAND - JUNE 27: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY)(EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Beyoncé performs onstage during ... [+]
Beyoncé shocked the world earlier this year when she made a hard pivot musically. The superstar changed direction from dance and electronic music to country, which is a genre few could have predicted she’d try her hand at just a few years ago. Of course, she succeeded brilliantly–as she always does–but eventually, her first country project had to begin to fall.
This week, for the first time since her new full-length Cowboy Carter arrived, Beyoncé does not appear at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. Billboard publishes that list every frame to show which country albums were the most-consumed in the U.S. during the past tracking week. The ranking uses a methodology that combines streams and sales to paint a picture of listening habits in America.
Morgan Wallen is back at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart this week. The controversial musician’s One Thing at a Time rises from the runner-up rung to recapture the throne.
One Thing at a Time is already one of the most successful full-lengths in country music history. The title has lived on the Top Country Albums chart for 61 frames. 46 of those–including this turn–have been at No. 1.
Cowboy Carter falls just one space on the Top Country Albums chart, which is a very healthy beginning of what may be a slow decline. Bey’s first country set debuted atop the tally and then held there for four consecutive frames, which means it was a certified win in the genre.
Over on the Billboard 200, One Thing at a Time is on the rise as well. The blockbuster project jumps to the runner-up space, though it can’t make a play for No. 1, as Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is still winning by a mile. Cowboy Carter is still present inside the top five, landing at No. 4.
In the past tracking week, One Thing at a Time managed to move 68,689 equivalent units, according to number shared by Luminate. Cowboy Carter shifted 51,961 equivalent units. Wallen’s sum increased by 8.1%, while Beyoncé’s fell by another 21.3%.
