BTS Reclaims Top Elite 100 Spot; Anderson .Paak Hits No. 43

Matt Sayles / Invision / AP – BTS were StubHub
This picture was taken at a performance at the American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles Nov. 19.

The international K-Pop sensation BTS is once again leading the Elite 100 Artists chart for the week ending April 18, thanks to release of its latest album Map Of The Soul : Persona. 

The boys recorded 272,400 total album units on the week, with the strongest metric being album sales, with 176,900 album sales on the week. The group’s album sales were on par with the rest of the chart combined. 

BTS also led the chart in song sales for the week, with 105,900 units moved, barely edging out Lil Nas X, who sold 100,200 songs on the week.

BTS announced its worldwide “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour in February and begins the stadium run in May. The band’s North American tour in 2018 was a big hit, reportedly selling out the 10-city North American arena run.

The top of the Elite 100 chart has been relatively active in 2019, as figures like Post Malone and Drake  – who dominated 2018 – are seeing artists like Billie Eilish and Khalid top them for multiple weeks, along with the late Nipsey Hussle. 

Juice WRLD and Ariana Grande similarly seem to have a permanent spot carved out at the top of the chart. One similarity about the artists that stick around the top of the Elite 100 is that their strongest metric is streaming, as each of the above mentioned artists logged more than 80 million on-demand streams for the week.

After BTS, the next highest charting new entry is Anderson .Paak, who released his new album, Ventura, April 12. He logged a healthy mix of album sales (8,900) and song sales (8,500), but his strongest metric was on-demand streams (28.7 million). That combination of metrics left him virtually tied with Blueface, with 30,000 total album units. 

.Paak just completed two performances at Coachella and will soon begin a headline run that touches theaters, amphitheaters and arenas. His upcoming festival looks include Forecastle, Reading & Leeds, and Made In America.

Pink released a new song April 11, titled “Can We Pretend,” featuring Cash Cash. Pink logged 36,700 song sales for the week ending April 18, and that number will likely tick up for the week that includes the song “Hurts 2B Human” featuring Khalid, which was released April 22. A full album, also titled Hurts 2B Human, will be released April 26.

Pink recently signed on for the BYOBottle initiative to reduce the amount of plastic bottles used at live music events. The initiative is being organized by the Sustainable Concerts Working Group, which has previously sent speakers to Pollstar Live! to explore sustainability in the live music industry. 

Five Finger Death Punch also dropped a new song April 12, titled “Blue on Black,” featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brantley Gilbert, and Brian May of Queen. That led to 46,300 song sales for the week, by far the group’s strongest metric. 

5FDP was saddled with questions about frontman Ivan Moody’s future with the band in 2017, but those issues seem to be mostly at rest two years later, as the band continues to tour and release new music. The group also settled a lawsuit with former manager Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017. 

Next week’s charts will include data for new releases from Wiz Khalifa, Cage the Elephant, Lizzo, Tech N9ne, Gang of Four, The O’Jays, Fat White Family, Drugdealer, Bun B & Statik Selektah and Aaron Lewis. 

Also, be on the lookout for new projects this week from Pink, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Schoolboy Q, The Cranberries, Kevin Morby, Darryl Worley, Pete Rock, Rob Thomas, Aldous Harding, Foxygen, The Mountain Goats, Aubrey Eisenmann & The Clydes, and a special compilation of music inspired by the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”