Elite 100 Artists: Chris Brown Shimmies Into Top Chart Spot

Scott Legato / Getty Images – Chris Brown
Chris Brown performs during Channel 955 and 97.9 WJLB “The Big Show” at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit Dec. 28.

Chris Brown has taken the top spot on the Elite 100 artists chart for the week ending July 4, after the June 28 release of his latest album, Indigo.

C-Breezy led the chart in album sales, with 35,300 for the week. He also performed well in the song sales category, with 36,200, and in on-demand streams, with 118.8 million, trailing only Drake in that category. His total album unit count (the combined number for all three metrics) was 133,800.

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Brown is set to tour North America extensively with the INDIGOAT tour, featuring Tory Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign, Joyner Lucas, and Yella Beezy. That run, promoted by Live Nation, will be kicking off at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., Aug. 20 and continues until Oct. 19.

While Brown’s recorded and touring business seems as strong as ever, he’s had multiple brushes with the law in recent years. Earlier this year he was held in police custody in Paris over a rape complaint, though he strongly denied the charge and soon was released with clearance to leave France. He was arrested on charges of felony battery in Florida in July of last year. In May of last year police investigated another rapper for an alleged sexual assault that occurred at his house. Police reportedly found weapons and drugs in the singer’s home after an unidentified woman claimed he threatened her with a gun in 2016. He was sued by former manager and current UTA agent Mike G for an alleged drug-fueled assault in 2016. And, most prominently, he was convicted in 2009 for assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna. He also pleaded guilty to a separate misdemeanor assault of another individual, which occurred while he was still on probation, in 2014.

Brown’s rebellious rep does not seem to have hurt his business, though, as his Heartbreak On A Full Moon tour got him to No. 83 on Pollstar’s 2018 Year End Top 200 North American Tours chart, with $14.8 million reportedly grossed on in the continent. His average ticket price on the year was $43.90, meaning he was able to get plenty of butts in seats, with an average of 14,027 tickets per event.

Lil Nas X is still at the No. 4 spot after the June 21 release of his 7 EP. His strongest metric for the week was song sales, with 51,100, leading him to 73,800 total album units.

The Black Keys also made noise on the chart, climbing to the No. 13 position after the June 28 release of Let’s Rock. The group’s strongest metric was its 31,500 album sales, second only to Chris Brown in the category on the week. Overall, the Keys logged 47,000 total album units.

The duo is set to tour North America this year, starting Sept. 21 at Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful festival, and will move into 30 arenas over the following two months. The Let’s Rock tour is the group’s first headline run in five years.

Reggaeton superstars J Balvin and Bad Bunny released a collaborative project, Oasis, June 28. That got the duo a joint entry on the chart, which appeared at No. 29, largely thanks to 37.9 million on-demand streams.

J Balvin recently announced his signing with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects for management. Bad Bunny is set to take North America by storm with his upcoming tour, being put on by Cardenas Marketing Network.

Mustard (formerly known as DJ Mustard) released the Perfect Ten album June 28, an album full of features from the likes of Migos, Future, Young Thug, Gunna, A$AP Ferg, Tyga, YG, Playboi Carti, NAV, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and the recently deceased Nipsey Hussle. The album earned 33.9 million on-demand streams for the week, good enough to get him to the No. 54 spot.

Daniel Caesar (No. 61) also rose to the No. 61 position for the week after the release of his CASE STUDY 01 album. Lil Tecca (No. 98) also made his Elite 100 debut for the week, with 20.5 million streams. He released the song “Ransom” on July 4.

Next week’s chart will include data for new releases from Jaden Smith, Blueface, Runaway June, Josh Abbot Band, The Soft Cavalry, Dreamville, and Machine Gun Kelly.

Also, be on the lookout for new projects from 311, Big K.R.I.T., New Order, K. Flay, Birdman and Juvenile, Tycho, Kool Keith, Scott Stapp, Banks, and a collaborations project from Ed Sheeran.