This week on Scoreboard, Big Sean takes the #1 album, but Lady Gaga surges back to #1 on the Artist 100 following the Super Bowl
Billboard Artist Top 10
For the magazine dated February 25, 2017
See the full chart at http://www.billboard.com/charts/artist-100
| Billboard Artist Top 10 | Name | Billboard 200 Album Rank | Billboard Hot 100 Singles | Highest Charting Single |
| 1 | Lady Gaga | Β 2 | 2 | 4:Β Million Reasons |
| 2 | Big Sean | 1 | 8 | 6: Bounce Back |
| 3 | Ed Sheeran | 53 | 2 | 1:Β Shape Of You |
| 4 | Bruno Mars | 7 | 2 | 15:Β 24K Magic |
| 5 | Weeknd | 5 | 3 | 12:Β Starboy |
| 6 | Drake | 15 | 3 | 11:Β Fake Love |
| 7 | Migos | 3 | 5 | 2:Β Bad And Boujee |
| 8 | Reba McEntire | 4 | – | |
| 9 | Chainsmokers | 24 | 3 | 7: Closer |
| 10 | Rihanna | 20 | 1 | 13: Love On The Brain |
A week after Atlanta’sΒ MigosΒ debuted onΒ top of the Billboard 200,Β Detroit’sΒ Big Sean took #1 on the Billboard 200 withΒ I Decided.Β On the Hot 100,Β Ed Sheeran remains at #1 with “Shape Of You,” and on the Artist 100 the winner isΒ Lady Gaga, who is back at #1 after last sitting onΒ top 15 weeks ago. HerΒ surge in popularity is dueΒ to her action-packed Super Bowl halftime performance that ledΒ to the Gaga bump across charts.
Reba McEntire also enters the Artist Top 10 this week on the momentum of her new album “Sing It Now: Songs Of Faith And Hope”
Big Sean’s Decision Day
Big Sean has been a solid member ofΒ hip-hop’s B team since his first album in 2011. His rap was notΒ groundbreakingΒ and his political and social wisdom notΒ fully developed, though he brought inΒ John LegendΒ on 2015’s “One Man Can Change The World.” What he has become famousΒ for are fun rap-popΒ tracks like “My Last” and fiery no-apologies statements like “I Don’t F With You.” On the new albumΒ I Decided. @bigsean is attempting to grow up byΒ being more reflective andΒ bringing in theΒ Flint Chozen Choir and his mother.Β Although the thoughtfulΒ tracks provide moments of introspection, he still has ways to goΒ to succeed inΒ taking hip-hopΒ to church likeΒ Kanye West andΒ Chance The Rapper. Sean trotted out “Sunday Morning Jetback” ft.Β The-DreamΒ toΒ Saturday Night Live in January, but even in Sean’s discography it cannot matchΒ “One Man Can Change The World.”
Fortunately, on the new album @bigsean does not abandon his strength – party jams. The lead single “Bounce Back” is ESPN-ready, including a Marshawn Lynch reference when Sean sings about how he “woke up in beast mode.” It is the highest-charting single off ofΒ I Decided.Β so far. Sean also brings inΒ Migos andΒ EminemΒ for some guest-appearance fire. On “No Favors” @eminem delivers a classic R-rated verse on which he Β states “I’m turning into the Aaron Hernandez of rap,” more NFL references the NFL does not want to hear. It looks like Big Sean’s decision to play to his strengths isΒ the wisest one onΒ I Decided.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQq7lT6BLKq/?taken-by=bigsean&hl=en
@bigsean taking his mom to check outΒ the outdoor advertising for his album
The Gaga Super Bowl LI Effect
Super Bowl LI took place two weeks ago. The New England Patriots pulled off a record comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime and @ladygaga got the privilege to be this year’s headline halftime performer. So how did she do? Despite her strong political opinions, Gaga kept the performance PG and avoided controversy. She began the show with a medley of America-themed songs and a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance, while Intel drones lit up the Houston sky. She flew down to the field and performedΒ without guests for the 13 minute show. In some ways, the song selection was retro. NotΒ Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers retro, but out of the six songs, five were from @ladygaga’s golden era of 2009-11. The one newishΒ track, from 2016’sΒ Joanne, was “Million Reasons,” and it got the biggest boost on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, coming in at #4. 2009’s “Bad Romance” also surged back to #50. On the Billboard 200,Β Joanne rocketed up fromΒ #66 to #2.
The Super Bowl bump will likely be short for @ladygaga, but she already made her mark in 2017 by delivering an above-average halftime performance, which was advertised as “music’s biggest moment of the year.” She did not stop following the Super Bowl, making her way to last Sunday’s Grammys, though her “Moth Into Flame” mashup withΒ Metallica will not be remembered in December when 2017’s music moments are tallied up. Back in November, Scoreboard hoped that Gaga would stay adventurous in her artpop and it seems like @ladygaga is committed to doing so, we shall see if “Million Reasons” sticks around on the charts in coming weeks.
