On this week’s Scoreboard Lorde and 2 Chainz have the top two new album releases
Billboard Artist Top 10
For the magazine dated July 8, 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 | Bruno Mars | 10 | 2 | 3: That’s What I Like |
| 2 | Ed Sheeran | 7 | 2 | 5: Shape Of You |
| 3 | Lorde | 1 | – | |
| 4 | Kendrick Lamar | 3 | 4 | 6: Humble |
| 5 | DJ Khaled | – | 3 | 2: I’m The One |
| 6 | 2 Chainz | 2 | 3 | 55: 4AM |
| 7 | Justin Bieber | 103 | 3 | 1: Despacito (Remix) |
| 8 | Imagine Dragons | 104 | 2 | 11: Believer |
| 9 | Nickelback | 5 | – | |
| 10 | Shawn Mendes | 35 | 1 | 19: There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back |
This week’s Billboard 200 has a new solo female #1 album for the third week in a row: Lorde‘s Melodrama follows Halsey‘s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom and Katy Perry‘s Witness. Melodrama‘s sales are not big enough to crown the Artist 100 though, where Bruno Mars is back at #1 thanks to a combination of album sales and the staying power of former Hot 100 #1 “That’s What I Like.” “Despacito (Remix)” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber holds at #1 on the Hot 100 for the seventh week in a row. DJ Khaled also surges to #5 on the Artist 100 after release of new single “Wild Thoughts” ft. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller.
Yes, Nickelback are still around, they just released ninth studio album Feed The Machine and are on tour all summer
Lorde Brings The Melodrama
New Zealander Ella Yelich-O’Connor was just 16 in 2013 when “Royals” became a global hit, spending 9 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. As Lorde she became an overnight sensation and took her dream pop around the world, even getting to curate The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack. Nearly four years later we have Lorde’s second release Melodrama on which @lordemusic grows up from the awkward teen years into young adulthood. First single “Green Light” came out in March and with it brought a mature, confident pop sound perfect for television ads. However, the single only lasted 9 total weeks on the Hot 100, but with the album out, Lorde is ready to re-conquer the charts. Second single “Perfect Places” is a fast-paced take on living young and fast, a subject that @lordemusic wrestles with throughout the album. Relationships come and go and the melodrama forces Lorde to curse – 7 of 11 tracks on the album have explicit warnings. With emotions running high, the drama will certainly provide plenty of soundtrack fodder for film and television, even if Melodrama‘s singles stall on the charts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVYvXMQHpej/?taken-by=lordemusic&hl=en
Lorde’s first leg of the Melodrama tour goes through New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and Britain
2 Chainz makes music for Pretty Girls
Atlanta trap music has conquered mainstream hip-hop and this week brings another entry in Atlanta’s quest to dominate 2017, Pretty Girls Like Trap Music by 2 Chainz. The rapper, born Tauheed Epps, and known on Instagram as @hairweavekiller has been a jester of the Atlanta hip-hop scene since 2012. On his latest album, @hairweavekiller brings both humor and grown-up reflections on life in the trap (2 Chainz is father to three daughters). On “4AM” he and Travis Scott are arranging illicit deals at 4am. Yet on album closer @hairweavekiller goes back to remembering living in Section 8 housing, installing “Burglar Bars” on apartment windows, and banging with a broom on the ceiling to get the upstairs neighbors to stop stomping. Last year @travisscott released album Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight. Brian McKnight-like trap songs come through on 2 Chainz’s latest. Check out the laid-back R&B ballad “It’s A Vibe” below, which is a good explanation for why pretty girls like trap music:
