Kelly Clarkson Claims Her Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart

Kelly Clarkson earns her third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as her newPiece By Piece debuts atop the tally.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based onmulti-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Clarkson’s album, which was released through 19/RCA Records on March 3, bows with 97,000 units earned in the week ending March 8, according to Nielsen Music. Traditional album sales comprise 85.2 percent of that total (equating to nearly 83,000 copies sold — which also makes it No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart).

Clarkson last topped the Billboard 200 in 2009 with her fourth studio effort, All I Ever Wanted. She first led the list with her debut, Thankful, in 2003. She’s additionally reached the top 10 four more times: Breakaway (No. 3 in 2004), My December (No. 2 in 2007), Stronger (No. 2 in 2011) and Wrapped In Red (No. 3 in 2013).

Clarkson, who was the first winner of the Fox TV reality competition show American Idol, ties fellow Idol champ Carrie Underwood for the most No. 1 albums among Idol contestants. Underwood notched No. 1s with Carnival Ride(2007), Play On (2009) and Blown Away (2012).

The Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack rises one rung on the new Billboard 200 to No. 2, as it moves another 96,000 units (down 11 percent). The album has sold 451,000 copies in its four weeks of release, and will likely cross the half-million mark within the next two weeks.

Taylor Swift’s 1989 is next on the Billboard 200, as it climbs 5-3 with 77,000 units (down 2 percent). The album has yet to leave the top five positions on the chart after 19 weeks in release. The last set to spend its first 19 frames in the top five was Adele’s 21, which roamed the region for its first 36 weeks.

Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late stays steady at No. 4 with 73,000 units (down 26 percent). The album has sold 721,000 copies in its four weeks on sale.

Ed Sheeran’s x rises 6-5 with 63,000 units (down 14 percent) while last week’s No. 1, Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise, falls 1-6 with 58,000 (down 67 percent) earned in its second week.

Maroon 5’s V ascends 10-7 with 50,000 units (up 1 percent) and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour is a non-mover at No. 8 with nearly 50,000 (down 17 percent). This marks the 31st nonconsecutive week in the top 10 for the latter title — the most weeks in the top 10 for an album by a male artist since Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 claimed 31 weeks in the region between 2010 and 2011.

Brandi Carlile’s The Firewatcher’s Daughter is the second and final debut in the top 10, as the set starts at No. 9 with 43,000 units. The album is the singer/songwriter’s first for ATO Records, and marks her second top 10 effort following 2012’s Bear Creek (which debuted and peaked at No. 10).

Closing out the latest top 10 is Meghan Trainor’s Title (rising 13-10) with 38,000 units (up less than 1 percent).

-Via Billboard