This week country superstar Keith Urban and alternative R&B artist The Weeknd battled it out for the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. Ultimately, Keith Urban’s “Fuse” topped the chart, selling roughly 3,000 copies more than The Weeknd’s “Kiss Land.” “Fuse” sold 98,000 copies, while “Kiss Land” sold 95,000.
That is the closest margin between Nos. 1 and 2 albums since January, when less than 2,000 copies separated the “Les Misérables” soundtrack and Mumford & Sons’ “Babel.”
Urban’s debut of 98,000 marks the first time in six weeks that the top album sold less than 100,00 copies. The last time that happened was on the Aug. 10 Billboard chart, when Selena Gomez’s “Stars Dance” debuted with 97,000.
“Fuse” is Urban’s fifth top 10 album and his second No. 1 album, the first being “Defying Gravity,” which topped the chart in 2009, selling 172,000 copies.
The “American Idol” judge’s last album, “Get Closer,” debuted and peaked at No. 7 with 162,000 copies in 2010. “Fuse” is Urban’s lowest debut for an album since 2002’s “Golden Road,” which sold 67,000 copies its first week and landed at No. 11 on the chart.
Rapper 2 Chainz new album “B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time” debuted at No. 3 this week. Country star Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party” moved up to No. 4 and was followed by three new releases, which were Janelle Monae’s “Electric Lady,” Arctic Monkeys’ “AM” and Sheryl Crow’s country album “Feels Like Home.”
The chart toppers from last week, Ariana Grande’s “Yours Truly” and Tamar Braxton’s “Love & War,” round out the Top 10, along with John Legend’s “Love in the Future.”
