Topline
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign released their second collaborative album “Vultures 2” after several delays, but projections for next week’s Billboard 200 albums chart show Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” will likely continue its months-long reign at No. 1.
Swift could notch her 14th week at No. 1 for "The Tortured Poets Department." (Photo by Ashok ... [+]
Key Facts
“Vultures 2” is projected to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with 68,000 album units, which is made up of both sales and streaming totals, according to music industry trade publication Hits Daily Double.
The album will likely fall behind Swift’s “Tortured Poets Department,” which the publication expects will retain its No. 1 slot with 125,000 album units, of which 68,000 are album sales.
The publication noted Swift’s album sales were boosted by a new digital edition of her album available for purchase that contained a demo version of the song “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,” which Swift released Saturday.
Swift also offered a 13% discount on special editions of “The Tortured Poets Department” on her website for a 12-hour period on Sunday.
How Does “vultures 2” Compare To “vultures 1”?
“Vultures 2” appears likely to fall behind the first-week sales of “Vultures 1,” which debuted in February at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its first week with 148,000 album units. Its lead single, “Carnival,” spent several weeks in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 before rising to No. 1 in its fifth week. “Vultures 2” is also faring worse on streaming: Though the “Vultures 1” track “Carnival” peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Spotify daily chart, the highest-charting song from “Vultures 2” so far—“Field Trip”—peaked at No. 15 and is currently the only “Vultures 2” track in the Spotify top 50.
Key Background
“Vultures 2” arrived Friday after several month-long delays. The album was originally planned to drop shortly after the February release of “Vultures 1,” with a release date planned for March and a third installment planned for April. West then claimed on Justin LaBoy’s “The Download” podcast that the album would instead drop on May 3, though that date also passed without the album releasing. “Vultures 1” also faced numerous delays with an originally planned release in December 2023 before being pushed to January, then February. West had previously hinted he may not release “Vultures 2” on streaming services, though the album is available on Apple Music and Spotify.
Surprising Fact
English band Portishead appeared to accuse West of sampling their music without permission on the “Vultures 2” track “Field Trip.” Portishead member Geoff Barrow posted a clip of the track with the caption: “FFS Not Again 🤷🏼♂️.” The track appears to sample the 2008 Portishead song “Machine Gun,” Billboard reported. “Vultures 1” faced similar sampling controversies, with the estate of Donna Summer suing West for sampling her 1977 song, “I Feel Love.”
Tangent
Another week at No. 1 would be the 14th week at the top for “The Tortured Poets Department,” extending its record as Swift’s longest-running chart-topper on the Billboard 200. Swift’s reign at No. 1 has been assisted by many additional digital versions of the album available for purchase that contain bonus acoustic tracks or demo versions of the songs on the album. Some fans of other artists have accused Swift of releasing these versions to keep herself at the top of the chart while blocking other artists from No. 1—including fans of Billie Eilish, whose “Hit Me Hard And Soft” peaked at No. 2 in May. Fans pointed to numerous versions of “The Tortured Poets Department” and a remix of Swift’s song “Fortnight” as Swift attempting to block Eilish on the chart, while Eilish also released sped-up, slowed-down and a cappella versions of her album to boost sales.
What To Watch For
The top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart will be published Sunday. The sales and streaming tracking week ends Thursday night.
Further Reading
Taylor Swift Could Block Billie Eilish From Debuting New Album At No. 1 As Fan Rivalry Grows (Forbes)
