Ghost Becomes First Hard Rock Band to Top Albums Chart in Four Years
Ghost earns its first No. 1 album on the all-genre-inclusive Billboard 200 albums chart with 'Skeletá.' Their sixth studio album claims the biggest opening week, by either equivalent album units or traditional album sales, for any rock, hard rock or alternative album since AC/DC's 'Power Up' hit the apex with 117,000 equivalent album units in 2020.
Preceded by the single 'Satanized,' the 10-song 'Skeletá' launches to the top of the list with 86,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week, according to Luminate. It is the Swedish hard rock band's first full-length project since 2022's 'Impera,' which previously debuted at No. 2.
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Vinyl purchases comprised nearly half of Ghost's units sold this year with the sale of over 44,000 copies. That's not just the largest sales week on vinyl for Ghost, but the biggest week for a hard rock album on vinyl in the modern era (since Luminate began tracking data in 1991). It's also the third-largest sales week on vinyl in the modern era for any rock album, following the debut weeks of Blink-182's 'One More Time… ' and Boygenius' 'The Record.'
Ghost will support their new record with a tour that will hit Europe and North America with performances in Antwerp, Berlin and Paris, in addition to New York, Las Vegas, Austin and Houston.
The remaining titles topping the Billboard 200 are SZA's 'SOS' at No. 2 slips to No. 2; Kendrick Lamar's 'GNX' at No. 3; Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' at No. 4; Sabrina Carpenter's 'Short n' Sweet' at No. 5; PartyNextDoor and Drake's '$ome $exy $ongs 4 U' at No. 6 and Bad Bunny's 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos' at No. 7.
Shaboozey's 'Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going' also climbs to No. 8 with 35,000 equivalent album units earned (up 110%) after a deluxe reissue of the album was released on April 25. 'Where I've Been' originally debuted and peaked at No. 5 on the June 15, 2024-dated list.
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