Michael Jackson’s ‘Xscape’ Debuts At No. 2 In This Week’s Album Sales (5/21/2014)

Michael Jackson was all the talk this weekend. During the Billboard Music Awards, there was a special segment dedicated to the King Of Pop, where he “returned” in a form of a hologram. He performed his new/old song “Slave To The Rhythm,” which was complete with all his classic dance moves and even a few that were done on the fly.

Despite the mixed reactions, Jackson’s appearance must have helped boost the promotion of Xscape, the second posthumous album featuring new mixes. Fueled by the single “Lover Never Felt So Good” featuring Justin Timberlake, the LP sold 157,000 copies in the first week.

At No. 1 is rock duo The Black Keys’ Turn Blue, which sold over 164,000 copies. In other areas of the charts, Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic lands at No. 11 with over 15,000 copies, while Pharrell’s G I R L moved over 14,000 copies. Another notable release is Tech N9ne’s Strangulation that sold 10,000 units this time around.

Outside of the Billboard 200 charts, Iggy’s win streak continues as she scored her first platinum record with “Fancy,” according to Chart News. She tweeted earlier that it was No. 2 on the top 100, but it quickly climbed to the top.

Here’s our breakdown of relevant hip-hop albums from this week.

Iggy Azalea, The New Classic, 15,005
Pharrell, G I R L, 14,868
Tech N9ne, Strangeulation, 10,225
Eminem, Marshall Mathers LP 2, 9,789
Justin Timberlake, 20/20 Experience 2, 7,964
Future, Honest, 7,471
Beyonce, Beyonce, 7,010
August Alsina, Testimony, 6,165
YG, My Krazy Life, 5,632

[via Billboard & HitsDailyDouble]