Hozier Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart With 'Wasteland, Baby!'

Hozier scores his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as his sophomore full-length set Wasteland, Baby! bows atop the list. The LP, released via Rubyworks/Columbia on March 1, earned 89,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 7, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 75,000 were in album sales.

Wasteland is the first rock album to lead the Billboard 200 in more than three months, since Mumford & Sons’ Delta debuted at No. 1 on the Dec. 1, 2018-dated chart.
Wasteland follows Hozier’s 2018 EP Nina Cried Power, which topped out at No. 60. Before that, the singer-songwriter’s self-titled debut full-length set bowed and peaked at No. 2 on the Oct. 25, 2014-dated list. The album was led by the smash single “Take Me to Church,” which climbed to No. 1 on the Hot Rock Songs tally the week after the album arrived on the charts. “Church” spent 23 weeks atop the list, and also hit No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

Wasteland is also the first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for Columbia Records in nearly a year, since Jack White’sBoarding House Reach (Third Man/Columbia) premiered atop the list dated April 7, 2018.

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200 is Ariana Grande’s former leader, Thank U, Next, which holds in the runner-up slot for a second week. It earned 86,000 equivalent album units (down 26 percent). Thank U spent its first two weeks at No. 1.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack falls from No. 1 to No. 3 with 74,000 units (down 42 percent).

A pair of rappers collect top five entries, as 2 Chainz and Lil Skies see their latest albums enters at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.