Weekly Register: Aaron Lewis, “Forever Country,” Kelsea Ballerini Make Chart Impact

This week’s country albums ranking is an eclectic list. Aaron Lewis, Staind frontman-turned-country singer, triumphs with his album Sinner. The Dot Records project debuts atop country albums chart with sales of 39K and lands on the overall album chart at No. 4 with 42K combined units.

Jason Aldean‘s They Don’t Know drops to No. 2 on the country albums chart, selling 33.5K in its second week. Florida Georgia Line‘s Dig Your Roots lands at No. 3, selling 15K, followed by Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller with 9.3K. Willie Nelson rounds out the Top 5 country albums this week, with For The Good Times: A Tribute To Ray Price, which sold 7K.

Overall, album sales are down 14.6 percent YTD, while overall digital album sales have declined 19.4 percent. Country album sales have diminished 7.6 percent, while country digital albums have declined 12.6 percent.

The Country Music Association’s event single “Forever Country,” featuring Artists of Then, Now and Forever, debuts at No. 1 on the country track sales rankings (and No. 2 overall), selling 93K in its debut week. “Forever Country” highlights the CMA’s 50th anniversary celebration, leading up to the CMA Awards on Nov. 2 on ABC.

Meanwhile, Kelsea Ballerini‘s “Peter Pan,” her third consecutive No. 1 single from her debut album, has topped 500K.

Following “Forever Country” is at No. 2 is Kenny Chesney‘s “Setting The World On Fire,” featuring Pink. The track moved 33K this week (321K RTD). Keith Urban‘s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” is at No. 3 with 30K. Miranda Lambert‘s “Vice” lands at No. 4 with 20K, while FGL’s “May We All” featuring Tim McGraw is at No. 5 with 20K.

Overall track sales are down 24.7 percent YTD, while country track sales have declined 22.9 percent YTD.

Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of Black River Entertainment.