New Kids On the Block’s ‘Still Kids’ Debuts in Top 5 on Album Sales Chart

New Kids On the Block’s first full-length studio album in over a decade, Still Kids, debuts at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated June 1). The set also arrives at No. 9 on the Independent Albums chart, and No. 12 on the Vinyl Albums tally.

The set sold 14,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending May 23, according to Luminate. The effort is the vocal group’s first full-length studio project since 2013’s 10.

New Kids On the Block’s overall Billboard chart history runs almost exactly 38 years, to when the single “Be My Girl” debuted on the now-named Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated June 7, 1986. The group would later rack up 13 hits on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, including a trio of No. 1s. Over on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, the act has logged a dozen entries (among them two No. 1s), including the new set, which bows at No. 56.

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department holds atop the list for a fourth nonconsecutive week, while albums debut from Billie Eilish, Zayn, Slash, Cage the Elephant, The Avett Brothers, Kerry King and Kate Hudson.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

The Tortured Poets Department holds at No. 1 with 201,000 copies sold (up 413%) after an array of drivers helped the set post its first weekly sales gain. Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft launches at No. 2 with 191,000 – marking Eilish’s best sales week ever.

Zayn returns to the chart with his first new album since 2021, and his best sales week since 2016, as Room Under the Stairs starts at No. 3 with 24,000 sold. Slash’s new blues covers project Orgy of the Damned, boasting an array of guest artists such as Gary Clark Jr and Chris Stapleton, bows at No. 5 with a little over 10,000 sold.

Cage the Elephant’s Neon Pill enters at No. 6 (9,000), The Avett Brothers’ self-titled album debuts at No. 7 (8,000), SEVENTEEN’s SEVENTEEN Best Album ‘17 Is Right Here’ falls 4-8 (7,000), guitarist Kerry King’s solo debut From Hell I Rise arrives at No. 9 (7,000) and Kate Hudson’s debut studio album Glorious bows at No. 10 (nearly 7,000).

Keith Caulfield

Billboard