Weekly Register: Garth Brooks, Jake Owen

Overall album sales are down 17 percent from last week, while Country album sales are down 11 percent from last week. Garth Brooks’ Blame It All On My Roots (Pearl Records Inc.) takes the No. 1 spot this week, both in Country and all genres, selling another 146k units (309k RTD). Brooks recently announced plans to embark on a world tour in 2014.
Jake Owen’s Days of Gold (RCA Nashville) is the top Country debut this week, coming in at No. 4 (No. 15 overall), with 39k units sold. Owen currently graces the cover of MusicRow‘s latest issue. The Sound of Music – Music From the NBC Television Event (Sony Masterworks) debuts at No. 17 overall, selling 38k units. The live telecast, starring Carrie Underwood, drew in nearly twenty million viewers.
Another noteworthy debut is Britney Spears’ Britney Jean, which debuts at No. 4 overall. The pop star’s latest album sold 108k units, a considerable drop from 2011’s Femme Fatale, which sold 276k units in its debut week.
YTD, overall sales are down 8.1 percent, while Country sales are down 10 percent. Don’t call us Scrooge, but with three weeks left in the sales year, we don’t think that Country sales will break even with last year. Although 2013 had produced several acclaimed debuts, we haven’t enjoyed the powerhouse sales offered by some of 2012’s debuts, like like Taylor Swift’s RED and Florida Georgia Line’s debut album.
Luke Bryan’s “Drink A Beer” is the top Country track (No. 20 overall), selling 44k units (219k RTD). The Cadillac Three and Florida Georgia Line’s “The South” is the top Country debut, coming in at No. 33 with 9k units sold.
Once again, the top overall track is Pitbull and Ke$ha’s “Timber,” selling 193k units (1.1 million RTD). YTD, overall track sales are down 4.6 percent, while Country tracks are up .3 percent.
Next week’s numbers will include Krystal Keith’s Whiskey & Lace, Parmalee’s Feels Like Carolina and Zac Brown Band’s The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1.