Shinedown’s Ei8ht debuts at No. 12 on the Billboard 200, becoming the band’s first traditional studio album to miss the top 10 in two decades. ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 25: (L-R) Barry Kerch, Eric Bass, Brent Smith and Zach Myers of Shinedown attend SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series presented by American Express at The Orange Peel on August 25, 2022 in Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Getty Images for SiriusXM
In the 25 years that Shinedown has been together as a band, the rockers have managed some truly incredible feats on the Billboard charts. The group claims the most No. 1s of all time on the Mainstream Rock Airplay tally, and the musicians added to their sum only a short time ago. “Safe and Sound,” one of the most recent singles pushed from the outfit’s eighth studio album, the appropriately named Ei8ht, conquered that radio roster, and this period, it sits at No. 5.
Buoyed by a slew of hit singles and the group’s large fan base, Ei8ht debuts on seven Billboard charts this week. It launches within the top 10 on almost all of them, but as it misses that highest tier on just a single roster, Ei8ht becomes the group’s first title to fail to find its way into that region in decades.
Shinedown Debuts Ei8ht on the Billboard 200
Ei8ht begins its time on the Billboard 200, the chart company’s list of the most-consumed albums in America, at No. 12. According to data shared by Luminate, Ei8ht moved 37,500 equivalent units in the most recent tracking frame, the title’s first. 29,500 of those were actual purchases, while the rest largely come from streaming activity.
Shinedown Misses the Top 10 on Only One Chart
As it launches in twelfth place, Ei8ht becomes the first album by Shinedown to peak beneath the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in two decades. The group’s last traditional studio LP to miss the mark was Us and Them, which topped out at No. 23 back in the fall of 2005. The group’s previous set, Leave a Whisper, peaked at No. 53.
Since Us and Them, five albums by Shinedown have broken into the most competitive albums ranking’s top 10. That roundup includes The Sound of Madness (No. 8), Amaryllis (No. 4), Threat to Survival (No. 6), and Attention Attention and Planet Zero, which both climbed to No. 5.
Shinedown’s Live Set Also Charted
During that two-decade-long winning streak, Shinedown also saw another two projects appear on the Billboard 200, but neither one can be classified as a traditional studio album, and they did not come close to the top 10. The live set Somewhere in the Stratosphere peaked at No. 83, and a year prior, in 2010, the iTunes Session EP spent just one frame at No. 118.
Paul McCartney and Aespa Block Shinedown
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND – JUNE 25: Paul McCartney performs as he headlines the Pyramid Stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 25, 2022 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Two albums do start their time on the Billboard 200 inside the top 10 this week, and their arrival seems to keep Shinedown from returning to that space. Paul McCartney’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane, which is new at No. 5, earns the loftiest start this time around. K-pop girl group Aespa breaks back into the tier with Lemonade, which is new at No. 9.
Shinedown Rules the Hard Rock Ranking
On the half dozen Billboard rankings where Ei8ht debuts this week, it starts inside the top five on all of them. Its lowest peak comes on the Vinyl Albums tally, where it opens in fifth place. Ei8ht launches at No. 3 on the Top Album Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums lists simultaneously. Shinedown almost conquers the Top Alternative Albums rundown as Ei8ht opens at No. 2.
The group is back in first place on only the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. On that rundown, Shinedown collects its eighth top 10 and fifth No. 1 with Ei8ht.