(Billboard) John Mayer’s ‘Born and Raised’ album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 219,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
It’s the singer/songwriter’s third No. 1 set, following 2009’s ‘Battle Studies’ and 2003’s ‘Heavier Things’. ‘Battle Studies’ bowed with 289,000 in its first week, while ‘Heavier Things’ launched with 317,000. He released a solo studio album between those sets, 2006’s ‘Continuum’, which entered at No. 2 off a 300,000 start.
As Mayer has a throat condition called granuloma, he’s unable to sing and was prevented from doing a lot of traditional promotional activities to support the new album. However, during release week, he visited “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on May 22, sitting in with house band the Roots and chatting with Fallon. He also played guitar with the band on “Late Show With David Letterman” (May 17) and was interviewed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” (May 18).
Meanwhile, last week’s No. 1 album, Adam Lambert’s ‘Trespassing’, falls straight out of the top 10. It drops from No. 1 to No. 12 with 22,000 (down 71%). It’s the first No. 1-debuting title to fall out of the top 10 in its second week since the Dec. 3, 2011, chart, when Mac Miller’s ‘Blue Slide Park’ collapsed 1-24.
Back up the chart at Nos. 2 and 3, Adele’s ‘21’ and carrie Underwood‘s ‘Blown Away’ hold their positions. They sell 56,000 (down 11%) and 45,000 (down 7%), respectively.
Slash‘s new ‘Apocalyptic Love’ (featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators) debuts at No. 4 with 38,000. Slash’s last studio album, his self-titled 2010 release, debuted and peaked at No. 3 with 60,000 sold in its first week. That effort was a star-studded affair, with guests ranging from Fergie to Chris Cornell providing vocals.
