(September 3, 2024). In the center of the ring, the lights dimmed, and the bell rang. It was Friday, August 23…the start of a seven-day heavyweight battle on the Billboard 200, with pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter and rap titan Travis Scott squaring off for this week’s coveted No. 1 spot with their respective new releases.
In one corner was the pop starlet Carpenter, whose new Short n’ Sweet and its twelve tracks turned out to be anything but sweet. The album already boasted two global chart-topping singles in “Espresso,” one of the year’s ten-biggest hits, and “Please Please Please,” her first No. 1 Hot 100 single, the latter including the deceptively sweetly sung “motherfucker” line, with the former famously declaring the singer’s “give-a-fucks” were on vacation.
In the other corner was No. 1 veteran Scott, whose crowning this week would place him in elite company with only thirteen other rappers that have amassed at least five Billboard 200 No. 1s. His fourth, Utopia, topped the list in August 2023. His latest attempt came via a ten-year-old mixtape — Days Before Rodeo — whose anniversary was commemorated with a commercial digital release via the rapper’s website and on digital platforms, as well as an official streaming release the same day.
Both contenders likely had no idea the power of their opponent, but by the end of the tracking week they would. Scott had been in this ring before and had trained meticulously. His No. 1 magnum opus — 2018’s Astroworld — famously KO’d Nicki Minaj’s Queen album and sent the “Starships” singer into an early (but temporary) retirement, but not before she accused Scott of some late-week antics that gave him the edge and relegated Queen to a No. 2 peak.
And with the current chart’s decision apparently too close to call by midweek, Carpenter received the backing of the biggest heavyweight of them all — Taylor Swift — in a bid to land one final fatal blow. Both Carpenter’s and Scott’s’ teams then launched into panic mode working behind the scenes to ensure their fighter had every advantage possible. As the week progressed, the bout grew fiercer, with neither side willing to back down.
Carpenter came out swinging first with a well-timed strategy: a sharp discount on her album’s many variations to bolster its sales and downloads. And Short n’ Sweet had many variants, including versions with a different bonus track, a picture disc, and a signed edition.
There were also exclusive store versions with color vinyl, alternate packaging, and a poster of the singer. Initially, Carpenter’s album had the edge but when it became clear that the match was closer than her camp expected, they pulled out all the stops.
On the last two days of the tracking week — August 28-29 — her label issued more digital variants, each containing a different bonus track, with all editions being priced at $4.99, the minimum allowed for Billboard album chart eligibility.
These moves were like perfectly executed jabs, aimed at gaining a last-minute edge over her formidable opponent. Scott, however, wasn’t caught off guard. Known for his powerhouse, if not controversial concert performances and a devoted fanbase, he countered Carpenter’s jabs with a fistful flurry of album variants, each one serving like uppercuts geared to knock out his opponent.
Days Before Rodeo — like Sabrina’s album — contained just twelve official tracks. But the album’s eight variations — six of which were sold exclusively via the rapper’s website — contained a variety of bonus songs, ranging from unreleased tracks to recent concert performances. Surprisingly, vinyl versions of his album were not made available for delivery until after the tracking week, and thus would not be counted towards this week’s chart numbers.
Late in the tracking week when it became apparent that he was in for a real bloodbath, Scott discounted the iTunes versions to match the $4.99 price point of those on his website. He also got an endorsement from Taylor Swift’s arch-rival Kanye West in what played out like the ultimate pop-vs-rap, tit-for-tat after Swift’s similar push for Sabrina.
Both Carpenter and Scott also made it clear that the limited-edition versions of their albums would not be available after 11:59 pm on Thursday, August 29, which marked the end of Billboard’s tracking week and made it clear that this fight was strictly for positioning on the chart dated Sept. 7.
This battle of the titans was a classic clash of musical styles—even as their marketing tactics were very similar. It was a show of precision against precision, power against power, strategy against strategy, with very little variation between the artists’ promotional attacks.
As the week wore on, the tension in the arena was palpable. Both camps stayed glued to their tracking-week numbers, adjusting their tactics in real-time. Scott’s people even released a “Vault 4” edition at 11:30pm on August 29 in a last minute swing-and-miss, after a variant of Carpenter’s album dropped at 10pm that night in what must have felt like the ultimate sucker punch.
When the tracking week ended at the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, the Billboard scorecards were still too close to call. The holiday provided cover for the chart institution which delayed its normal Sunday announcement of the new album chart to Tuesday (Sept. 3) after an intense audit scrutinized both camps’ numbers.
The decision: Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet edged Scott’s Days Before Rodeo by less than a thousand album equivalent units — 362,000 to more than 361,000 — to take the No. 1 spot and relegate the rapper’s ten-year-old mixtape to runner-up status (somewhere Nicki Minaj must be smiling about this bit of chart vindication).
Ultimately, Carpenter’s left-right combinations of discounted prices, many colorful vinyl variations, and the fresher allure of her pop appeal proved too powerful for Scott. The KO’d rapper may also regret the decision to not release pre-orders for the vinyl versions of his album until late in the week — the delivery of which could not count towards his numbers because they postdated the tracking period. Carpenter’s numbers included 105,000 vinyl copies alone. Even just 2,000 vinyl copies sold of Scott’s album might have changed the outcome.
Like any boxing match, this chart battle proved to be the ultimate spectator sport — a spectacle for pop and hip-hop fans to watch real-time as the tension built, both artists’ fans declaring victory on social media before the fight was called, each offering conspiracy theories about why their opponent might be declared the victor.
But this fight was more than just a battle for chart supremacy or a source of super-fan squabbles. It was a testament to how in tune these artists and their teams are with the pulse of the industry, specifically the Billboard charts. Both Carpenter and Scott (or more importantly, their labels) knew exactly where they stood throughout the week, even before the official numbers were released. And in this game, knowing when to strike is just as crucial as the strike itself.
Just ask Taylor Swift, whose The Tortured Poets Department this year has made a whole era of dispatching would-be No. 1s with well-timed variant releases.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog and on Meta’s Threads.
You can also register for free (select the menu bars above) to receive notifications of future articles.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>