Usher is heading for his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as "Looking 4 Myself" should easily top the list next week. Industry sources say the album will sell around 120,000 to 130,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, June 17.
The new Billboard 200 chart's top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Wednesday, June 20.
Usher's 'Looking 4 Myself': Track-By-Track Review
The pop/R&B superstar's last full-length studio album, 2010's "Raymond v. Raymond," also launched at No. 1, but with a much larger sales figure. It began with 329,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Looking" could register Usher's smallest first-week sales for a regular studio album since 1997's "My Way" bowed with 67,000.
"Looking 4 Myself" has already spawned a handful of smash singles, including "Climax." That track is currently in its ninth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Over on the Billboard Hot 100, it reached No. 17. More recently, his pop/dance track "Scream" has shaken up the charts: it has so far peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100.
Other albums aiming for high debuts next week on the Billboard 200 include Rush's "Clockwork Angels," Ed Sheeran's "+" and Josh Turner's "Punching Bag."
Rush's latest -- the band's first studio album since 2007 -- may sell around 80,000 to 90,000. Its last set, "Snakes & Arrows," flew in at No. 3 with 93,000.
Sheeran's first full-length studio effort, "+," follows his EP "The A Team," which reached No. 14 on the Heatseekers Albums chart last month. "+" could sell around 40,000 or so copies in its debut. The British singer is riding high on the Official U.K. Charts, where "+" -- a former No. 1 there -- is currently No. 2 on the albums tally.
Country singer Josh Turner will likely nab his fourth top 10 album as "Punching Bag" may shift around 30,000 to 40,000. Over on the Top Country Albums chart, depending on how the week shakes out, it could become his second No. 1 set. His first was 2006's "Your Man," which debuted in the top slot.
