Miley Cyrus debuts at No. 1 with ‘Bangerz’
Controversy -- it still works.
After months of hubbub and hand-wringing over her racy rebranding, Miley Cyrus entered the Billboard 200 chart this week at No. 1 with her new album “Bangerz,†on which the former Disney Channel star sings (and raps) about various grown-up activities over beats honed by a number of hip-hop hit-makers.
“Bangerz†sold 270,000 copies in its first week in stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan, enough to secure 20-year-old Cyrus her fifth No. 1 album, including several released as her one-time alter ego Hannah Montana. Cyrus’ last solo album, 2010’s “Can’t Be Tamed,†peaked at No. 3.
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Preceded by the hit singles “We Can’t Stop†and “Wrecking Ball†-- the latter of which sits at No. 2 this week on the Hot 100 -- “Bangerz†also enjoyed a number of positive reviews; Pop & Hiss said the album “reveals that Cyrus isn’t just a twerk-bot programmed to titillate.â€
But there’s no overestimating the value of shock, which might be why Cyrus’ handlers released photos Wednesday of the singer dressed in a suit of silvery body paint while shooting a music video with the rapper Future.
Behind Cyrus on the album chart, the emo-rock band Panic! at the Disco debuted at No. 2 with its latest, “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!†Last week the group sought a bit of controversy of its own with a music video in which frontman Brendon Urie re-creates the R&B star D’Angelo’s nudity-enhanced clip for his song “Untitled (How Does It Feel).†(Decide for yourself how well Urie fares.)
Other albums entering the chart this week include Pusha T at No. 4 with “My Name Is My Name,†the cast of “Glee†at No. 7 with music from an episode that paid tribute to the late Cory Monteith’s character Finn Hudson, and the rap-rock band Korn at No. 8 with “The Paradigm Shift.â€
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Twitter: @mikaelwood
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