MDNA Set To Debut At Number One In US

Madonna's 12th studio album, "MDNA," is on course to easily debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week. Industry sources suggest the set could sell between 300,000 to 350,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, April 1. 



If "MDNA" lands atop the list, it will mark the queen of pop's eighth No. 1 album and her fifth consecutive studio set to debut in the penthouse. Her last studio album, 2008's "Hard Candy," started at No. 1 with 280,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. 


The new Billboard 200 chart's top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Wednesday, April 4.


Madonna's first No. 1 came on the Billboard 200 chart dated Feb. 9, 1985, when her second album, "Like a Virgin," began a three-week run at the top. 

"MDNA's" first week will be bolstered by a successful album sales promotion involving Madonna's upcoming world tour. U.S. customers who bought a concert ticket also had the option of also receiving "MDNA" as part of their purchase. The only sales that will count towards Billboard's charts are those where the customer opted to receive the album. 


This sort of ticket/album promotion has been used in the recent past by such acts as Bon Jovi and Tom Petty. The latter's "Mojo" album saw a No. 2 debut on July 3, 2010 -- thanks to a fair number of customers who got the album via a ticket purchase. The same goes for Bon Jovi's 2007 No. 1 album "Lost Highway." 


Switching gears away from Madonna for a moment, she won't be the only big news on the Billboard 200 next week. 


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