Def Jam Recordings Dominates Album Charts With New Debuts

Def Jam Recordings in a feat not accomplished by a label in years stands tall atop the album charts as four brand new releases (all in-stores November 13 th) debut inside the Top 10 this week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with three dominating the Top 5: Justin Bieber's PURPOSE enters at #1 on first week adjusted sales of 649,000 copies, the biggest-selling debut of the year to date; Logic's THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY enters at #3 on first week sales of 135,000 copies, nearly doubling the sales of his 2014 debut; Jeezy's CHURCH IN THESE STREETS enters at #3 on first week sales of 107,000 copies, his 6 th consecutive Top 5 debut and 6 th album to enter with over 100,000 units in a ten-year span; Alessia Cara's KNOW-IT-ALL enters at #9 on first week sales of 35,000 copies.

"The Def Jam label owns three out of the top four albums (Bieber, Logic and Jeezy) and four in the top 10 (Cara is also on Def Jam)," notes Billboard. "The last label to score three out of the top four on the chart was Columbia Records on June 16, 2012."

"I'm extremely proud of each of these artists and of the entire team here at Def Jam," said Steve Bartels, CEO of Def Jam Recordings. "While these artists occupy very different lanes, they share something in common: great artistry and creativity. Nurtured through the A&R process, focused and amplified through the marketing and promotion of these projects, each one of these artists has been delivered with success. Def Jam has always been a home for unique artists and our hallmark is the care and creativity we put in to not only their projects, but their careers."

Continuing its momentum, Def Jam Recordings released Jadakiss' highly-anticipated new album TOP 5 DEAD OR ALIVE last Friday. In the coming weeks, the label is set to release Rick Ross' BLACK MARKET and Babyface's RETURN OF THE TENDER LOVER on December 4 th, August Alsina's THIS THING CALLED LIFE on December 11 th, and Pusha T's KING PUSH - DARKEST BEFORE DAWN: THE PRELUDE also slated for December. Stay tuned