Will Albums by Florence + The Machine, Tyler, The Creator or Michael Jackson Crack the Top 10 Next Week? 

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated Nov. 15, we look at the chances of a handful of albums to reach a top 10 still dominated by Taylor Swift and KPop Demon Hunters. 

Florence + The Machine, Everybody Scream (Polydor): The screaminess of the latest set from Florence Welch is less about traditional spooky scaries than the horrors of the life-threatening ectopic pregnancy Welch recently suffered, as well as the indignities of being a veteran woman artist in the music industry. Regardless, the Halloween-released set seems to be resonating for its more adult terrors, drawing some of the best reviews of the year for a major release.  

The set is not expected to stream in exceptional numbers — Florence + The Machine have never scored a real breakout hit during the streaming era, outside of collaborations — but it should sell well, as the outfit’s albums traditionally have. Helping will be a multitude of options available for purchase: six vinyl variants and four CD variants, including a signed copy in each format, as well as deluxe digital and streaming editions that include four “chamber versions” bonus tracks, featuring stripped-down arrangements of some Scream highlights.  

With its relatively minimal presence on DSPs, it’s unlikely that Everybody Scream will be able to challenge streaming behemoths like Taylor Swift and the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack at the very top of the Billboard 200 next week. But the set does appear on pace to debut in the top 10 — which would mark Florence + The Machine’s fifth consecutive album to reach the region — and could also have a shot at the outfit’s first top five album since 2018’s High as Hope.  

Tyler, the Creator, CHROMAKOPIA (Columbia): CHROMAKOPIA of course already debuted atop the Billboard 200 last November, with career-best first-week numbers for Tyler, The Creator despite arriving with an incomplete first tracking week. But for the set’s one-year anniversary, the rapper has reissued the set as CHROMAKOPIA+, with the bonus track “Mother” — featuring mid-song interjections and wisdom from his mom Bonita Smith, and previously only available on the album’s physical release — now inserted into its tracklist on DSPs. 

In addition to the new song on streaming — which was featured near the top of Spotify’s New Music Friday and is streaming solidly, albeit not as much as an official new Tyler singler would — the “Plus” set has also been reissued for physical purchase on CD and vinyl. It’s also on sale in two boxed sets, each of which contains a branded merch item in a branded box, along with a copy of the CD.  

The original CHROMAKOPIA has still yet to leave the Billboard 200, currently ranking at No. 117 in its 53rd week on the chart. But the additional sales and streaming interest from the reissue should be enough to give it a big boost for next week, perhaps all the way back to the chart’s top 10.  

Michael Jackson, Thriller (Epic): And of course, the week after Oct. 31, you can’t discount the chart impact of actual Halloween-friendly music on the Billboard 200. As is often the case in recent years, Michael Jackson’s Thriller seems to be leading the pack on streaming — thanks to classics like its midnight-movie title track and vaguely spook-adjacent “Billie Jean” — followed by fellow holiday perennials like the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack and Andrew Gold’s Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music.  

However, the timing of the tracking week may be dissuasive towards any of these albums making too big a jump. With Halloween falling on a Friday this year — the first day of the new tracking week — the lead-up excitement for the holiday is all contained to the previous tracking week (hence Thriller already climbing 46-30 on this week’s Billboard 200), and interest in such jams usually falls off quickly and dramatically once the calendar turns to November. But perhaps with a full weekend to celebrate, interest will sustain just enough this year for Thriller to return to the top 10 — or at least the top 20.