Miley Cyrus scored the biggest chart drop in Billboard history right after hitting No. 1
'Bass Persuades' debuted at No. 1 with 61,000 units, then crashed 156 spots to No. 157 the following week. Nobody has ever fallen farther from the top.
In brief
Miley Cyrus scored the biggest chart drop in Billboard history right after hitting No. 1
The week of September 24, Miley Cyrus finally had her album moment. Bass Persuades, her tenth studio record and her first under the Atlantic Records banner, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It was her first chart-topper in nearly 13 years, since Bangerz in 2013. Big news. Real news. Then came week two.
Miley Cyrus's Bass Persuades had the biggest second-week drop in Billboard history for an album that had just debuted at No. 1 the week before. The full chart revealed that Bass Persuades plummeted to No. 157. That is a 156-place free fall in seven days. No album that opened at the top has ever fallen farther in its second week.
The internet noticed immediately. By Tuesday morning the story was running at Variety, Consequence, That Grape Juice, and Reality Tea simultaneously, each citing the same underlying Billboard data. The number itself did the work.
What actually happened to those first-week sales
The opening week looked strong on the surface. According to Billboard, Bass Persuades opened with 61,000 equivalent album units in the United States during the week ending September 24, and of those 61,000 units, 47,000 came from album sales while 14,000 were streaming-equivalent units representing 14.22 million on-demand official streams.
That sales-heavy ratio is the tell. The second-week figures raise a broader question: how much of the album's No. 1 debut was driven by the label's multi-format sales strategy, and how much reflected sustained consumer demand? The second-week figures do not settle that debate, but they highlight the sharp difference between the album's opening-week sales and its performance one week later. The International Business Times put it plainly, noting that Bass Persuades makes headlines for a provocative onstage moment as the album suffers the biggest second-week Billboard 200 drop by a female artist.
The album arrived September 18 as Cyrus's first release for Atlantic Records and her first under the Miley mononym; its title track also debuted at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 24th Top 40 entry. The mononym decision, which she telegraphed by buying a full wrap-around ad on the front of the Los Angeles Times, was designed to signal a fresh artistic identity. She appears to have dropped her last name from her artist name and is going by simply Miley, at least for this cycle, as she is referred to as just Miley in a press release.
The Bon Jovi asterisk
Some outlets initially ran the story wrong, and the correction matters for context. Some news outlets erroneously reported that Cyrus's album was in second place for the biggest fall from No. 1 in an album's second week out, citing Bon Jovi's This House Is Not for Sale as having taken an even bigger tumble, from No. 1 to No. 169. However, that album had returned to the top of the chart nearly two years after its initial release, which made Cyrus's fall the biggest second-week drop from No. 1 for an album that actually debuted at the top.
The Travis Scott comparison also circulated online. The rapid falloff is comparable to massive drops suffered in the past by Bon Jovi and Travis Scott, but those albums were years old when they had big resurrections and even bigger tumbles. Cyrus walked into this record fresh, in week two of a brand-new release cycle. That is the part that stings.
The 156-position fall is the biggest drop from No. 1 ever recorded by a female artist on the Billboard 200, according to That Grape Juice's analysis of the chart data.
Meanwhile, she's selling out the Hollywood Bowl
Here is where the story gets genuinely strange. The album has cratered on the chart. The tickets are gone.
Despite the album's dramatic second-week descent, demand to see Miley in person appears to be moving in the other direction. She is scheduled to play two sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl on October 16 and 18, marking her first public concerts in four years. More than 1.5 million people registered for the presale, according to Hollywood Bowl organizers.
That presale number is wild. The Hollywood Bowl holds roughly 18,000 people per night. The math is absurd. Reports said nearly 1.5 million fans joined the presale queue for 18,000 tickets. The figure refers to the queue rather than the number of people who ultimately attempted to purchase tickets or were unable to secure them. Still. One point five million people lined up online for 36,000 total seats across both nights.
The concerts will mark Miley's first public shows in four years. So the performer has massive live pull. The album, at least in streaming terms, does not have it.
The tracklist for Bass Persuades counts 10 tracks with features from Model/Actriz and Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt. Cyrus will make a rare return to the stage with a two-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. She'll perform at the historic venue on October 16 and 18, and according to her Instagram post announcing the gigs, it appears she'll be performing Bass Persuades in full.
What this means for Cyrus, and for the chart
The numbers point to a specific problem. Miley Cyrus dropped her latest album, Bass Persuades, and its like-titled lead single with little warning on September 18, a marketing tactic some critics argue worked to its detriment. An album that opens on purchase momentum, without a sustained streaming rollout or radio saturation, can spike and vanish. That appears to be exactly what happened here.
Variety noted the record but also pointed out that the specific category matters: the fall is a record within the specific category of second-week movement for full-length albums that debuted at No. 1. That is a narrow distinction, but it is a real one, and it is now in the books.
Mia Goth filing for divorce from Shia LaBeouf on October 6 grabbed a few hours of the entertainment news cycle on Tuesday, but the Cyrus chart story eclipsed it by Wednesday morning. Goth filed for divorce from LaBeouf, 40, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, citing 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason and listing July 28, 2025, as the couple's date of separation, per court documents obtained by multiple outlets. A notable story. But 156 spots in one week proved hard to compete with.
The two Hollywood Bowl shows are October 16 and 18. Both are sold out. Nobody who got a ticket is giving it back over a chart position.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
