Babymetal’s Metal Forth debuts at No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, ending Ozzy Osbourne’s recent run at the top spot with The Essential Ozzy Osbourne. LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 10: Musician Ozzy Osbourne signs copies of his album “Patient Number 9” at Fingerprints Music on September 10, 2022 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
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For the past several weeks, Ozzy Osbourne had been ruling the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, Billboard’s list of the most consumed full-lengths and short collections in that style. Sales and streams of both his solo work and Black Sabbath’s catalog skyrocketed after his passing, but as is usually the case, that uptick has started to disintegrate.
This week, Osbourne vacates the No. 1 spot on several tallies. The group that replaces him atop one hard rock ranking may seem like an unlikely champion to those unfamiliar with the act.
Babymetal Replaces Ozzy Osbourne at No. 1
Babymetal debuts its latest full-length Metal Forth at No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. The Japanese act, which blends J-pop songwriting with metal instrumentation, replaces Osbourne’s The Essential Ozzy Osbourne at No. 1. That compilation falls to No. 4, dropping below both Nickelback’s The Best of Nickelback: Volume 1 at No. 2 and Queen’s Greatest Hits at No. 3.
Babymetal’s Fifth Charting Project
Babymetal earns its fifth appearance on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart as Metal Forth arrives. The group has dominated before, as back in 2019, the all-female troupe led the chart for the first time with Metal Galaxy. Another title, Metal Resistance, nearly brought the band to No. 1 in 2016, but stalled in the runner-up space.
Metal Forth Launches Inside the Top 10 Everywhere
Metal Forth is a top 10 win on every Billboard chart on which it debuts this week. In addition to the Top Hard Rock Albums ranking, it also launches at No. 1 on the World Albums list. Babymetal nearly conquers four other rosters as well, hitting the Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Top Rock Albums charts, but it opens in the runner-up spot on all of them. The set also scores the group its first top 10 on the all-encompassing Billboard 200, where it starts at No. 9.
Ozzy Osbourne Claims Multiple Hard Rock Wins
Osbourne still manages to fill three spaces on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart this week, but only two as a soloist. In addition to The Essential Ozzy Osbourne, his Blizzard of Ozz dips from No. 11 to No. 22 after debuting last week just beneath the top 10. Paranoid, Black Sabbath’s most celebrated effort, is steady at No. 5 after previously climbing as high as No. 2.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/08/23/ozzy-osbourne-replaced-at-no-1-by-japanese-superstars/
