‘Barbie: The Album’ Could Beat NewJeans To Claim Top Of Billboard 200 Due To ‘Delay’

An online music news magazine previously predicted that NewJeans was on its way to making its No. 1 debut on the U.S. albums chart with its second mini-album.

According to Hits Daily Double‘s predictions, NewJeans’ “Get Up” album was likely to top the Billboard 200 chart with an estimated 130,000 U.S. equivalent units sold in its first week, followed by “Barbie The Album” at No. 2 with an estimated 109,000 U.S. equivalent units sold.

However, with the delay of the Billboard 200 announcement, Forbes suggested that “Barbie: The Album” could take over NewJeans’ “Get Up” album for the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.

On Tuesday, Billboard announced via Twitter that the top 10 of the Billboard 200 was delayed due to a processing issue.

Because of this announcement, fans got intrigued whether there were issues with certifying sales or streams. According to Forbes, the specific cause of the delay remains unknown.

Fans of NewJeans have been sharing their reactions to this delay from Billboard, with some claiming that the U.S. album chart could be rigging the results.

“This is just f—— unreal. This is blatant rigging, and anyone supporting and/or celebrating this should feel ashamed. Disgusting,” claimed one fan, while another said, “[This is] fraudulence at its finest. [H]ow did that whole damn gap of 20k suddenly disappear?”

“Even if we don’t win #1, a year-old Korean group fights head-to-head against Barbie’s album full of world stars. Love to NewJeans, and of course, f— Billboard and their insecurity towards foreign artists,” tweeted a third fan.

“[It’s] crazy how [the] ‘processing issue’ popped up all of a sudden. [M]ind you there’s a 20k difference [between the] predicted #1 and #2, so [you all] better watch out your ‘processing,'” claimed a fourth fan.

“It should be studied how many times Billboard has had a ‘processing issue’ or ‘delayed chart’ in the last six years when it comes to a Korean artist charting top ten and how much this has happened to western artists,” a different fan added.

The girl group under ADOR’s management, composed of members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein, launched its second mini-album last July 21.

NewJeans’ second mini-album features six tracks, including “New Jeans,” “Super Shy,” “ETA,” “Cool With You,” “Get Up” and “ASAP.” All songs came with an accompanying music video.

Meanwhile, the “Barbie: The Album” from the “Barbie” movie released on July 21, features songs from big-name musicians, including Billie Eilish, Sam Smith, Lizzo, Dua Lipa and Nicki Minaj, among many others. It also includes a song from the K-Pop girl group FIFTY FIFTY, “Barbie Dreams,” with American rapper Kaliii.

As of press time, Billboard is over two days late on its Billboard 200 announcement, leaving fans with both anticipation and speculations.