Unsurprisingly, Ariana Grande‘s new album thank u, next debut atop the latest Billboard 200. According to Nielsen Music‘s data, it earned 360,000 equivalent album units during the week, 116,000 in album sales. thank u, next is Grande’s fourth #1 album and her second in the past six months. Sweetener debuted at #1 in September. thank u, next also had the biggest overall week for a Pop record since Taylor Swift‘s Reputation in December of 2017. Nielsen’s data also shows that it had biggest week of any album overall since Lil Wayne‘s Tha Carter V back in October of last year.
Additionally, thank u, next totaled 228,000 streaming equivalent albums and 307 million on-demand audio streams for its songs, helping set the record for the largest streaming week for a Pop album ever (a record previously held by Ed Sheeran’s ÷). Grande also now holds the record for the biggest streaming week for an album by a female artist (the previous record was set by Cardi B with Invasion of Privacy in April of 2018). Also, thank u, next now has the ninth-largest streaming week for an album ever and the eighth-biggest debut week.
The Grammys helped boost the soundtrack to A Star is Born to #2, due to Lady Gaga‘s performance of “Shallow” during the awards show. The film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray this week, with the Oscars on the way this Sunday, so A Star is Born is sure to remain at the top of the Billboard 200 for the immediate future. The soundtrack to Bohemian Rhapsody climbs to #3 as the Queen biopic just saw release on DVD and Blu-ray last week.
Hip-Hop rules half of the top ten this week, with A Boogie Wit da Hoodie‘s Hoodie SZN at #4, followed by Post Malone at #5, Travis Scott at #6, 21 Savage at #7 and Drake at #8.
Kacey Musgraves‘ Golden Hour reaches #9 following her Grammy win for Album of the Year, along with multiple other wins. Musgraves also performed twice during the show, playing her new single “Rainbow” and taking part in a tribute to Dolly Parton. The top ten is rounded out by Meek Mill‘s Championships at #10.
