The earth shook upon the surprise release of Frank Ocean's Blonde, as fans had long waited in anguish for the follow-up to 2012's Channel Orange, his illustrious debut album. Unsurprisingly, Blonde will soon become the No. 1 album in the country, according to industry forecasters. The first-week sales projections arrive two days after the album was made available in the iTunes store and for streaming via Apple Music on Aug. 20. Blonde shall remain exclusive to the Apple platforms until further notice.
The only other notable release that will make its debut alongside Blonde is Tory Lanez' debut album, I Told You, which dropped on Aug. 19. The initial first-week projections had I Told You selling 35-40k equivalent album units (including streaming), so it's safe to say Ocean didn't face much competition in battling for next week's top spot. Still, Blonde's first-week predictions are impressive, as Billboard reports that the album is expected to move 225-250k equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 25.
If Blonde's first-week forecast turns out to be accurate, or at least close to the mark, then the album will significantly outsell its predecessor. Channel Orange sold 131,000 copies (streaming wasn't included in the charting formula back then) in its first week and made its debut at No. 2, behind Zac Brown Band's Uncaged.
The next Billboard albums chart, on which Blonde is expected to go No. 1, will be unveiled on Aug. 28.
