Drake's new album, Honestly, Nevermind, is proving to be quite controversial. Fans and peers alike are divided on the record. Questlove has called the project a "gift," while some of the backlash from fans got so loud Drake himself had to address it.
But the mixed response to Honestly, Nevermind has not stopped it from breaking streaming records. Within an hour of dropping, the album shattered the record for first-day streams worldwide for a dance album on Apple Music, according to a press release.
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Drake is no stranger to achieving new streaming heights. Just last year he broke the same record for an album of any genre with Certified Lover Boy, which was replacing the record set by another one of his albums, 2018's Scorpion. The Toronto rapper also has Apple Music's record for biggest song by first-day streams worldwide with CLB's "Girls Want Girls," which featured Lil Baby.
Even though Honestly, Nevermind is breaking records, it is still underperforming in comparison to other Drake albums. It is projected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, headed towards moving 210K-230K copies. This number, while undoubtedly impressive, is dwarfed by previous Drake efforts. For context, Certified Lover Boy opened with 613K sales, and Scorpion was even higher, at 732K.
It's possible this drop off is rooted in Drake's genre switch-up. As previously noted, Honestly, Nevermind is a dance album first and foremost, a departure from Drake's hip-hop comfort zone. Drake acknowledged it might take a bit for fans to acclimate to the new sound. "It's all good if you don't get it yet. That's what we do. We waiting for you to catch up," he said. "We're caught up already. On to the next. My goodness."
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