Ariana Grande's Sweetener is expected to make a strong debut on the Billboard 200 next week. According to Hits Daily Double, the album is projected to log between 200,000 and 225,000 equivalent album units with 110,000 to 115,000 of the figure made up of traditional sales. Given these early numbers, it could very well debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, which would make it her third album to do so after 2013's Yours Truly and 2014's My Everything.
If the numbers hold up, this will also mark Grande's biggest first week total. Her previous best came with 2016's Dangerous Woman, which missed the No. 1 slot thanks to Drake's monster-seller Views, but logged 175,000 equivalent album units.
Its biggest competitor may prove to be Travis Scott's Astroworld, which has topped the Billboard 200 for a second week, narrowly outselling Nicki Minaj's Queen.
Speaking on Nicki, the rapper appears on Grande's Sweetener with a verse on the Pharrell-produced promo single "The Light Is Coming." The album's production was split fairly evenly between Pharrell and regular Ariana collaborator Max Martin. It was preceded by the top ten-peaking singles "No Tears Left To Cry" and "God Is A Woman."
Grande recently honored one of her heroes, Aretha Franklin, in a performance of "A Natural Woman" with The Roots on Fallon. The cover came the day that news of Franklin's passing was made public and was reportedly arranged after Ariana arrived on set.
