With four new albums in the top 5, the Billboard 200 shifted considerably this week. Kanye West takes the #1 spot as Billboard finally tallies up his streams and sales, after the rapper made the The Life of Pablo available on all streaming platforms, meanwhile, Big Sean & Jhene Aiko's Twenty88 project lands impressively at the #5 spot. Albums by Lukas Graham and Weezer also infiltrate into the top 10, but that's for another website.
The newcomers bumped some of the mainstays down a few notches, with Rihanna moving from #3 to #6. Aside from Drake & Future's What a Time to Be Alive moving up twenty full spots, there wasn't a whole lot of movement from the recent records by Kevin Gates, Bryson Tiller, G-Eazy, Fetty Wap, etc. Take a look at a more thorough breakdown below.
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1) Kanye West - The Life of Pablo: Kanye West has never released a studio album that didn't go to the #1 spot. For a minute there, it looked like The Life of Pablo may not capture the #1 spot, due to TIDAL maintaining an exclusive hold on it. Nonetheless once the album went up on Apple and Spotify, Billboard began making their tally (which in and of itself is confusing enough). At any rate, the newest Yeezy album finally debuted at the #1 spot, although it took a while, with 94,315 TAEU (total album equivalent units) and 28,003 in pure sales.
2) Twenty88 (Big Sean and Jhene Aiko) - Twenty88: Big Sean and Jhene Aiko formed a duo together, as TWENTY88, and released a self-titled debut. The joint album squeezes into the Billboard 200 at the #5 spot. The crossover effort does 48,970 TAEU and 40,237 pure sales in its first week released. No matter what the sales, Big Sean hopped on twitter to let fans know that this album is strictly for the day one fans that have been rocking with both artists-- he doesn't seem concerned about critical reception.
3) Rihanna - ANTI: Slipping from the #3 spot to the #6 spot is Rihanna with her eighth studio album ANTI. The record, which continues to ride high off the success of the Drake-assisted single "Work," moves 48,040 TAEU and 14,712 sales for its eleventh week on the charts.
4) Kevin Gates - Islah: Kevin Gates' Islah isn't slowing down (or speeding up, for that matter) as it remains in at #11 for the third week in a row. Kevin boasts 26,321 TAEU and 8,419 in pure sales as he celebrates his tenth week on the Billboard charts. We'll have to see if he manages to sneak back into the top 10 next week.
5) Bryson Tiller - T R A P S O U L: Shifting from the #13 spot to #12 is Mr. Louisville himself, Bryson Tiller. His T R A P S O U L project tacks on another 24,270 TAEU and 5,689 sales as it closes in on thirty weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.
6) G-Eazy - When It's Dark Out: In addition to announcing a huge summer tour with Logic, G-Eazy continues to be a presence on the Billboard charts. When It's Dark Out, the Cali MC's sophomore full-length, does 23,446 TAEU and 4,141 sales this week, landing at the #13 spot.
7) The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness: Abel Tesfaye had a massive 2015, and it seems as though his success is carrying over into 2016 as well. His sophomore full-length is laced with hits, although this week he did experience a slight drop, descending from #10 to #14, moving 21,781 TAEU and 6,516 pure sales.
8) Drake and Future - What a Time to Be Alive: Drake & Future's collaborative effort What a Time to Be Alive jumped from the #37 spot to the #17 spot this week. That 20-spot leap can likely be attributed to the use of their "Jumpman" record in a new Apple Music commercial, that starred none other than teen-favorite Taylor Swift. The duo's album tacks on 18,612 TAEU and 2,025 in pure sales during its twenty-ninth week on the charts.
9) Fetty Wap - Fetty Wap: Last week, Fetty Wap was at the #21 spot, and this week he's at the same damn spot. His self-titled debut, which is chalk-full of pop smashes, does 17,415 TAEU and 3,357 in pure sales for its twenty-eighth week on the charts.
10) Future - EVOL: Dropping five spots and landing at #27 is Future's latest album EVOL. The LP does 16,283 TAEU and 2,214 pure sales, but knowing Future, he's probably getting ready to drop a new project any day now.
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Rihanna and Drake continue to hold down the #1 spot with "Work," which has been at the top spot for eight weeks now. Perhaps more impressive is Desiigner, though, who continues to move up the charts with his breakout record "Panda." The track has gone from #14 to #5 in the past seven days. Does the Brooklyn artist have what it takes to bump RiRi and Drizzy from the top?
The Drake, Kanye West, and Jay Z collaboration "Pop Style" debuts at the #16 spot after being released last week, to help hype up Views From the 6, which will be released at the end of the month. Drizzy also enters the Hot 100 chart at #21 with his second pre-VFT6 release, "One Dance," featuring Wizkid and Kyla. With all of that said, Drake and Future's collaborative cut "Jumpman" jumped nine spots in the past week, earning the merit of 'biggest gain in digital sales' (thank you T-Swift once again).
Meanwhile, eight songs from Kanye West's The Life of Pablo make their debut on the Hot 100. This includes "Waves," "Real Friends," "Ultralight Beam," and "Famous."
