Drake released a brand new, change-of-pace album on June 17 after only announcing it on June 16. But while “Honestly, Nevermind” came as a surprise to fans, it’s never a surprise when he tops the Billboard 200 albums chart. He launched in that position for the tracking week that ended June 23. That makes this his 11th chart-topper, which puts him in company with just four other artists who have had that many or more number-one albums in their careers. Read more about this week’s chart here at Billboard.com.
“Honestly, Nevermind” is a departure for the Canadian rapper. It’s a dance album that leans into house and club beats. While it wasn’t as big as his last studio album from just last September, “Certified Lover Boy,” its 204,000 equivalent album units were more than enough for its historic bow on top. As usual for Drake, streaming units (191,000) made up the vast majority of his total, with traditional album sales adding 11,000 and individual track sales adding up to 2,000. To compare, “Lover Boy” got started with 613,000 in the fall, but that had more advance build-up and a much longer wait, coming three years after his previous studio album “Scorpion” (not counting the mixtapes and compilations he released in-between).
Drake now ties Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand with 11 number-one albums each. He trails one other rapper, Jay-Z, who has been to the top with 14 different albums. And the all-time record of 19 number-ones is held by The Beatles. That record may be tough to beat, but Drake is only 35, so he may get there yet.
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