Drake's surprise album If You're Reading This It's Too Late blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart as expected, easily scoring the hip-hop star his fourth chart-topper.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). If You're Reading This It's Too Late moved 535,000 units in the week ending Feb. 15, according to Nielsen Music, with pure album sales comprising 495,000 of that figure -- all from digital downloads.
Here are some notable facts and figures about Drake's latest No. 1 album:
-- If You're Reading This It's Too Late sold 495,000 copies in its first chart week, marking Drake's third-biggest sales frame. Only the bows of Nothing Was the Same (658,000) and Take Care (631,000) were larger.
-- If You're Reading This logs the largest sales week for an R&B/hip-hop album since Beyonce's own surprise self-titled album debuted with 617,000 sold after a little more than three days on sale (in the week ending Dec. 15, 2013). The Beyonce set was released at 12 AM on the morning of Friday, Dec. 13. If You're Reading This also nets the biggest week for a rap album since Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 bowed at No. 1 with 792,000 in the week ending Nov. 10, 2013.
-- Drake's opening is the second-largest sales week among all albums in the past year, behind only the debut of Taylor Swift's monster 1989 album (1.27 million in the week ending Nov. 2, 2014).
-- In a little more than three days, Drake's set has already sold more copies than any other album in 2015 except for Swift's 1989 (which has sold 696,000 so far in 2015).
-- Only two hip-hop acts have seen their first four full-length albums debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart: Drake and DMX. The latter did it with his first five studio projects between 1998 and 2003 (It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood, And Then There Was X, The Great Depression and Grand Champ).
As Drake starts at No. 1 on the latest Billboard 200, he blocks the also-arriving Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack from starting in the top slot. The multi-artist compilation -- featuring songs from Ellie Goulding, The Weeknd, Annie Lennox, Beyonce and more -- bows at No. 2 with 258,000 units (of which 210,000 are traditional album sales).
The album's 210,000 start is the largest sales debut for a soundtrack since Michael Jackson's This Is It danced in at No. 1 with 373,000 in the week ending Nov. 1, 2009.
Between Get Rich and This Is It, there were four soundtracks (of any kind) that bowed larger than Fifty Shades, and all were from Walt Disney Records: Hannah Montana (281,000 in 2007), Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (326,000 in 2007, both Montana albums were performed by Cyrus), High School Musical 2 (615,000 in 2007) and High School Musical 3: Senior Year (297,000 in 2008). The latter two albums were performed by the cast of High School Musical cast (Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, etc.) and are not comparable to a compilation soundtrack like Fifty Shades or Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
As "Funk!," released on RCA Records, tops the Hot 100 for a seventh week, it passes Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven" for his longest reign.
"Funk" leads Streaming Songs (18.2 million U.S. streams, up 2 percent, according to Nielsen Music) and the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs (5.5 million, up 1 percent) for a fifth week each. It tops Radio Songs for a fourth week with a 3 percent lift to 181 million in all-format audience.
On Digital Songs, "Funk" falls 1-2 after seven weeks on top with 301,000 downloads sold (down 6 percent) in the week ending Feb. 15. The track has sold at least 300,000 for seven consecutive weeks, marking the best such run since Pharrell Williams' "Happy" (the Hot 100's No. 1 song of last year) also racked seven straight weeks of sales of 300,000 or more (March 1-April 12, 2014). Those are the longest such streaks since Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," featuring Pharrell and T.I., linked a record 10 weeks in a row of selling at least 300,000 in 2013.
Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" keeps at its No. 2 peak on the Hot 100 for a fifth week and becomes his first No. 1 on Digital Songs. The ballad bumps 2-1 on the latter chart with a 17 percent gain to 314,000 sold after he performed it on the 57th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 8. It likewise holds at No. 2, bulleted, on Radio Songs (146 million, up 5 percent) and Streaming Songs (14.2 million, up 18 percent).
Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney's "FourFiveSeconds" ticks 6-4 on the Hot 100, fueled in part (like Sheeran's "Loud") by the trio's performance of the collab at the Grammy Awards. "FourFiveSeconds" stays at No. 3 on Digital Songs with a 44 percent vault to 261,000 sold, good for the Hot 100's top Digital Gainer award. It bounds 22-13 on Radio Songs (58 million, up 25 percent) and 34-26 on Streaming Songs (4.6 million, up 20 percent).
Closing out the Hot 100's top 10, Swift soars 18-10 with "Style," which wins the chart's top Airplay and Streaming Gainer honors. The third single from 1989 pushes 9-6 on Radio Songs (85 million, up 24 percent) and enters Streaming Songs at No. 37 with 3.7 million streams following the Feb. 13 premiere of its official video. (Nearly all the song's streaming points are for the clip's Vevo on YouTube clicks.) On Digital Songs, "Style" backtracks 7-8 but with a hefty 25 percent gain to 115,000.
"Style" becomes Swift's 17th Hot 100 top 10, tying her with Aretha Franklin for sixth-place among women with the most top 10s in the chart's 56-year history. Madonna is the leader among women (and among all acts) with 38 top 10s, followed by Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson (27 each), Rihanna (26) and Whitney Houston (23).
Billboard 200 Top 10
POSITION
ARTIST
ALBUM
UNITS
CHANGE
#1
Drake
If You're Reading This It's Too Late
535,000
DEBUT
#2
Various Artists
Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
258,000
DEBUT
#3
Sam Smith
In the Lonely Hour
164,000
UP 91%
#4
Ed Sheeran
X
140,000
UP 44%
#5
Taylor Swift
1989
125,000
UP 16%
#6
Meghan Trainor
Title
72,000
UP 21%
#7
Various Artists
NOW 53
72,000
DOWN 28%
#8
Beck
Morning Phase
71,000
UP 483%
#9
Various Artists
2015 Grammy Nominees
65,000
UP 92%
#10
Maroon 5
V
63,000
UP 35%
Billboard Hot 100
POSITION
ARTIST
SONG
SALES
CHANGE
#1
Mark Ronson
Uptown Funk f/ Bruno Mars
301,000
=
#2
Ed Sheeran
Thinking Out Loud
314,000
=
#3
Hozier
Take Me to Church
???
=
#4
Rihanna & Kanye West & Paul McCartney
FourFiveSeconds
261,000
+2
#5
Maroon 5
Sugar
???
-1
#6
Ellie Goulding
Love Me Like You Do
???
+3
#7
Taylor Swift
Blank Space
???
-2
#8
Sam Smith
I'm Not the Only One
???
=
#9
Meghan Trainor
Lips Are Movin'
???
-2
#10
Taylor Swift 5
Style
115,000
+8
Digital Songs
1 2 2 15 #1 1 wk Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran 1
2 1 1 14 Uptown Funk!, Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars 1
3 3 4 4 GG FourFiveSeconds, Rihanna & Kanye West & Paul McCartney 3
4 4 3 5 Sugar, Maroon 5 3
5 6 6 6 Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding 5
6 5 5 21 Take Me To Church, Hozier 2
7 11 26 45 Stay With Me, Sam Smith 1
8 7 12 12 Style, Taylor Swift 7
9 21 21 5 Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey), The Weeknd 9
10 13 13 21 I'm Not The Only One, Sam Smith 5
11 8 7 16 Blank Space, Taylor Swift 1
12 12 9 8 Time Of Our Lives, Pitbull & Ne-Yo 9
13 10 8 17 Lips Are Movin, Meghan Trainor 4
14 15 10 23 Centuries, Fall Out Boy 4
15 16 11 4 Truffle Butter, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake & Lil Wayne 11
16 19 19 12 I Don't Mind, Usher Featuring Juicy J 16
17 24 17 9 G.D.F.R., Flo Rida Featuring Sage The Gemini & Lookas 17
18 0 Hot Shot Debut 1 Energy, Drake 18
19 17 14 25 Shake It Off, Taylor Swift 1
20 23 18 15 Ghost, Ella Henderson 10
21 27 25 6 Take Your Time, Sam Hunt 21
22 26 22 4 She Knows, Ne-Yo Featuring Juicy J 22
23 42 30 Chandelier, Sia 9
24 25 20 32 All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor 1
25 47 2 Somebody, Natalie La Rose Featuring Jeremih 25
26 29 24 16 Only, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown 6
27 35 23 21 I Don't F**k With You, Big Sean Featuring E-40 10
28 0 Re-Entry 3 Only One, Kanye West Featuring Paul McCartney 10
29 28 16 21 Jealous, Nick Jonas 7
30 44 4 Ayo, Chris Brown & Tyga 8
31 34 31 4 Stuck On A Feeling, Prince Royce Featuring Snoop Dogg 31
32 36 30 23 Riptide, Vance Joy 22
33 0 New 1 Chains, Nick Jonas 33
34 33 48 All Of Me, John Legend 2
35 20 44 4 Heartbeat Song, Kelly Clarkson 14
36 22 2 Blessings, Big Sean Featuring Drake 22
37 32 32 5 Prayer In C, Lillywood & Robin Schulz 32
38 0 Re-Entry 11 I Bet My Life, Imagine Dragons 7
39 0 New 1 Blank Space / Style, Louisa Wendorff With Devin Dawson 39
40 40 34 6 Elastic Heart, Sia 27
41 41 43 29 Don't, Ed Sheeran 11
42 0 New 1 What Kind Of Man, Florence + The Machine 42
43 39 39 13 Night Changes, One Direction 19
44 49 48 4 Outside, Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding 20
45 0 New 1 Honey, I'm Good., Andy Grammer 45
46 0 New 1 Little Red Wagon, Miranda Lambert 46
47 0 New 1 Where You Belong, The Weeknd 47
48 38 33 25 Animals, Maroon 5 3
49 43 36 9 I Lived, OneRepublic 15
50 45 38 18 Love Me Harder, Ariana Grande & The Weeknd 14
Streaming Songs
This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 1 1 12 #1 5 wks Uptown Funk!, Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars 1
2 2 2 15 Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran 2
3 3 3 18 Take Me To Church, Hozier 2
4 5 8 5 Sugar, Maroon 5 4
5 4 4 12 CoCo, O.T. Genasis 4
6 16 28 4 Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding 6
7 17 16 40 Chandelier, Sia 5
8 11 11 21 I'm Not The Only One, Sam Smith 8
9 8 7 29 All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor 1
10 6 5 14 Blank Space, Taylor Swift 1
11 7 6 26 Shake It Off, Taylor Swift 1
12 9 9 13 Lips Are Movin, Meghan Trainor 2
13 12 10 20 No Type, Rae Sremmurd 5
14 10 12 14 Only, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown 2
15 25 19 37 Stay With Me, Sam Smith 4
16 13 13 12 7/11, Beyonce 2
17 14 45 28 Hot Boy, Bobby Shmurda 3
18 27 38 4 Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey), The Weeknd 17
19 15 14 18 I Don't F**k With You, Big Sean Featuring E-40 6
20 21 18 6 Elastic Heart, Sia 2
21 19 22 7 I Don't Mind, Usher Featuring Juicy J 19
22 18 26 95 Gangnam Style, PSY 1
23 22 17 17 Centuries, Fall Out Boy 17
24 20 15 17 Love Me Harder, Ariana Grande & The Weeknd 4
25 23 20 58 Let It Go, Idina Menzel 2
26 34 2 FourFiveSeconds, Rihanna & Kanye West & Paul McCartney 26
27 45 2 Trap Queen, Fetty Wap 27
28 30 25 29 Bang Bang, Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj 3
29 28 24 15 The Heart Wants What It Wants, Selena Gomez 5
30 32 29 6 G.D.F.R., Flo Rida Featuring Sage The Gemini & Lookas 29
31 26 21 17 Tuesday, I LOVE MAKONNEN Featuring Drake 6
32 31 23 17 Jealous, Nick Jonas 15
33 35 35 58 All Of Me, John Legend 2
34 41 32 55 Happy, Pharrell Williams 1
35 37 37 4 Time Of Our Lives, Pitbull & Ne-Yo 35
36 29 36 69 Dark Horse, Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J 1
37 0 New 1 Style, Taylor Swift 37
38 42 33 45 Fancy, Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX 1
39 43 34 40 Rude, MAGIC! 2
40 48 48 6 Often, The Weeknd 40
41 39 31 27 Anaconda, Nicki Minaj 1
42 38 30 24 Animals, Maroon 5 9
43 49 40 26 Don't, Ed Sheeran 29
44 33 46 38 Roar, Katy Perry 1
45 44 39 47 Or Nah, Ty Dolla $ign Featuring Wiz Khalifa & DJ Mustard 16
46 40 2 Ayo, Chris Brown & Tyga 40
47 36 27 38 Habits (Stay High), Tove Lo 5
48 0 New 1 Truffle Butter, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake & Lil Wayne 48
49 0 New 1 Lay Me Down, Sam Smith 49
50 46 47 3 She Knows, Ne-Yo Featuring Juicy J 46
Radio Songs
1 1 1 12 #1 4 wks Uptown Funk!, Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars 1
2 2 3 10 Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran 2
3 3 2 15 Blank Space, Taylor Swift 1
4 4 4 16 Take Me To Church, Hozier 3
5 5 7 12 Lips Are Movin, Meghan Trainor 5
6 9 15 4 GG Style, Taylor Swift 6
7 6 5 18 I'm Not The Only One, Sam Smith 2
8 11 16 4 Sugar, Maroon 5 8
9 7 6 19 Jealous, Nick Jonas 5
10 8 10 6 Time Of Our Lives, Pitbull & Ne-Yo 8
11 10 9 11 I Don't Mind, Usher Featuring Juicy J 9
12 13 14 8 Prayer In C, Lillywood & Robin Schulz 12
13 22 36 3 FourFiveSeconds, Rihanna & Kanye West & Paul McCartney 13
14 16 23 6 She Knows, Ne-Yo Featuring Juicy J 14
15 18 18 13 Centuries, Fall Out Boy 15
16 15 21 8 Ghost, Ella Henderson 15
17 19 24 9 Make Me Wanna, Thomas Rhett 17
18 17 20 13 Sun Daze, Florida Georgia Line 17
19 21 26 7 Lonely Tonight, Blake Shelton Featuring Ashley Monroe 19
20 14 13 11 I See You, Luke Bryan 13
21 24 28 39 Stay With Me, Sam Smith 1
22 20 12 20 Animals, Maroon 5 1
23 35 2 Truffle Butter, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake & Lil Wayne 23
24 25 27 12 Like A Cowboy, Randy Houser 24
25 12 8 17 Love Me Harder, Ariana Grande & The Weeknd 3
26 28 31 8 Just Gettin' Started, Jason Aldean 26
27 30 29 10 Only, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown 27
28 44 2 Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding 28
29 32 34 9 Mean To Me, Brett Eldredge 29
30 29 32 7 7/11, Beyonce 29
31 33 30 14 Riptide, Vance Joy 30
32 26 25 27 Shake It Off, Taylor Swift 1
33 27 22 15 I Don't F**k With You, Big Sean Featuring E-40 14
34 47 2 Outside, Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding 34
35 39 44 4 Lonely Eyes, Chris Young 35
36 38 47 3 Heartbeat Song, Kelly Clarkson 36
37 41 41 7 Homegrown Honey, Darius Rucker 37
38 43 43 5 Drinking Class, Lee Brice 38
39 46 48 3 Ain't Worth The Whiskey, Cole Swindell 39
40 40 40 7 Take It On Back, Chase Bryant 40
41 48 2 Ayo, Chris Brown & Tyga 41
42 36 35 28 All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor 1
43 0 Hot Shot Debut 1 Somebody, Natalie La Rose Featuring Jeremih 43
44 23 11 12 The Heart Wants What It Wants, Selena Gomez 9
45 49 2 Homegrown, Zac Brown Band 45
46 45 33 25 Habits (Stay High), Tove Lo 1
47 37 37 6 I Lived, OneRepublic 37
48 34 17 14 Talladega, Eric Church 13
49 50 2 Apparently, J. Cole 49
50 0 New 1 Take Your Time, Sam Hunt 50
On-Demand Songs
1 1 1 12 #1 6 wks Uptown Funk!, Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars 1
2 2 2 15 Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran 2
3 3 3 20 Take Me To Church, Hozier 1
4 5 5 5 Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding 4
5 4 4 4 Sugar, Maroon 5 4
6 6 6 7 Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey), The Weeknd 6
7 7 7 21 I'm Not The Only One, Sam Smith 4
8 18 18 31 GG Stay With Me, Sam Smith 1
9 8 8 7 G.D.F.R., Flo Rida Featuring Sage The Gemini & Lookas 6
10 9 9 18 I Don't F**k With You, Big Sean Featuring E-40 2
11 11 12 7 I Don't Mind, Usher Featuring Juicy J 11
12 12 17 5 Time Of Our Lives, Pitbull & Ne-Yo 12
13 10 10 14 Only, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown 5
14 20 22 4 Elastic Heart, Sia 14
15 14 11 22 Centuries, Fall Out Boy 11
16 25 27 36 Chandelier, Sia 4
17 13 13 17 Love Me Harder, Ariana Grande & The Weeknd 3
18 17 15 12 7/11, Beyonce 10
19 21 19 18 Jealous, Nick Jonas 6
20 15 14 16 No Type, Rae Sremmurd 11
21 16 23 3 Truffle Butter, Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake & Lil Wayne 16
22 24 20 15 Heroes (We Could Be), Alesso Featuring Tove Lo 20
23 19 16 14 Lips Are Movin, Meghan Trainor 7
24 23 25 4 She Knows, Ne-Yo Featuring Juicy J 23
25 22 21 14 The Heart Wants What It Wants, Selena Gomez 7
26 32 33 34 Don't, Ed Sheeran 16
27 26 30 13 Outside, Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding 26
28 28 28 29 All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor 1
29 27 29 36 Riptide, Vance Joy 18
30 34 38 3 Ghost, Ella Henderson 30
31 31 31 29 Bang Bang, Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj 1
32 33 32 25 Animals, Maroon 5 3
33 36 40 60 All Of Me, John Legend 1
34 29 26 37 Habits (Stay High), Tove Lo 2
35 0 Hot Shot Debut 1 Energy, Drake 35
36 0 New 1 Legend, Drake 36
37 0 New 1 Like I Can, Sam Smith 37
38 30 24 17 Tuesday, I LOVE MAKONNEN Featuring Drake 4
39 40 41 46 Rather Be, Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne 11
40 47 47 6 Often, The Weeknd 34
41 0 New 1 Only One, Kanye West Featuring Paul McCartney 41
42 45 39 15 Shut Up And Dance, WALK THE MOON 29
43 39 35 28 0 To 100 / The Catch Up, Drake 18
44 0 New 1 10 Bands, Drake 44
45 0 New 1 Prayer In C, Lillywood & Robin Schulz 45
46 35 42 7 Sledgehammer, Fifth Harmony 35
47 48 48 5 Firestone, Kygo Featuring Conrad 47
48 0 New 1 Take Your Time, Sam Hunt 48
49 0 New 1 Uma Thurman, Fall Out Boy 49
50 50 5 Geronimo, Sheppard 37
I hope Taylor returns to the top 3 next week. I still can't belive it's still that high 4 months later. Blew Speak Now and Red out of the water with ease.
I'm mildly surprised that 50 Shades had a bigger boost from tea/sea, if only because of how many songs Drake had on iTunes T100 and the articles about him breaking the streaming record.
Also it looks like the first time in awhile that the t10 sellers are the same as the t10 on bb200.
I'm mildly surprised that 50 Shades had a bigger boost from tea/sea, if only because of how many songs Drake had on iTunes T100 and the articles about him breaking the streaming record.
She would be the first to do it since Adele (as a lead artist). Iggy and Ariana did it last summer with their singles (Fancy, Problem, Black Widow ... Problem, Break Free, Bang Bang)
I'm mildly surprised that 50 Shades had a bigger boost from tea/sea, if only because of how many songs Drake had on iTunes T100 and the articles about him breaking the streaming record.
Also it looks like the first time in awhile that the t10 sellers are the same as the t10 on bb200.
50 Shades has the Ellie track (and the Weeknd track which I think is selling alright as well.)
Out of Drake's 40k TEA/SEA sales, about 12k alone came from Spotify , and the rest for the most part are track sales -- about 28k TEA = 280k single sales. Not bad for 3 days.