Billboard 200

‘Billboard’ 200 This Week: Morgan Wallen, Rod Wave, And Olivia Rodrigo

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The latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated October 14) has arrived, so let’s run down what projects find themselves in the top 10 this week.

10. Peso Pluma — Génesis

Génesis peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 this summer, and as proof of the project’s staying power, it remains in the top 10 here in October.

9. Doja Cat — Scarlet

Scarlet has a major debut week, entering the chart at No. 2. It took a significant fall in its second frame, though, tumbling to No. 9.

8. Taylor Swift — Midnights

There’s no end to the frenzy surrounding Swift. It’s been just about a year since Midnights was released, and yet here it is, still solidly in the top 10 in 2023.

7. Travis Scott — Utopia

Utopia is still faring well on the charts, which should be a good indicator that Scott’s Circus Maximus tour will get off to a hot start with its first concert in just a couple days.

6. SZA — SOS

While a special deluxe edition of SOS appears to be on the way, the base project is doing just fine without an addendum as it maintains the No. 6 spot it also held last week.

5. Zach Bryan — Zach Bryan

Bryan came through with a surprise EP recently, but it’s his recently released self-titled album that’s dominating the charts, with the former No. 1 living at No. 5 this week.

4. Ed Sheeran — Autumn Variations

Sheeran has this week’s highest chart debut with his new album. It’s his seventh top-10 album on the Billboard 200, and in fact, all of his albums have debuted in the top 5.

3. Olivia Rodrigo — Guts

Guts had the silver medal last week, but when you’re talking about the Billboard 200 chart, bronze is still pretty great, which is where Rodrigo sits this week.

2. Rod Wave — Nostalgia

For its third week on the chart, Wave ceded the No. 1 spot but still managed to hang onto No. 1 with Nostalgia.

1. Morgan Wallen — One Thing At A Time

Wallen has been perhaps the single biggest artist of 2023 in terms of chart performance: One Thing At A Time is No. 1 this week (after placing at No. 3 last week) for a 16th total week on top.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When Does The ‘Billboard’ 200 Update?

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This year, artists like Taylor Swift, SZA, and Morgan Wallen have been frequent occupiers of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, but there’s always someone waiting to claim the honor for themselves. In September, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts debuted at No. 1, and Zach Bryan’s self-titled album dethroned Travis Scott’s Utopia. And for the last two weeks (and counting), Rod Wave has owned the top spot.

It has long been a built-in game for artists to gun for the Billboard 200 throne, and it’s just as much a weekly spectator sport for fans. The publication’s FAQ section explains, “Almost all weekly charts update each Tuesday morning (while, during weeks with Monday holidays, charts update on Wednesdays). If you don’t see a weekly chart updated by those times, please clear your browser cache and try again.”

Billboard also laid out its methodology for determining the country’s best album per week. “The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the US based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.”

SZA’s “SOS” Becomes Longest Running #1 R&B Album

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SZA has had a spectacular 2023. After releasing her highly-anticipated new album SOS to massive critical acclaim last year, great commercial success has followed. The album scored a stunning 10-week run at number one on the Billboard 200 following its debut at the top spot. It spent an equally impressive 21 weeks atop the combination Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. But its most impressive accomplishment came on the Top R&B Albums chart and its success just turned record-breaking.

This week it was confirmed that SOS was spending its record-breaking 41st week at the number one spot on the official Top R&B Albums chart. That officially broke the record for the longest run on the top of the charts since its inception in 2013. She took the record from The Weeknd’s After Hours which tapped out after 40 weeks at the very top in 2021. Elsewhere albums like Doja Cat’s Planet Her and Bruno Mars’ 24k Magic racked up more than 25 weeks at the top spot.

Read More: SZA & Jean Dawson’s “NO SZNS” Fits Right Into Our “R&B Season” Playlist Update

SZA Breaks Yet Another Chart Record

SZA has also achieved quite a bit of success on the Hot 100. The SOS single “Kill Bill” reached the top spot on the chart for a week back in March. When the new charts were released earlier this week she was once again on top. Her new collaboration with Drake “Slime You Out” just debuted at the number one spot. She’s the only artist to score two number-one hits so far in 2023 and her single “Snooze” just reached a new peak of its own at #3 this week.

Last week, SZA teamed up with Jean Dawson for a beautiful and multi-faceted new single. The song is already pushing two million streams on Spotify and has the chance to land among Dawson’s biggest hits. Her chart run could continue indefinitely as there’s a deluxe version of SOS with new songs on the way later this year. What do you think of SZA continuing to smash Billboard chart records? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Drake’s SZA Collab Isn’t “Hard” Enough For Charlamagne Tha God

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Doja Cat’s “Scarlet” Headed For Top-10 Debut On Billboard 200

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Doja Cat’s new album, Scarlet, is reportedly heading for a top-ten debut on the Billboard 200 with 50-55K units first week, according to Chart Data. She dropped the project as her fourth studio album on Friday.

Despite the successful figure, it’s a far cry from her last effort, Planet Her, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and earned 109k sales in the first week. The news comes after her song, “Paint The Town Red,” already went number one on the singles chart. It was her second song to do so.

Read More: Doja Cat Is All In For Her Man On “Can’t Wait” From “Scarlet”

Doja Cat Performs At The VMAs

Doja Cat performs onstage at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards held at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

The new album feels like Doja at her most thematically deliberate. This is even reflected in her cover art choice, which she says represents overcoming her fears. She defended the artwork, which features two spiders, in an interaction with a fan on Twitter, earlier this week. “The art I chose for my album is beautiful and I like it a lot,” she wrote. “The two spiders signify conquering your fear. None of my album covers had meaning until this album. You not accepting me was a fear I used to have. I don’t care anymore about satisfying you.”

Doja Cat’s “Scarlet” Heads For Big Debut

Scarlet is Doja Cat’s first album since 2021’s Planet Her. She began promoting the project with the release of the singles “Attention,” “Demons,” and “Balut.” She’ll be embarking on The Scarlet Tour along with Ice Spice and Doechii later this year. The first show is set for October 31, 2023, at Chase Center in San Francisco and the last will be held on December 13, 2023, at United Center in Chicago. Be on the lookout for further updates on the tour on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: Doja Cat Returns With Fourth Studio Album, “Scarlet”

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Russ Hits New Milestone As An Independent Artist

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Russ continues to break barriers as an independent artist. Over the weekend in San Francisco, he opened up for singer Ed Sheeran as part of his Mathematics tour. It turns out that Ed Sheeran’s performance at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday broke the event space’s attendance record. According to San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido, close to 80,000 people attended the concert, which broke the stadium’s attendance record. It’s quite an accomplishment for the summer, especially considering that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have already made appearances at the stadium.

Moreover, it’s an impressive feat for Russ, who was excited and grateful for the opportunity to perform in front of such a large crowd. “Last night was one of the craziest nights of my life,” Russ said in an IG post. “80,000 people in attendance. Thank you @teddysphotos for letting me touch the stage and get in front of this many people. Forever grateful!!! SANTIAGO MADE IT TO STADIUMS.”

Read More: Russ Roasts XXL For Forgetting He Performed At The Pyramids

Russ Breaks Barriers

Russ’ latest album Santiago, recently entered the Billboard 200 chart for the first time, debuting at an impressive 12th position with 42,000 copies sold. Although the accomplishment is one to be proud of, Russ couldn’t help but feel slighted. What’s even more noteworthy is that he debuted six spots ahead of Quavo’s new album, Rocket Power. Nevertheless, Russ felt his anger was warranted because he was initially projected to sell over 50,000 copies and make a top 10 debut.

“Billboard & Luminate took away ANOTHER 4,000 of my REAL sales over the weekend making that 10,000 sales total they took away from me while allowing major labels to fake their streams and sales and do monopolistic merch bundles (only major labels are allowed to do merch bundles because the only approved vendor is a major label vendor),” Russ explained in a recent tweet. He ended by claiming that the charts don’t matter as much as fan support does. “These numbers and charts are made up. The impact however is not. Shoutout to the fans.”

Read More: Russ Questions Burna Boy’s U.S. First Week Sales For “I Told Them…”

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Russ Claims Billboard Is Disqualifying Sales Of His New Album

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While it can often seem like fans are the only ones who care about sales numbers and chart placement, sometimes artists do too. There have been plenty of notable moments from artists like DJ Khaled and 6ix9ine who get upset publicly when their music doesn’t hit number one. But this week there’s another artist who feels cheated, Russ. His new album Santiago just hit the Billboard 200 for the first time and it debuted at number 12 with a pretty impressive 42k sold. He even managed to debut 6 spots higher than Quavo’s new album Rocket Power. But because he was initially projected to sell over 50k and debut in the top 10, the “What They Want” rapper feels cheated.

“Billboard & Luminate took away ANOTHER 4,000 of my REAL sales over the weekend making that 10,000 sales total they took away from me while allowing major labels to fake their streams and sales and do monopolistic merch bundles (only major labels are allowed to do merch bundles because the only approved vendor is a major label vendor),” Russ ranted in a recent tweet. He ended his initial statement claiming that the charts don’t matter as much as fan support does. “These numbers and charts are made up. The impact however is not. Shoutout to the fans.”

Read More: Russ Roasts XXL For Forgetting He Performed At The Pyramids

Russ Claims Billboard Slighted Him 10k Sales

This isn’t the only time Russ has taken aim at music industry numbers recently. Earlier this year he tried explaining to his fans how Spotify’s monthly listeners stat is misleading. He called the presentation “a façade” on account of how many monthly listeners are users who only accidentally stumbled onto one song on a playlist and aren’t actually really “listeners.”

It’s easy to see why a debut outside the top 10 would be disappointing for Russ. His only other albums to hit the Billboard 200 have all debuted in the top 10. His albums Zoo and Shake The Snow Globe both hit the top 5. What do you think of Russ calling out Billboard for the allegedly missing sales? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Russ Recalls Getting Drunk Before Interviews, Flexes Dr. Dre Co-Sign

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Travis Scott’s “Utopia” Could Sell 400k In Its First Week

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Travis Scott’s highly anticipated new album Utopia has already proven to be one of the biggest hip-hop events of 2023. The absolutely stacked feature list and accompanying film had fans captivated and many are still digesting the full 70+ minutes of material the album has to offer. Though the album was already primed to have a huge opening week, new projections say it could be even higher than anticipated. An updated 125k in pure sales could push the total album sales to over 400k in its first week.

That number would more than double the next closest first week for a rap album this year. Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape became the first rap album to hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year. Even then, the project sold just 167k in its first week. Travis Scott is set to have the third-biggest album debut of 2023. He’ll slot in behind Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time which 501k in its first week and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) which pushed a whopping 716k units. When Travis Scott’s last album Astroworld dropped in 2018 it scored 553k first-week sales. Though it’s worth noting that rules for album bundles, which Scott has always made heavy use of, were looser in 2018 than they are today.

Travis Scott Could Sell 400k

On top of the album and film that already exist for Utopia, Travis Scott took the project into another medium. Yesterday he shared a new zine with fans as part of the album’s rollout. It came on the same day that he had to give fans an update about a planned Utopia show. The show was supposed to take place at the pyramids in Egypt. But the performance started experiencing issues as soon as it was announced. After the show was ultimately canceled last week Scott confirmed to fans that it is being moved to Rome.

What do you think of the new projected first week sales numbers for Utopia? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Travis Scott Criticized For Failing To Credit KayCyy For “Thank God” Feature

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Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Pink Tape’ Is The First Hip-Hop Album Of 2023 To Reach No. 1 On The ‘Billboard’ 200 Chart

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As we reached the mid-point of 2023, one of the biggest topics of discussion among music fans was how no rap album had yet reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart — the first time this had failed to occur by July since 1993. The long streak has finally been broken, however, by Lil Uzi Vert, whose third studio album Pink Tape entered the albums chart at the top, also marking Uzi’s third album to reach No. 1.

As Billboard notes, the last time the first half of the year featured no rap No. 1s was in 1993 — two years before Uzi was even born — when Cypress Hill’s Black Sunday debuted at No. 1 on the August 7th chart, 34 weeks after Ice Cube’s The Predator. The last rap album to reach No. 1 before Pink Tape was Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains on the December 17 chart, a 29-week gap.

Between the two, SZA’s SOS and Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time have absolutely dominated the No. 1 spot, at 10 and 15 nonconsecutive weeks each, respectively, while four albums each spent one week at the top. Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito, Stray Kids’ 5-STAR, Taylor Swift’s Midnights, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation. That’s a lot of K-pop.

This week’s top 10 sees Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time at No. 2, Peso Pluma’s Génesis at No. 3, Midnights at No. 4, and Wallen’s previous album Dangerous: The Double Album at No. 5. The remaining five, in order, are SZA’s SOS Gunna’s A Gift & A Curse, Swift’s Lover, Aespa’s MY WORLD, and Rylo Rodriguez’s Been One.

Lil Uzi Vert Debuts 18 “Pink Tape” Songs On The Hot 100

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As the new editions of the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 roll in this week, it’s been nothing but good news for Lil Uzi Vert. The rapper released their often teased and highly-anticipated new album Pink Tape last week and now that the official numbers are in it’s a certified smash. The album itself turned out 167k in equivalent units for its week one sales. Not only does that make it one of the best-selling albums of the year, but it laps the field as far as hip-hop is concerned. The album easily cleared the previous best first week for a rap album this year, Lil Durk’s Almost Healed. Pink Tape also became the first rap album to debut at #1, or even reach #1 at any point so far in 2023.

Lil Uzi Vert’s numbers on the Hot 100 are just as impressive. Alongside “Just Wanna Rock” which has been stable on the charts since its release last year, Uzi debuted 18 of the other 22 songs from Pink Tape. Among the list of songs that made the cut are “Endless Fashion” with Nicki Minaj which slotted in at 20. “Aye” with Travis Scott earned the number #31 spot, while “Patience” with Don Toliver clocked in at #70. The highest debut of all the songs was the opener “Flooded The Face.” The first track on the album landed at #11 in its first week, surpassing the best debuts from Young Thug and Gunna’s recent projects.

Lil Uzi Vert Impresses On The Charts

Lil Uzi Vert has stayed pretty busy despite dropping their new album. Shortly after they announced a tour happening later this year in support of the project. Following that they teased that a second album LUV Is Rage 3 which they now claim could come out in a few months.

Despite Uzi’s success, no rap song has managed to hit #1 on the Hot 100 in 2023. Pop star Olivia Rodrigo’s new single “Vampire” just took the top spot from country superstar Morgan Wallen whose song “Last Night” had topped the chart for over 3 months. There are still songs from both Lil Durk and Gunna in the top 10 of this week’s Hot 100. What do you think of Lil Uzi Vert’s first-week numbers? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Lil Uzi Vert Flexes Piles Of Cash On Their Instagram

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Lil Uzi Vert Reveals What It’s Going To Take For Second Album Drop

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Lil Uzi Vert should be basking in the spotlight of their latest album, The Pink Tape. However, the man is still hungry for recognition, as well as for dropping more music. On July 4th, Lil Uzi posted to their Instagram story a picture of the album cover with the caption, “Get this [to] number one… And I will drop [the] album [y’all] really looking for.” He completes the story with two shushing emojis, referring to the top-secret nature of this mysterious second album.

It’s clear Lil Uzi Vert thinks that, while The Pink Tape is a solid collection of songs, there’s a separate tracklist that hits even harder. They’re saving that second drop for a rainy day or, in this case, for when Pink goes number one. When they says that, they mean going number one on the Billboard 200. To top the charts with their entire album would be quite an accomplishment. With so much new music dropping in 2023, it’s difficult to own a top spot on the Billboard chart.

Read more: Lil Uzi Vert Teases Another New Album After “Pink Tape”

Why Lil Uzi Vert Isn’t Satisfied

 
 
 
 
 
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Lil Uzi is currently performing songs from this most recent album, but they want to give people even more music. From a live stream, Vert confirmed they wouldn’t release a deluxe version of The Pink Tape, instead opting for a complete second album. Whether it’s a sequel or response to Pink is unclear, but the project seems almost ready to drop. There’s only one thing for fans to do, and that’s make sure Lil Uzi tops the charts. Honestly, it’s fantastic marketing.

In other Lil Uzi news, it might happen that The Pink Tape hits number one all on its own. First-week sales projections have it ending the week at the top spot, with Young Thug falling short of taking the number one crown. For almost months, Morgan Whalen has been killing the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200. Perhaps it’s time for hip-hop to claim the throne. In the meantime, Lil Uzi Vert will be mobbing in their 1-of-1 Rolls Royce, living the good life with a best-selling album.

Read more: Lil Uzi Vert Thanks Ken Carson For Producing “x2” Off Of “Pink Tape”

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