DONDA is officially a moment. Kanye West’s latest album is the biggest debut of 2021 with over 775 million global streams.
Kanye West’s long-delayed new album, “Donda,” starts at No. 1 on Billboard’s new chart with the biggest opening of the year so far. But its reign at the top may be brief, with Drake’s latest LP lining up huge numbers for next week.
“Donda,” West’s 10th solo studio album (and his 10th title overall to reach the top, including “Watch the Throne,” his 2011 album with Jay-Z), had the equivalent of 309,000 sales in the United States in its first week out, more than any other album in 2021, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm. (Its closest competitor, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour,” racked up 295,000 in May.) The total for “Donda” includes 357 million streams, a weekly record for the year, and 37,000 copies sold as a complete package.
According to West’s label, Def Jam, the album has reached No. 1 in 11 countries and had more than 775 million streams around the world. The label even broke down those streams by outlet: 442 million on Spotify and 242 million on Apple Music, which would mean those services accounted for about 88 per cent of all opening-week streams for the album.
Teased for more than a year — including at three stadium-size listening events in recent weeks, which were live-streamed by Apple Music — the 27-track “Donda” was finally released on Aug. 29, a Sunday. Since albums usually come out on a Friday, that gave “Donda” just five days of public availability before Billboard’s accounting week ended.
The new album hit the top of the charts in eleven different countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and first-time debuts in France, Italy and Sweden.
In addition, DONDA set all-time Apple Music records for No. 1 peaks in 152 countries.
The album was released off-cycle on Sunday, August 29 and would still hit over 520,000 equivalent units globally in the first week of streaming.
Source: Nytimes.com