Young Thug Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘So Much Fun’

Plus: Lionel Richie debuts at No. 2.

Young Thug achieves his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as So Much Fun debuts atop the list. The set earned 131,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 22, according to Nielsen Music. Of that unit sum, just 5,000 were in album sales — the rest was driven almost entirely by streaming activity.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Aug. 31-dated chart (where So Much Fun bows at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s websites on Aug. 27.

So Much Fun’s total unit start of 131,000 is comprised of 5,000 in album sales, 1,000 in TEA units, and 125,000 in SEA units — easily making it the most-streamed album of the week.

The 125,000 SEA sum equates to 167.9 million on-demand audio streams for the album’s 19 tracks in its first week. That’s the fifth-largest streaming week for any album in 2019 and the second-largest week for a hip-hop album this year. The four larger weeks in 2019: the debut weeks of Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next (307.1 million; Feb. 23-dated chart), Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?(194 million, April 13), Juice WRLD’s Death Race for Love (176.4 million, March 23) and the second week of Thank U, Next (168.6 million, March 2).

So Much Fun is Young Thug’s eighth consecutive top 40-charting album, and fifth top 10 effort. He previously hit the top 10 with Super Slimey (No. 2 in 2017, with Future), Beautiful Thugger Girls (No. 8, 2017), Jeffery (No. 8, 2016) and Slime Season 3(No. 7, 2016).

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Lionel Richie’s new live album Hello From Las Vegas arrives with 65,000 equivalent album units. Nearly all of that sum is album sales, powered almost entirely by sales generated from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer tied to his summer tour. Richie last debuted on the chart way back in 2012 with Tuskegee, which bowed at No. 2 on the April 14, 2012-dated list, and then rose to No. 1 two weeks later (for two straight weeks at No. 1). In total, Hello From Las Vegas marks Richie’s sixth top 10 effort.

Hello From Las Vegas is the highest-charting live album on the Billboard 200 since Kenny Chesney’s Live In No Shoes Nation entered at No. 1 on the Nov. 18, 2017-dated list. Like Hello, Chesney’s set was also powered by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer.

Back on the new Billboard 200 chart, the compilation Quality Control: Control the Streets, Volume 2 starts at No. 3 with nearly 63,000 equivalent album units earned —with 61,000 of that sum in SEA units (translating to 82.6 million on-demand streams for its 36 tracks). The expansive set boasts contributions from Quality Control’s roster of artists, including turns from Migos (and its members Offset, Quavo and Takeoff), Lil Baby, Lil Yachty and City Girls.

Control the Streets, Volume 2 follows Control the Streets, Volume 1, which debuted and peaked at No. 5 on the Dec. 30, 2017-dated chart (52,000 units earned in its first week).

Below Control, Volume 2 is a pair of former No. 1s, as Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Ed Sheeran’s No.6 Collaborations Project are non-movers at Nos. 4 and 5. When We All Fall Asleep tallied 43,000 equivalent album units (down 3%) while No.6 earned 39,000 units (down 11%).

Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You bumps back up to its peak position, as the set climbs one spot to No. 6 with 35,000 equivalent album units (up 6%). The album debuted at No. 6 on the May 4-dated chart, and has now spent five nonconsecutive weeks at No. 6.

Chris Brown’s former No. 1 Indigo dips 6-7 with 32,000 equivalent album units (down 11%), Rick Ross’ Port of Miami 2 falls 2-8 in its second week with 29,000 units (down 64%), and Khalid’s former chart-topper Free Spirit is stationary at No. 9 with just over 27,000 units (down 9%).

Closing out the top 10 is Shawn Mendes’ self-titled album, rising 11-10 with nearly 27,000 units (though down 7%). It’s the first week the former No. 1 has been in the top 10 since its third week on the list (June 23, 2018) when it ranked at No. 10. The album is benefiting from the recent addition of Mendes’ two previous stand-alone singles (“Senorita,” with Camila Cabello, and “If I Can’t Have You”) to the digital and streaming deluxe editions of the album.

Source: billboard.com