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Gunna Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart with ‘DS4Ever’
Plus: The Weeknd’s ‘Dawn FM’ arrives at No. 2.
Gunna scores his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart as DS4Ever debuts atop the tally (dated Jan. 22). The rapper previously led the list with his last release, Wunna, which bowed at No. 1 on the June 6, 2020-dated chart. In total, DS4Ever is his fifth charting album and fourth top 10.
The star-studded, 19-track DS4Ever album was released on Jan. 7 and boasts collaborations with and/or featured turns from 21 Savage, Chris Brown, Future, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch and Young Thug, among others. The album and its release date were announced on Jan. 1, after months of speculation.
DS4Ever launches with 150,300 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 13, according to MRC Data, nearly all from streaming activity. The launch marks his best week yet in terms of units earned. His previous largest week, by units, was the opening frame of Drip Harder, a joint album with Lil Baby, and its 130,000 units in 2018.
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 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. The new Jan 22, 2022-dated chart (where DS4Ever bows No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Jan. 19 – one day later than usual, owed to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Jan. 17 in the U.S. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of DS4Ever’s 150,300 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 144,600 (equaling 193.5 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs in its first week, making it the most-streamed album of the week), album sales comprise 4,700 and TEA units comprise 1,000.
DS4Ever dropped on Jan. 7 as a 19-track standard album via streaming services and digital retail. On Jan. 11, a deluxe edition with four bonus tracks was briefly released to streamers and digital retail, but was pulled down that same day. A 20-track edition of the album, which added “P Power” featuring Drake, was released late in the day on Jan. 13, the final day of the tracking week.
DS4Ever sold for as low as $7.99 in the iTunes Store during its first week, while Gunna’s official webstore sold the digital album for $4.
A CD edition of DS4Ever will not become widely available until late February or early March. However, a standard edition of the album garnered a limited release during street week, including its availability at Rough Trade in New York in conjunction with Gunna’s in-store appearance at the location on Jan. 13.
DS4Ever is the fourth release in Gunna’s Drip Season mixtape series. The first to chart from the series was Drip Season 3, which debuted and peaked at No. 55 in 2018. Gunna then followed it up with Drip Harder, a collaborative album with Lil Baby, which hit No. 4 later that year. In 2019, he released Drip or Drown 2, which peaked at No. 3.
The Weeknd’s album Dawn FM arrives at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, securing the superstar his eighth top 10 album – the entirety of his charting releases. The 16-track Dawn FM was released on Jan. 7 and includes featured guest turns from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne, and guest appearances by Quincy Jones and Jim Carrey.
Dawn FM tunes in with 148,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 13, according to MRC Data. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 131,300 (equaling 173.04 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 14,800 and TEA units comprise 1,900.
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s No. 1 2020 release After Hours, which launched a trio of No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Heartless,” “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears” (with Ariana Grande).
Dawn FM was led by the single “Take My Breath,” which debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100 dated Aug. 21, 2021.
The album’s title and its release date were formally announced on Jan. 3 by The Weeknd after months of build-up. The set was initially teased in mid-2021, and the artist even noted on the May 23 Billboard Music Awards that “the After Hours are done and the dawn is coming.”
Dawn FM was only available via streamers and digital download during its release week. Its CD edition is slated to be released on Jan. 28, while its vinyl LP and cassette editions are scheduled to bow on April 29.
Dawn FM garnered a 19-track deluxe edition release in the midst of its first week, as on Jan. 12 an expanded version of the album, dubbed Dawn FM (Alternate World), hit streaming services and digital retailers. The deluxe set included three new tracks: the previously released stand-alone single “Moth to a Flame,” with Swedish House Mafia, and a pair of remixes (for the album’s lead single “Take My Breath” and the new cut “Sacrifice”).
On Jan. 13, the final day of the tracking week, The Weeknd released three “collector’s” digital album variants for the standard 16-track Dawn FM album via his webstore (each with alternative cover art, priced at $3.49), as well as a “digitally signed” Dawn FM (Alternate World) digital album (priced at $5). In addition, The Weeknd’s webstore sold the standard digital version of Dawn FM for as low as $3.49 during release week, while the iTunes Store sold the standard edition for $7.99.
At No. 3 on the new Billboard 200, the Encanto film soundtrack is pushed down from No. 1 to No. 3 – though with a 32% gain in equivalent album units earned, as the album continues to grow in popularity. The set tallied 95,700 units for the week – its highest single-week sum.
Adele’s former leader 30 falls 2-4 with 48,300 equivalent album units earned (down 15%) and Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album dips 3-5 with 42,800 units (up 2%).
The Weeknd’s hits compilation The Highlights climbs 8-6 with 36,300 equivalent album units (up 8%), Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour falls 4-7 with 35,600 units (down 14%), Drake’s chart-topping Certified Lover Boy slips 6-8 with 35,100 units (down 4%) and Doja Cat’s Planet Her dips 7-9 with 33,600 units (down 2%). Rounding out the top 10 is Taylor Swift’s former leader Red (Taylor’s Version) descends 5-10 with 33,200 units (down 12%).
Source: billboard.com