{"id":4690,"date":"2025-09-29T04:56:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T04:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/?p=4690"},"modified":"2025-09-29T04:56:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T04:56:43","slug":"cardi-b-scores-second-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-with-am-i-the-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/?p=4690","title":{"rendered":"Cardi B Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 with \u2018AM I THE\u00a0DRAMA?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<script>\r\nif( document.getElementById( \"builder-styles-css\" ) ) document.getElementById( \"builder-styles-css\" ).insertAdjacentHTML( \"beforebegin\", \"<link rel='stylesheet' href='https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/wp-content\/themes\/themify-music\/themify\/themify-builder\/css\/themify-builder-style.css' type='text\/css' \/>\" );\r\n<\/script>\r\n\t\t\t\n<p>Plus: Nine Inch Nails lands its highest-charting album in over a decade with the\u00a0<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>\u00a0soundtrack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/card-b\">Cardi B<\/a>\u00a0scores her second No. 1 on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/charts\/billboard-200\/\">Billboard 200<\/a>\u00a0albums chart as\u00a0<em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>\u00a0debuts atop the tally (dated Oct. 4) with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Sept. 25, according to Luminate. That marks 2025\u2019s biggest week for an R&amp;B\/hip-hop album by a woman.\u00a0<em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>\u00a0is Cardi B\u2019s second full-length studio project, and follows her chart-topping debut,\u00a0<em>Invasion of Privacy<\/em>, in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also in the top 10 of the latest\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/t\/billboard-200\/\">Billboard 200<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/nine-inch-nails\/\">Nine Inch Nails<\/a>\u2019 soundtrack to\u00a0<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>\u00a0debuts at No. 5, marking the first top 10 for the band since 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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, 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. The new Oct. 4, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on\u00a0<em>Billboard<\/em>\u2018s website on Sept. 30. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of&nbsp;<em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>\u2019s 200,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 110,000 (equaling 145.72 million on-demand official streams of the set\u2019s songs during the tracking week \u2014 it also debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 88,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 2,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>\u2019s opening-week sales were boosted by its availability across an array of permutations. It was issued as a standard 19-song widely available digital download album; 20-song CD and vinyl editions; and a 23-song download and streaming edition. There were also further digital variants: an iTunes Store and Apple Music edition with bonus live video tracks, a 30-track artist webstore-exclusive edition and two widely available expanded editions (with 24 tracks each).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CD and vinyl variants for&nbsp;<em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>&nbsp;were largely only available through Cardi B\u2019s webstore and through some independent record stores.&nbsp;<em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>&nbsp;was issued on two standard CD variants (one signed by the artist), seven additional CD cover variants (four of them signed, inclusive of three&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/chart-beat\/cardi-b-am-i-the-drama-number-one-contenders-1236073881\/\">versions<\/a>&nbsp;with cover art showing gone-viral photos of the artist on the stand during her&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/cardi-b-wins-trial-security-guard-assault-lawsuit\/\">assault trial<\/a>&nbsp;in August, dubbed the \u201ccourtroom edition\u201d) and eight deluxe CD boxed sets containing merchandise and a CD. The album was also issued on two standard vinyl editions (one signed) and nine additional vinyl variants (some with different covers and\/or color vinyl, most of them signed, including a \u201ccourtroom edition\u201d cover variant).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to a typical&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/chart-beat\/cardi-b-am-i-the-drama-number-one-contenders-1236073881\/\">promotional press run<\/a>&nbsp;to raise awareness of the album\u2019s release, the artist also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/chart-beat\/cardi-b-am-i-the-drama-number-one-contenders-1236073881\/\">mounted<\/a>&nbsp;a busy schedule of in-store appearances during release week, doing photo ops and meet-and-greets with fans purchasing the album. During release week, she hit four independent record stores (Looney Tunes in West Babylon, N.Y.; Spin Me Round in Easton, Pa.; DBS Sounds in Riverdale, Ga.; and Fingerprints in Long Beach, Calif.) and a Hot Topic location in Elmhurst, N.Y. and a Walmart in Cypress, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The widely available editions of&nbsp;<em>AM I THE DRAMA?<\/em>&nbsp;contain the Billboard Hot 100-charted hits \u201cOutside\u201d (No. 10 peak in July), \u201cImaginary Playerz\u201d (No. 70 in August), \u201cUp\u201d (No. 1 in March 2021) and \u201cWAP\u201d (featuring Megan Thee Stallion, No. 1 in August 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chart-topping&nbsp;<em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em>&nbsp;soundtrack holds at No. 2 with 104,000 equivalent album units earned (down 7%). The set also notches a 10th week inside the top two on the Billboard 200, marking the most weeks inside the top two for a soundtrack since the&nbsp;<em>Frozen<\/em>&nbsp;album logged 21 nonconsecutive frames in the top two (13 of them at No. 1) in 2014.&nbsp;<em>KPop<\/em>&nbsp;surpasses&nbsp;<em>Encanto<\/em>, which had nine weeks in the top two (all at No. 1) in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/morgan-wallen\/\">Morgan Wallen<\/a>\u2019s former No. 1&nbsp;<em>I\u2019m the Problem<\/em>&nbsp;is steady at No. 3 (90,000 equivalent album units, down 7%) and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/sabrina-carpenter\/\">Sabrina Carpenter<\/a>\u2019s chart-topping&nbsp;<em>Man\u2019s Best Friend<\/em>&nbsp;is stationary at No. 4 (69,000, down 21%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nine Inch Nails are back in the Billboard 200\u2019s top 10 for the first time in over a decade, as the band\u2019s soundtrack to the film&nbsp;<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>&nbsp;debuts at No. 5 (the highest debut of 2025 for a soundtrack) with 45,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 39,000 (it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 6,000 (equaling 8.37 million on-demand official streams of the set\u2019s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Nine Inch Nails have tallied seven top 10 albums on the Billboard 200:&nbsp;<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Hesitation Marks<\/em>&nbsp;(No. 3 in 2013),&nbsp;<em>Year Zero<\/em>&nbsp;(No. 2, 2007),&nbsp;<em>With Teeth&nbsp;<\/em>(No. 1, 2005),&nbsp;<em>The Fragile<\/em>&nbsp;(No. 1, 1999),&nbsp;<em>The Downward Spiral<\/em>&nbsp;(No. 2, 1994) and&nbsp;<em>Broken<\/em>&nbsp;(No. 7, 1992).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first-week sales of&nbsp;<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>&nbsp;were aided by its availability across four vinyl variants, a cassette, two CD variants and a download and streaming edition (all containing the same tracklist).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>TRON: Ares<\/em>&nbsp;is the companion soundtrack to the film of the same name, which will be released on Oct. 10 in movie theaters, and is the third in the&nbsp;<em>Tron<\/em>&nbsp;film series. It follows&nbsp;<em>Tron: Legacy<\/em>&nbsp;(2010) and&nbsp;<em>Tron<\/em>&nbsp;(1982). The&nbsp;<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>&nbsp;soundtrack is the second&nbsp;<em>Tron<\/em>&nbsp;movie soundtrack to reach the Billboard 200, following Daft Punk\u2019s&nbsp;<em>TRON: Legacy<\/em>&nbsp;(which peaked at No. 4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>TRON: Ares<\/em>&nbsp;was preceded by the album\u2019s single \u201cAs Alive as You Need Me To Be,\u201d which has reached the top 10 on both Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, with&nbsp;<em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>TRON: Ares<\/em>&nbsp;at Nos. 2 and 5, there are two soundtracks in the top five simultaneously for the first time in more than six years. It last happened on the March 30, 2019 chart, when Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper\u2019s chart-topping&nbsp;<em>A Star Is Born<\/em>&nbsp;was No. 3 and Queen\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em>&nbsp;was No. 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rounding out the rest of the latest top 10 on the Billboard 200: Alex Warren\u2019s&nbsp;<em>You\u2019ll Be Alright, Kid<\/em>&nbsp;rises 7-6 (35,000 equivalent album units, down 3%); SZA\u2019s chart-topping&nbsp;<em>SOS<\/em>&nbsp;climbs 8-7 (33,000, down 2%); Wallen\u2019s former leader&nbsp;<em>One Thing at a Time<\/em>&nbsp;steps 9-8 (32,000, down 3%); Justin Bieber\u2019s&nbsp;<em>SWAG<\/em>&nbsp;shifts 6-9 (just under 32,000, down 27%); and Bad Bunny\u2019s former No. 1&nbsp;<em>DeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS<\/em>&nbsp;climbs 13-10 (nearly 32,000, up 21%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Source: billboard.com<\/p>\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-4690\" data-postid=\"4690\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-4690 themify_builder themify_builder_front\">\r\n\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/themify_builder_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plus: Nine Inch Nails lands its highest-charting album in over a decade with the\u00a0TRON: Ares\u00a0soundtrack. Cardi B\u00a0scores her second No. 1 on the\u00a0Billboard 200\u00a0albums chart as\u00a0AM I THE DRAMA?\u00a0debuts atop the tally (dated Oct. 4) with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Sept. 25, according to Luminate. That [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-now","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","no-post-comment","no-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/04-cardi-b-2025-cr-brian-ziff-billboard-1800.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4690"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4693,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4690\/revisions\/4693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicnow.iprorecords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}