The Weeknd's fourth studio album "After Hours" debuted right at the top of the Billboard 200, ending last Thursday, March 26.
"After Hours" posted 444,000 equivalent album units in the United States alone in its debut week. The figure equates to 275,000 direct album sales plus 163,000 equivalent copies taken from streaming sites. The Weeknd's streaming equivalent is made up of some 220.7 million streams across different services Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, and more.
Based on the numbers posted by Billboard's Top 200, the sales generated from the streams alone would have been enough to enthrone The Weeknd at the number one spot this week. Also, the total sales from The Weeknd's latest work has just surpassed the previous record set by BTS for this year's largest debut. The seven-member K-Pop phenomenon earned a total of 422,000 equivalent album units in the record week which ended a month ago, February 27, which now makes "After Hours" this year's largest debut.
It marks the "Blinding Lights" singer's fourth No. 1 on the top 200. He first clinched the top spot with his 2015 studio album "Beauty Behind the Madness", going on to become one of the year's most commercially successful releases. The following year, The Weeknd would return to his throne with the release of his third studio album, "Starboy", which contains the track of the same name to dominate the Billboard Hot 100. His third time at the top is with "My Dear Melancholy", his first EP back in 2018.
Meanwhile, The Weeknd's ascent upstaged former No. 1 Lil Uzi Vert's sophomore studio album "Eternal Atake", closing in at second place with 115,000 additional album units, 53% less than last week's performance. Following Lil Uzi Vert is another former No. 1, Lil Baby's second album "My Turn" (60,000 equivalent album units or 22% less). Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny's "YHLQMDLG" slips to the fourth spot (51,000 equivalent album units or 26% less).
The Weeknd's stellar Billboard 200 performance does not end with his four No.1 releases. His 2012 compilation album, "Trilogy," which contained remastered and re-mixed versions from his earlier mixtapes, reached No. 4 while his debut work "Kiss Land" nearly topped the chart but fell short at second place in 2013.
Conan Gray secured the fifth spot with his debut album "Kid Krow", posting 49,000 equivalent album units. His debut EP, "Sunset Season", previously debuted at its peak 118th place.
"After Hours" previously dropped two proper singles ahead as well as a promotional track, with all three previews placing well on the Hot 100. First was "Heartless", released November 27, 2019, skyrocketing to the top spot on its second week, marking the artist's fourth No. 1 hit in the Hot 100. Next was "Blinding Lights", released just two days after "Heartless", currently peaking at second place. The titular single "After Hours" was released as a promotional track and reached No. 20 earlier this year.
Born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, has earlier made headlines with the release of his fourth studio album, from people noting the lack of featuring acts, to the stunning aesthetic, to the supposed references to his past lovers Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez.
The Billboard 200 is a record chart for the 200 most popular albums and extended plays, based on the total retail and digital sales. It covers all genres released in the United States. Meanwhile, the Billboard Hot 100 is the ranking chart for songs and singles, using essentially the same metrics.
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