Ariana Grande Scores Third No.1 Album With ‘Sweetener’
In less than two weeks from its release, Ariana Grande’s new album Sweetener has already claimed the coveted top spot on the Billboard 200.
In less than two weeks from its release, Ariana Grande’s new album Sweetener has already claimed the coveted top spot on the Billboard 200.
Selling 231,000 total copies, including 127,000 traditional copies, Sweetener marks her third No. 1 album, after her previous LP’s My Everything (2014) and Yours Truly (2013) achieved the same feat, Billboard reports.
Upon hearing the news, Grande took to social media to share her excitement, writing:
“I just wanted to say thank you so much. I know these things don’t really matter but I am over the moon grateful and I just want to thank you for all your warmth and for receiving this project with such love and thank you for all that you do.”
The Billboard 200 album chart has evolved since its early days and now takes into effect streaming and how people consume music beyond just physical album sales. The multi-metric is now comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA) to determine the most commercially successful album is.
Sweetener officially knocked Travis Scott’s Astroworld to the No. 2 spot, while Nicki Minaj’s Queen holds steady at No.1, followed by Drake’s Scorpion and Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys at No. 4 and No. 5.
The album also earned the second-best sales week for a female artist in 2018, coming in second only to Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy.
While streaming has been the domain of hip-hop stars as of late, Grande’s pop-trap confection also broke records on streaming, collecting 126.7 million on-demand audio streams during its debut window and making it the largest streaming week for a pop album by a woman and by a female non-rap act.
With no official dates listed for her 2019 tour yet, Grande performed new tracks of the album during an intimate appearance at the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles this past weekend, dubbed the “Sweetener Sessions”. The relaxed show was a far cry from her MTV Video Music Awards epic performance, sitting atop a stool and performing to a crowd of only 1,600, while taking requests from the audience.
Grande has also promised tour dates will come soon and leaked potential UK dates on social media over the past few weeks.
Listen to Sweetener here.
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