SZA's "SOS" has secured its ninth nonconsecutive week at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated February 25th), marking the most weeks at the summit of the list for an album by a woman in almost seven years.
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| Credit: SZA/Instagram |
The last female artist to hold the top spot for at least nine weeks was Adele's "25," which reigned for 10 nonconsecutive weeks between December 12th, 2015 and March 12th, 2016.
According to Luminate, "SOS" amassed 93,000 equivalent album units in the US during the week ending on February 16th, which is down by 7%.
SZA's "S.O.S" Makes History with 5-Week Reign at #1 on Billboard 200 >>
In addition to "SOS," Paramore's "This Is Why" debuts at number 2, making it the highest charting alternative album in eight months.
Furthermore, Rihanna's former number one album, "Anti," returns to the top 10 for the first time since 2016 following her halftime show performance at the Super Bowl on February 12th.
The Billboard 200 chart determines the most popular albums of the week in the US based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate.
SZA Makes History as First Female R&B Artist to Spend Four Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart >>
Units consist of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equates to 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 chart dated February 25th, 2023, will be posted in full on Billboard's website on Wednesday (February 22nd), one day later than usual, owing to the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday (February 20th) in the US. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Out of "SOS"’s 93,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending February 16th, SEA units comprise 92,000 (down 7%, equalling 126.73 million on-demand official streams of the set's tracks), album sales comprise 500 (down 1%), and TEA units comprise 500 (up 2%).
SZA Speaks Out About Bullying Experiences in High School >>
In the past decade, only three albums by women have spent at least nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200: "SOS," Adele's "25" (10 in 2015-16), and Taylor Swift's "1989" (11, 2014-15).
The last R&B/hip-hop album with at least eight weeks atop the list was Drake's "Views," which held the top spot for 13 nonconsecutive weeks between May 21st and October 8th, 2016.
"SOS" has the most weeks at number one for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman, or an R&B album by a woman, since Mariah Carey's self-titled debut spent 11 weeks, all consecutively, at number one in 1991.
Mariah Carey and SZA Reign Supreme on Hot 100 and Billboard 200 Charts >>
It should be noted that the Whitney Houston-led soundtrack to "The Bodyguard" logged 20 nonconsecutive weeks at number one in 1992-93.
The 12-track album has six songs by Houston and six songs by other artists. "SOS" has the most weeks at number one for an R&B album by any act since Usher's "Confessions" held the top spot for nine nonconsecutive weeks in 2004.
Rihanna Breaks Record for Most Platinum Awards by Woman of Color, Surpassing Beyoncé >>
According to Luminate, "SOS" amassed 93,000 equivalent album units in the US during the week ending on February 16th, which is down by 7%.
SZA's "S.O.S" Makes History with 5-Week Reign at #1 on Billboard 200 >>
In addition to "SOS," Paramore's "This Is Why" debuts at number 2, making it the highest charting alternative album in eight months.
Furthermore, Rihanna's former number one album, "Anti," returns to the top 10 for the first time since 2016 following her halftime show performance at the Super Bowl on February 12th.
The Billboard 200 chart determines the most popular albums of the week in the US based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate.
SZA Makes History as First Female R&B Artist to Spend Four Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart >>
Units consist of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equates to 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 chart dated February 25th, 2023, will be posted in full on Billboard's website on Wednesday (February 22nd), one day later than usual, owing to the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday (February 20th) in the US. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Out of "SOS"’s 93,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending February 16th, SEA units comprise 92,000 (down 7%, equalling 126.73 million on-demand official streams of the set's tracks), album sales comprise 500 (down 1%), and TEA units comprise 500 (up 2%).
SZA Speaks Out About Bullying Experiences in High School >>
In the past decade, only three albums by women have spent at least nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200: "SOS," Adele's "25" (10 in 2015-16), and Taylor Swift's "1989" (11, 2014-15).
The last R&B/hip-hop album with at least eight weeks atop the list was Drake's "Views," which held the top spot for 13 nonconsecutive weeks between May 21st and October 8th, 2016.
"SOS" has the most weeks at number one for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman, or an R&B album by a woman, since Mariah Carey's self-titled debut spent 11 weeks, all consecutively, at number one in 1991.
Mariah Carey and SZA Reign Supreme on Hot 100 and Billboard 200 Charts >>
It should be noted that the Whitney Houston-led soundtrack to "The Bodyguard" logged 20 nonconsecutive weeks at number one in 1992-93.
The 12-track album has six songs by Houston and six songs by other artists. "SOS" has the most weeks at number one for an R&B album by any act since Usher's "Confessions" held the top spot for nine nonconsecutive weeks in 2004.
Rihanna Breaks Record for Most Platinum Awards by Woman of Color, Surpassing Beyoncé >>
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