Music

The critically-acclaimed fifth studio album from the Grammy-winning rapper amasses 295,500 equivalent album units within its first week of release, surpassing Bad Bunny's 'Un Verano Sin Ti'.

• May 23, 2022

AceShowbiz - Kendrick Lamar has returned big after the longest gap between his two albums. His latest album "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking his fourth No. 1 on the list.

The fifth studio album from the Compton-born rapper earned 295,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending May 19, according to Luminate. The double album's total includes 258,500 in streaming equivalent album units (343.02 million on-demand streams of the tracks), 35,500 in album sales and 1,500 in track equivalent album units.

"Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" crushed the record previously set by Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" as the largest week of the year for any album. In fact, this is the third straight week in which that benchmark has been broken. Before Bad Bunny's album did so with its No. 1 debut of 274,000, Future's "I Never Liked You" set the bar high the week before with 222,000 units earned on its first week.

Future previously earned his No. 1 albums with "To Pimp a Butterfly" (2015), his compilation album "Untitled Unmastered" (2016), "Damn" (2017) and "Black Panther: The Album", a soundtrack album of 2018's Marvel movie "Black Panther".

"Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" also logs 2022's largest streaming week for an R&B/hip-hop album, and the second-biggest streaming week of 2022 for any album. Bad Bunny's 23-track "Un Verano Sin Ti The", however, still holds the title of this year's largest streaming week with 261,000 SEA units or equating to 356.55 million on-demand official streams of its tracks.

Elsewhere in this week's chart, TXT (TOMORROW X TOGETHER) scores their highest-charting debut at No. 4 with "Minisode 2: Thursday's Child", surpassing their 2021 album "The Chaos Chapter: Freeze" which debuted and peaked at No. 5.

Bad Bunny and Future both step down to No. 2 and 3 respectively. The Puerto Rican singer's "Un Verano Sin Ti" added 182,000 equivalent album units, while the rapper's former No. 1 "I Never Liked You" earned additional 89,500 units (down 23%).

Morgan Wallen's chart-topping "Dangerous: The Double Album" is pushed down one spot to No. 5 despite a 5% gain (55,500 equivalent album units earned). Jack Harlow's "Come Home the Kids Miss You" falls three rungs to No. 6 in its second week with 55,000 units (down 51%).

Florence and The Machine collects their fourth top 10 album on the Billboard 200 as "Dance Fever" debuts at No. 7 with 54,000 equivalent album units earned. Another new entry this week, The Black Keys' "Dropout Boogie" bows at No. 8. The set starts with 33,000 equivalent album units.

Closing out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 are two former No. 1s, Olivia Rodrigo's "Sour", which falls 5-9 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned (less than 1%), and Lil Durk's "7220", which slips 7-10 with 29,000 units (down 7%).

Top Ten of Billboard 200:

1. "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" - Kendrick Lamar (295,500 units)
2. "Un Verano Sin Ti" - Bad Bunny (274,000 units)
3. "I Never Liked You" - Future (222,000 units)
4. "Minisode 2: Thursday's Child" - TXT (TOMORROW X TOGETHER) (68,500 units)
5. "Dangerous: The Double Album" - Morgan Wallen" (55,000 units)
6. "Come Home the Kids Miss You" - Jack Harlow" (55,000 units)
7. "Dance Fever" - Florence and The Machine (54,000 units)
8. "Dropout Boogie" - The Black Keys (33,500 units)
9. "Sour" - Olivia Rodrigo (32,000 units)
10. "7220" - Lil Durk (29,000 units)