Kanye West re-enters the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Nov. 9) at No. 1 to become the top musical act in the U.S. for a second total week, as his new album Jesus Is King debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 264,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music.
West earns his record-tying ninth consecutive No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, as his first faith-based set also launches at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums rankings, marking his first entry on both tallies. Further, the release enters Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums at No. 1, marking the first title to top all five rankings.
West previously led the Artist 100 dated June 16, 2018, concurrent with the chart start of his last album, Ye.
The Artist 100, which launched in 2014, measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
Among other Artist 100 moves, Rex Orange County debuts at No. 3, powered by the English singer-songwriter’s album Pony, which arrives at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, marking his first top 10. The set starts with 70,000 equivalent album units, with 56,000 in album sales (boosted by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer tied to his upcoming U.S. tour and multiple merchandise/album bundles sold via his webstore).
Rounding out the Artist 100’s top five, Post Malone dips to No. 2 after 11 total weeks on top, Lizzo drops 2-4 and Billie Eilish descends 3-5.
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