Summer Walker earns her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as the singer’s second studio LP, Still Over It, arrives atop the list. The 20-track set was released on Nov. 5 and launches with 166,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 11, according to MRC Data. Over 90% of the album’s first-week units were driven by streaming activity. Still Over It marks both the first R&B album by a woman to top the Billboard 200 in more than five years and the largest streaming week ever for an R&B album by a woman.
Also in the top 10, ABBA returns with the group’s highest-charting album ever – and first top 10 – as its new studio album, Voyage, bows at No. 2. Plus, rapper Key Glock lands his highest-charting set, as Yellow Tape 2 begins at No. 7.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals 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 Nov. 20, 2021-dated chart (where Still Over It debuts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Nov. 16. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. Of Still Over It’s 166,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 11, SEA units comprise 153,000 (equaling 201.1 million on-demand streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 12,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000 units.
Still Over It is Walker’s third top 10 on the Billboard 200. It follows her 2020 EP, Life on Earth (No. 8), and her debut full-length studio album, Over It, in 2019 (No. 2). Over It has spent more than 100 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and finished 2020 as the No. 2 title on Billboard’s year-end Top R&B Albums recap. The set has earned over 2.5 million equivalent album units in the U.S.
The new album was announced on Oct. 4 and led by the single “Ex for a Reason,” with JT (of City Girls). The track debuted at No. 6 on the Hot R&B Songs chart and in the top 20 of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (both dated Oct. 30).
Let’s take a look at some of the feats that Walker achieves with the debut of Still Over It:
First No. 1 R&B Album by a Woman in Over Five Years: Still Over It is the first R&B album by a woman to top the Billboard 200 since Solange’s A Seat at the Table ruled for one week on Oct. 22, 2016-dated chart. The last R&B album by any artist to be No. 1 on the Billboard 200 was The Weeknd’s After Hours, more than a year ago; it logged its fourth and final week at No. 1 on the April 25, 2020 chart. (R&B albums are defined as those that have hit Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.)
Still Over It also logs the biggest week, by units earned, for an R&B album by a woman since Beyoncé’s Lemonade earned 202,000 units in its third week (May 28, 2016 chart). (Lemonade bowed with 653,000 units and then earned 321,000 units in its second week.)
Biggest Week for an R&B Album in 2021: Still Over It scores the biggest week, by units, for an R&B album in 2021. The last R&B set to tally a larger week was The Weeknd’s After Hours (444,000 in its debut week; April 4, 2020 chart).
Largest Streaming Week Ever for an R&B Album by a Woman: Still Over It bows with 153,000 SEA units – totaling 201.1 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks. It earns the largest streaming week ever for an R&B album by a woman, surpassing Walker’s own Over It (154.7 million in its debut week).
Still Over It also captures the second-biggest streaming week ever for any R&B album, trailing only the debut frame of The Weeknd’s After Hours (220.7 million; chart dated April 4, 2020).
Fourth-Biggest Debut by a Woman in 2021: Still Over It notches the fourth-largest debut week of 2021 by a woman. The only larger debuts in 2021 registered by women were the opening weeks of Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (with 291,000 units; April 24 chart), Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (295,000; June 5) and Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever (238,000; Aug. 14).
Pop legends ABBA earn their highest charting album ever, and first top 10, as Voyage debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The set was released on Nov. 5 and is the quartet’s first new studio album since 1982’s The Visitors.
Until this week, ABBA’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 was 1978’s The Album, which peaked at No. 14 on the July 22, 1978-dated chart. (The Album contains the hit single “Take a Chance on Me,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart. The Album was the follow-up to Arrival, which peaked at No. 20 and includes the act’s lone No. 1 Hot 100 hit, among four top 10s, “Dancing Queen.”)
In total, Voyage marks ABBA’s 14th charting album on the Billboard 200 and seventh to reach the top 40. (Not counted among those are the two Mamma Mia! film soundtracks, which consist of covers of ABBA tunes by their respective film’s actors. Both albums found great success, with the first Mamma Mia! soundtrack hitting No. 1 in 2008 and the sequel film’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! soundtrack reaching No. 3 in 2018.)
Voyage starts with 82,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 11. Of that sum, album sales comprise 78,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week and the largest sales week for an album by a group in 2021); SEA units comprise 4,000 (equaling 4.9 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs), and TEA units comprise a negligible number.
Drake’s former No. 1 Certified Lover Boy falls 2-3 on the new Billboard 200 with 62,000 equivalent album units earned (down 8%), while Ed Sheeran’s = descends 1-4 in its second week with 51,000 units (down 57%). Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album dips 3-5 with 43,000 units (though up 4%) and Doja Cat’s Planet Her drops 4-6 with 37,000 units (down 6%).
Rapper Key Glock lands his highest-charting album with the No. 7 debut of Yellow Tape 2. The set, which marks his third top 10-charting effort, bows with 36,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 26,500 units (equaling 35.8 million on-demand streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 9,500 and TEA units comprise a negligible figure.
Rounding out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 are Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour (6-8 with 35,000 equivalent album units earned; down 2%), YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s chart-topping Sincerely, Kentrell (7-9 with 31,000 units; down 11%) and Lil Nas X’s Montero (8-10 with 27,000 units; down 9%).
