Megan Thee Stallion’s long-awaited debut full-length album Good News is off to a good start as it debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The set enters the summit of the Dec. 5-dated chart with 100,500 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 26, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
News, released via 1501 Certified/300, is the Houston rapper’s first No. 1 on the list and third entry. She previously had a career high of No. 6, achieved by both her 2019 mixtape, Fever, and an EP, Suga, in May.
Megan Thee Stallion’s entrance also puts a pause on the boys’ club that had ruled the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for more than a year. News makes her the first woman to lead the list since Summer Walker’s Over It debuted atop the chart dated Oct. 19, 2019 — a shutout of 58 consecutive weeks through 28 different albums by men. In that span, three albums by women — Mariah Carey’s 1994 holiday LP, Merry Christmas, Jhene Aiko’s Chilombo and Kehlani’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t — came closest to ending the drought, with each reaching a No. 2 best.
Elsewhere, News starts at No. 1 on Top Rap Albums and at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
As News arrives, nine of its songs debut on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, led by “Body” at No. 4. The official new single opens with 22.5 million U.S. streams in the week ending Nov. 26, prompting a No. 1 opening on the all-genre Streaming Songs and R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs charts.
Here’s a full look at Megan’s debut lineup this week:
Rank, Song Title, Artist (if other than Megan Thee Stallion)
No. 4, “Body”
No. 20, “Cry Baby,” featuring DaBaby
No. 25, “Shots Fired”
No. 33, “Do It on the Tip,” featuring City Girls & Hot Girl Meg
No. 34, “Circles”
No. 36, “Freaky Girls,” featuring SZA
No. 39, “Movie,” featuring Lil Durk
No. 48, “What’s New”
No. 50, “Sugar Baby”
In addition to the new recruits, other News cut “Don’t Stop,” featuring Young Thug, soars 28-13 on the chart.
Activity surrounding the album rockets Megan Thee Stallion 33-2 on the Billboard Artist 100, a weekly ranking of artist popularity through music consumption metrics of album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction. She previously managed a career best of No. 6 in August.
