Ed Sheeran scores his fourth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart as his latest studio album, =, bows atop the list (dated Nov. 13). The set, which was released on Oct. 29, earned 118,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 4, according to MRC Data. Over half of that sum was driven by album sales.
Sheeran previously led the list with No. 6 Collaborations Project (in 2019), ÷ (in 2017) and x (in 2014). Each of his previous chart-topping albums also debuted at No. 1.
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. 13, 2021-dated chart (where = debuts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Nov. 9. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of =’s 118,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 4, album sales comprise 68,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 46,500 (equaling 61.69 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs) and TEA units comprise 3,500. Sheeran bumps Drake’s Certified Lover Boy down to No. 2 with 67,000 equivalent album units earned (down 10%).
Morgan Wallen’s former leader Dangerous: The Double Album falls 2-3 with 42,000 units (down 1%) and Doja Cat’s Planet Her slips 3-4 with 40,000 units (down 4%).
Megan Thee Stallion clocks her fourth top 10 charting album on the Billboard 200, as her new release Something for the Hotties debuts at No. 5. The 21-track album compiles previously released freestyles and some unheard tracks from the artist’s vault, along with her recent hit single “Thot S—.” The latter debuted and peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated June 26. Megan Thee Stallion previously hit the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with Good News (No. 2 in 2020), Suga (No. 7, 2020) and Fever (No. 10, 2019).
A pair of former No. 1s are next up on the new Billboard 200, as Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour falls 5-6 with 35,000 equivalent album units (down 7%) and YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Sincerely, Kentrell drops 4-7 with 34,000 units (down 12%). Lil Nas X’s Montero rises 9-8 with 30,000 units (down 9%), The Kid LAROI’s chart-topping F*ck Love climbs 11-9 with 28,000 units (down 4%) and Moneybagg Yo’s former leader A Gangsta’s Pain slides 6-10 with 27,000 units (down 26%).
