Rihanna's 'ANTI' Tops Billboard 200
Rihanna is back at No. 1. After selling 166,000 units domestically in its first full week of availability, ANTI becomes the singer’s second album to reach the top of the Billboard 200.
RiRi’s eighth LP, which was only available for a portion of the previous tracking week, catapults from No. 27 to No. 1 on the chart.
The pop superstar first reached the top slot on the Billboard 200 in 2012 thanks to her previous album, Unapologetic, which entered with 238,000 copies. Every single one of her other albums appeared in the top 10 too, making this her eighth top 10 showing to date.
#ANTI is the number 1 album on the Billboard #Hot200 chart!!! That damn Navy!!! Thank you for your love🎈🔫
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 6, 2016
ANTI dropped as a TIDAL exclusive on Jan. 27. It quickly earned an RIAA platinum certification after it was given away to a whopping 1.47 million people in just 15 hours. Those free downloads, however, were not counted as sales by Nielsen.
The album is no longer a TIDAL exclusive. On Jan. 29, it became available at other digital retailers. Physical CDs, which were not counted in this week’s chart, went on sale Feb. 5.
Elsewhere on the chart, Kevin Gates hits No. 2 with Islah, selling 112,000 units. Adele’s 25 falls from 1-3 this week after selling 89,000 units. More good news for the British star: those numbers helped her surpass the LP’s 8 million marker. Justin Bieber, Bryson Tiller, and G-Eazy round out the top 10.
Billboard 200 Top 10
1. Rihanna – ANTI – 166,000
2. Kevin Gates – Islah – 112,000
3. Adele – 25 – 89,000
4. Sia – This Is Acting – 81,000
5. Justin Bieber – Purpose – 73,000
6. Charlie Puth – Nine Track Mind – 65,000
7. Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface – 43,000
8. Chris Stapleton – Traveller – 33,000
9. Bryson Tiller – Trapsoul – 32,000
10. G-Eazy – When It’s Dark Out – 31,000