Though it raked in mild composite sales of just roughly 54,000, Rihanna‘s ANTI is once again the #1 album in the country, besting Adele‘s relentless 25 and Justin Bieber‘s resilient Purpose. Rihanna’s album is the only album in the top 3 that was released in 2016, and it has already been certified platinum and churned out a #1 hit, “Work,” which could be the number-one song in the country for a 5th week when the new positions are unveiled tomorrow.
ANTI was certified platinum just days after its release thanks to Rihanna’s Magna Carta-esque deal with Samsung, but when the Bajan star’s 8th album was officially released via retail, it performed at a high level commercially, becoming just her second album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 (Unapologteic, her 2012 opus, was the first). Trailing behind Rih, Adele and Biebs is Joey + Rory‘s new album, Hymns (the only debut in the top 5) and Kendrick Lamar‘s untitled unmastered., which falls from the #1 spot but retains a top 5 positioning, likely due to its newly-made available hard copies.
Check back with us tomorrow for more official Billboard reports, and whether or not Rihanna’s Hot 100 reign continues.
