Beyonce‘s endured her fair share of criticism in recent months. From one-time Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee’s shallow assessment of her and Jay Z’s relationship on national television, to actual police departments threatening to deny her security resources during her Formation World Tour because of her “anti-police” lyrics, the first quarter of 2016 was quite an eventful one for Queen Bey.
So, it’s fitting that two Met Galas after the Met Gala that permanently changed both Beyonce and Jay Z‘s (and, for what it’s worth, TMZ founder Harvey Levin‘s) lives, Beyonce’s name is back in headlines because she is, as expected, absolutely murdering the charts. Her 6th studio album, Lemonade, has helped the Houston singer set a record, as she’s become the first artist to ever have their first six albums debut at #1, or reach #1 on the Billboard 200. That’s right, Dangerously In Love, B-Day, I Am…Sasha Fierce, 4, Beyonce, and now Lemonade have all debuted atop the charts, a considerable feat that has never been matched by any artist ever. Furthermore, Lemonade also gave Beyonce the biggest first-week equivalent sales mark of her career, as the album moved 653,000 sales and streaming units, topping Beyonce’s 617,000, a mark that was achieved strictly off album sales.
In addition to her continued Billboard 200 dominance, Lemonade impacted the Billboard Hot 100 in a major way, clocking no less than 12 songs in the top 100. That’s right, Beyonce’s ENTIRE album charted this week, breaking Taylor Swift‘s previous record of 11 simultaneously charting songs in the Hot 100. Leading the pack is “Formation,” which made a Top 10 debut at #10, then “Sorry” at #11, “Hold Up” at #13, “6 Inch” at #18, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” at #28, “Freedom” at #35, and “Pray You Catch Me” at #38 to round out the Top 40. “Daddy Lessons,” “Sandcastles,” “Love Drought” and Forward are all close behind, “Forward” being the lowest charting song at #63.
Next week, look for Drake‘s Views album to enjoy a similar dominance on the charts, as he’s expected to move over 1 million equivalent units when the numbers are announced at the top of the week, and as is customary, several of the 20 songs on his album will make Hot 100 crash landings.
