Taylor Swift has reigned at No. 1 since the release of her album, Midnights, on Oct. 21. The crown has now been passed to Drake and 21 Savage.
Despite postponing the release of their joint album, Her Loss, Drake and Savage’s project skyrocketed up the chart to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Alongside dethroning Swift, the project saw this year’s biggest week for a hip-hop album, as well as the fourth largest streaming week for any album. The record garnered 513.56 million “on-demand official streams of its 16 tracks,” according to Billboard.
Videos by American Songwriter
The regular collaborators are no strangers to creating chart-toppers together. A number of their songs have become hits, including “Jimmy Cooks,” which debuted at No.1 in June, and Drake’s 2021 track “Knife Talk,” featuring 21 Savage, which peaked at No. 4.
Drake’s third album released in 13 months – following Certified Lover Boy and Honestly, Nevermind – Her Loss earned the Canadian rapper his 12th No. 1 album. The rapper now ranks at No. 3 for the most No. 1 albums in the history of the Billboard 200 chart. He is surpassed only by the Beatles’ 19 No. 1s and Jay-Z’s 14.
A few months ago, the rapper also broke The Beatles’ long-standing record with the most Top 5 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. His track “Staying Alive” debuted at No. 5, making him the record holder with 30 Top 5 singles on the chart, surpassing The Beatles’ 29. He also became the first artist to earn 100 Top 20 hits on the same chart.
The release of Her Loss was first announced midway through the music video for “Jimmy Cooks,” which appears on Drake’s latest solo release, Honestly, Nevermind. The message “HER LOSS ALBUM BY DRAKE AND 21 SAVAGE OCTOBER 28, 2022” flashed across the screen halfway through the clip.
Check out the announcement, below.
Photo: Chris McKay / Courtesy Republic Records