Nicki Minaj is opening this week’s Billboard 200 at No. 1 with Pink Friday 2.
The record earns a total of 228,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including 129,000 in streaming equivalent album units (169.87 million on-demand official streams of the 22 songs on the streaming edition of the album), 92,000 in album sales and 7,000 in track equivalent album units. This marks the largest week for a female rap album in the 2020s, and also for a female R&B/hip-hop album in 2023.
In addition, the album’s 25,000 vinyl copies is the largest week for a female rap album since the electronic tracking began in 1991. Pink Friday 2 marks Minaj’s third No. 1 effort after Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and Pink Friday in 2011, overtaking Foxy Brown as the female rapper with the most No. 1s. She is also the first and only female rapper with chart-topping albums in different decades.
Another new entry on this week’s chart is Tate McRae’s Think Later, which debuts at No. 4 with 66,000 equivalent album units.
Elsewhere on the chart are Taylor Swift at No. 1, followed by Drake at No. 3 and Michael Bublé at No. 5. Making up the bottom half of this week top 10 are Morgan Wallen at No. 6, Swift again at Nos. 7, 9 and 10 and SZA at No. 8.
