Bad Bunny is aiming to replace himself at No. 1, again, on the Top Latin Albums chart. His surprise release Las Que No Iban a Salir, could earn over 40,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 14, according to industry forecasters. If it starts as projected, then it will bump his own YHLQMDLG from atop the tally next week, where it’s held for 10 straight weeks since its debut at No. 1 (chart dated March 14).
The Top Latin Albums chart ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which comprises traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The May 23-dated Top Latin Albums chart (where Bad Bunny’s new album may debut at No. 1), is scheduled to be posted in full to Billboard’s website on Tuesday, May 19.
Las Que No Iban a Salir dropped without warning in the mid-afternoon on Sunday, May 10, so it will only have about four-and-a-half days of activity before the tracking week’s end on May 14. (Most new releases tend to drop on Friday each week, the first day of the tracking week. Bad Bunny has bucked this trend repeatedly with his earlier albums, opting to release them at varying times of the week.)
Assuming Las Que No Iban a Salir starts at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums, it will replace Bad Bunny’s own YHLQMDLG at the top. It would not the first time Bad Bunny has replaced himself at No. 1. When YHLQMDLG debuted at No. 1, it bumped X 100PRE from the top. And, when J Balvin and Bad Bunny teamed up for the Oasis collaborative album, it opened at No. 1 on July 13, 2019, replacing X 100PRE.
Bad Bunny’s new 10-track album is effectively a compilation of previously unfinished songs. The album title translates to: “the ones that weren’t going to be released.” The set includes, amusingly, simple-named songs like “Canción Con Yandel” (translation: “Song With Yandel”) with Yandel, and “Bad Con Nicky” (“Bad With Nicky”) with Nicky Jam.
Most of the first-week activity for Bad Bunny’s album will come via streaming services. (There are no merchandise/album bundles in play as of May 12.) The album has proven to be so popular out of the gate with streamers, that, according to Apple Music, it became the first Latin album to reach the top of Apple Music’s Top Albums tally. Apple Music’s Top Albums ranking ranks the most streamed albums within the service at any given point in time.
