SZA has landed her first-ever No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. SOS—her highly-anticipated follow-up to Ctrl—earned 318,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week, reports Billboard. It marked SZA’s biggest week to date and earned the album the fifth largest debut of the year, following Taylor Swift’s Midnights (1.578 million), Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (521,000), Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss (404,000), and Beyoncé’s Renaissance (332,000). Previously, Ctrl hit its peak position on the chart in July of 2017, when it debuted at No. 3.
Of the 318,000 equivalent album units for SOS, there were 404.58 million on-demand official streams of the LP’s tracks, which tallied up to 309,500 SEA units. That earned SOS the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, the second-largest streaming week ever for an album by a female artist, and the third-largest streaming week of any album in 2022.
The 23-song SOS features a notable cast of guests, such as Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Producers who contributed to the LP include ThankGod4Cody, Carter Lang, Jeff Bhasker, Benny Blanco, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, and Jay Versace.
Since releasing her new album, SZA has announced her first-ever arena tour, which will kick off next February and wind through March. Earlier this month, SZA appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest for a Keke Palmer–hosted episode. She performed the SOS single “Shirt” and also debuted “Blind.”
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