J. Cole's '4 Your Eyez Only' Aiming for Half-Million-Plus No. 1 Debut on Billboard 200 Chart

J. Cole’s new album 4 Your Eyez Only is heading for a huge debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, according to industry forecasters. Sources suggest the rapper will earn his fourth chart-topper with the release, and it will blast in with perhaps around 550,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 15 — the third-largest debut of 2016.

Of J. Cole’s forecasted launch, traditional album sales could equal around 360,000 to 380,000 — Cole’s best sales week ever.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the new Dec. 31-dated Billboard 200 chart — where 4 Your Eyez Only should bow at No. 1 — is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Sunday, Dec. 18.

If 4 Your Eyez Only performs as expected, that would mark the third-biggest debut of 2016, behind only Drake’s Views (1.04 million units) and Beyonce’s Lemonade (653,000).

J. Cole’s new album was released on Dec. 9 through Dreamville/Roc Nation, and is his first new studio effort since 2014 Forest Hills Drive (released in 2014). All three of his earlier studio albums debuted at No. 1: 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Born Sinner (2013) and Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011). Currently, his best sales week was racked up by the debut of 2014 Forest Hills Drive, with 354,000 sold in its first week, according to Nielsen Music.