Kanye West Rules the Artist 100 Chart For First Time, Powered by ‘Ye’
Kanye West re-enters the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated June 16) at No. 1 to become the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time.
Kanye West re-enters the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated June 16) at No. 1 to become the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time. Powering his return, his new album Ye debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as his eighth No. 1, with 205,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music.
The Artist 100, which launched in July 2014, measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
West previously peaked at No. 3 on the Artist 100 in 2016, when his last album, The Life of Pablo, topped the Billboard 200.
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West concurrently makes a splash on the Billboard Hot 100, as all seven tracks from Ye debut in the top 40. “Yikes” leads the way, debuting at No. 8, marking West’s 16th Hot 100 top 10.
Below West on the Artist 100, Post Malone rises 3-2, Drake lifts 4-3 and BTS falls 2-4.
Closing out the Artist 100’s top five, Luke Combs surges 17-5, hitting a new peak, as his This One’s for You vaults 39-4 on the Billboard 200 (55,000 units, up 314 percent) after its deluxe reissue arrived June 1. The set also returns to No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart for a fifth week on top, and for the first time since September.
Among other Artist 100 moves, Neko Case debuts at No. 50, earning the chart’s highest debut, as the singer-songwriter’s Hell-On starts at No. 2 on Americana/Folk Albums, No. 5 on Top Rock Albums and No. 31 on the Billboard 200 (15,000 units).
Check out this week’s full Artist 100 here.
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