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Beyonce’s new album Renaissance debuts in top spot on Billboard 200 … with year’s biggest week from a female artist
- It has sold 332,000 equivalent album units in the week through August 4
- Last female artist to debut in top spot was Adele with album 40 last December
- Renaissance is the seventh solo release from the 40-year-old Houston native
- Her most recent solo album prior to that was 2016’s Lemonade
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Beyonce’s new album Renaissance debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking the best-selling week from a female artist this year, and second best-selling of the year.
Renaissance sold 332,000 equivalent album units in the week through August 4, Billboard reported, citing stats from Luminate.
The album was the first from a female artist to land atop the Billboard 200 this year, as the last female artist to achieve the feat was Adele with her album 40 last December.
The latest: Beyonce’s new album Renaissance debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking the best-selling week from a female artist this year, and second best-selling of the year. The 40-year-old artist was snapped at the Grammy Awards last year
The record went on to top the charts for its first six weeks, from December 4, 2021 thru January 8, 2022.
Renaissance is the seventh solo release from the 40-year-old Houston native, as her most recent prior to that was the successful 2016 album Lemonade. All seven of her solo albums, beginning with 2003’s Dangerously in Love, have debuted in the top spot on the charts.
Since Lemonade, Beyonce has also worked on albums including 2018’s Everything Is Love with husband Jay-Z; 2019’s Homecoming: The Live Album; and 2019’s The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. The trio of albums all made the Billboard 200’s top five.
After she released her last two albums – Lemonade and 2013’s Beyonce – without prior notice, Beyonce announced the release of Renaissance this past June, with the single Break My Soul.
The iconic musical artist was seen in a clickbait music video for her single Break My Soul
All seven of Beyonce’s solo albums, beginning with 2003’s Dangerously in Love, have debuted in the top spot on the charts; she was snapped in 2018 in Pasadena, California
Renaissance was also made immediately available via physical platforms such as vinyl and CD on the day of its July 29 release, while the aforementioned two albums were initially released only on digital and streaming platforms.
With the 332,000 equivalent album units sold, Beyonce’s new album had the second-highest selling week of the year behind the Harry Styles album Harry’s House, which sold 521,000 units in its first week this past June. Its debut week eclipsed that of all female artists, as Lizzo’s Special sold 69,000 in its debut frame last month, according to Billboard.
Renaissance generated some controversy in its initial week, as Beyonce was criticized by Kelis for sampling her material from her hit Milkshake without letting her know in advance, leading Beyonce to remove the sample. She also removed lyrics from her song Heated amid a backlash over lyrics that were ableist.
The album was celebrated with a release party Friday at The Times Square Edition in New York City with guests in attendance including Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles, La La Anthony, Donald Glover, Tyler Perry and Janelle Monae, among others.