SZA's 'SOS' is No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week

Kevin Keise
·2 min read
SZA
SZA
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SZA is making history with her latest album. For the fourth straight week, SOS is at the top of the Billboard 200 thanks to the 125,000 album-equivalent units sold in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 5. 

This project became the first album by a woman to spend its first four weeks at No. 1 in a year since Adele’s 30 spent its first six at the top spot in Dec. 4, 2021 through Jan. 8, 2022. SOS is the first R&B album by a woman to accomplish this since Janet Jackson’s janet., which also held the spot for its first six weeks from June 5 through July 10 in 1993. In addition, SZA’s recent body of work is the first R&B album by a woman to have four weeks at No. 1, including nonconsecutive, since Feb. 16 2008 when Alicia Keys did it with As I Am.

The R&B artist took it to Twitter to show appreciation to her fans for all of their support. 

“[Four] weeks at number one is INSANE. Thank you God and thank you everyone for riding for me !!!” She wrote.

According to Billboard, of the album-equivalent units earned; 121,500 were streaming-equivalent, totaling 162.42 million on-demand official streams, which also dropped four percent from the previous week. Her album sales sit at 3,000, which is a 289 percent increase and her track-equivalent album sales are at 500, which is a seven percent increase. 

SZA’s sales spiked on Jan. 5 after she dropped two new digital versions of the project exclusively on her Top Dawg Entertainment online store. The digital projects included two bonus tracks: “PSA” and a solo version of the album’s “Open Arms.” The tracks sold for $4.99 each, and one of them boasted alternative cover art.

SZA dropped SOS on Dec. 9, and the 23-track body of work features Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The project received a ton of success before the arrival. Prior to the release, three singles debuted on the Billboard Hot 100: “Good Days,” “Shirt” and “I Hate U.” The streams from those songs alone made SOS eligible for Gold certification.