Beyoncé and JAY-Z Debut at No. 2 on Billboard Chart, Beat by 5 Seconds of Summer
Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s surprise album Everything Is Love has debuted at No. 2 on this week’s Billboard 200 albums chart. The surprise release—which sold 123,000 equivalent units in its first week—was blocked from No. 1 by Youngblood, the latest LP from Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer. Their album sold 142,000 equivalent album units.
According to Billboard, there were 70,000 traditional album purchases of Everything Is Love, while 49,000 were “streaming equivalent albums” and 4,000 were “track equivalent albums.” Beyoncé and JAY-Z initially released the album as a Tidal exclusive on Saturday, June 16. On June 18, the album became available via other digital retailers, including iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify Premium; it was then made available on Spotify’s free tier on June 24.
In other Billboard 200 news, XXXtentacion’s albums ? and 17 experienced big chart jumps this week, following his death last Monday, June 18. ? jumped from number 24 to number 3, with 94,000 units, while 17 rose from number 60 to number 7, with 55,000 units, according to Billboard.
