Scorpion has sting

Rapper Drake continues rise, scoring eighth No. 1 album on Billboard charts

Drake is taking in views from atop the Billboard charts once again with some major help from streaming music listeners.

The Toronto performer’s new release Scorpion has become his eighth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

And songs from the album are also sitting in seven of the spots in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Drake’s new feat breaks the Beatles’ 1964 record, when five of their songs reached the Top 10 in the same week.

Scorpion was heavily promoted by a number of streaming companies, including Spotify, which filled its most popular playlists with selections from the album. The prime positioning for the rapper and singer helped Scorpion become the first album to hit one billion streams in a single week, Billboard said.

All 25 tracks from Scorpion, which was released online June 29, managed to climb onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Drake’s former No. 1 hit, Nice for What, returned to the top position, while Nonstop debuts at No. 2. Drake’s other songs in the Top 10 are God’s Plan, In My Feelings, I’m Upset, Emotionless and Don’t Matter to Me, which includes previously recorded vocals from Michael Jackson.

In Canada, six songs reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart. Nonstop grabbed the top spot.

On the albums charts, Scorpion sold 732,171 equivalent albums in the United States — a tabulation that accounts for both digital sales and streaming plays.

In Canada, Drake’s album proved popular as well, bringing in 70,000 equivalent units.

Drake now ties Kanye West, Eminem and the Beatles for eight consecutive No. 1 albums.