Ariana Grande is back with a smash.
Less than six months after a No. 1 album, pop singer Ariana Grande is back with an even bigger smash: “Thank U, Next” (Republic) tops the Billboard chart this week with 307 million song streams and 116,000 in sales for a total of 360,000 album equivalent units, according to Nielsen Music.
Grande’s fourth career No. 1 album comes during a prolific, artistically redefining period for the singer, whose last release, “Sweetener,” debuted atop the chart in late August with 231,000 units sold. Since then, Grande has used the fuel of her tabloid moments for music, earning her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 (“Thank U, Next”) and then another with “7 Rings” last month.
This week, the singer is attempting to top the Hot 100 for a third time with the song “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored.” Grande’s craftily dedicated fans even instituted a #Boycott7Rings campaign in the hopes of getting listeners to give more streams and sales to its follow-up.
According to Billboard, the 307 million on-demand streams for songs from “Thank U, Next” mark the highest-ever one-week total for a pop album; of the top 20 largest streaming weeks, “Thank U, Next” is No. 9 and the only non-hiphop album on the list.
Also on this week’s chart, No. 2 and No. 3 are both movie soundtracks: “A Star Is Born,” featuring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, is in second place ahead of the Academy Awards on Sunday, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” is right behind it. Last week’s No. 1, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s “Hoodie SZN,” is No. 4 and Post Malone’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys” is No. 5.
The album of the year winner at last week’s Grammy Awards — Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” — re-entered the chart entirely, landing at No. 9 with 35,000 units, including 20,000 in album sales.