Kendrick Lamar’s new album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers has broken this year’s record for the biggest first-week debut.
The Alright rapper had the biggest album debut of any artist this year, with his fifth studio release earning record sales numbers, reports Variety.
Mr. Morale is the rapper’s first album in five years, and his fourth to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The release earned 295,500 equivalent album units in the United States from its release on 13 May to the week’s end on 19 May, according to Luminate. Around 35,000 digital album sales were processed during that week.
Kendrick’s record is now the highest-selling album in its first week of release for 2022, and the highest since Adele’s 30 debuted in November last year.
Mr. Morale was second-biggest on streaming, with Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti still holding the record for the most-streamed album in its debut week. Kendrick’s record earned 343.02 million on-demand streams.
Variety attributes the difference to Un Verano Sin Ti’s higher track count, with 23 songs on the album compared to Mr. Morale’s 18.
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers will be released on physical CD on 27 May.
