According to Stereogum, Drake has become the first artist to hold the top three album spots on the Billboard 200 concurrently, after an unprecidented three album drop. Drake has been teasing his album, ICEMAN, for over a year. He finally released the album on May 15 and surprised fans with the simultaneous release of two additional albums, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR. Between the three albums, the rapper dropped 43 new songs.
ICEMAN, the only anticipated album of the three, is currently topping the charts, becoming Drake’s 15th #1 album, an accomplishment that granted him the shared title of being the solo artist with the most #1 albums along with Taylor Swift. HABIBTI holds the #2 spot, with MAID OF HONOUR trailing close behind. ICEMAN debuted with 463,000 equivalent album units, with HABIBITI and MAID OF HONOUR following behind it, neck and neck, at 114,00 and 110,000 respectively.
Only two artists other have ever debuted dual albums at the top of the charts, Guns ‘n Roses in 1991, with Use Your Illusion II and Use Your Illusion I, and Nelly in 2004, with Suit and Sweat. Drake’s chart-topping accomplishment is also made all the more impressive considering he dropped all three albums on digital formats exclusively.
The leading album claims inspiration from pop legend Michael Jackson. Jackson notably also had three bestselling albums, Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller, the week following his passing. At the time, however, the Billboard 200 didn’t include catalog releases.
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