Update: Billboard just made the news official — Eminem’s “Kamikaze” is the #1 album on the Top Album Sales and Billboard 200 charts.
The surprise album tops the former with what Billboard reports as 252K in pure US sales. The inclusion of track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums yields a first-week consumption tally of 434K.
The numbers (particularly the latter) top those reported by Hits and BuzzAngle. Those outlets had “Kamikaze” debuting with 250K in pure sales and 411K in total units.
“Kamikaze” is the ninth Eminem album to top the Billboard 200 chart.
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Eminem’s “Kamikaze” convincingly won this week’s US album sales and consumption races.
According to Hits Daily Double and BuzzAngle, the surprise album sold about 250K pure US copies during the August 31-September 6 tracking period. With units from track sales and track streams included, it generated about 411K in overall consumption.
The numbers top industry projections, which capped out at 220-235K in pure sales and 365-385K in consumption. They also markedly top those of the week’s next-best performing albums.
Hits notes that Troye Sivan’s “Bloom,” the #2 seller, moved about 56K pure US copies. Drake’s “Scorpion” and Travi$ Scott’s “ASTROWORLD,” the next-biggest performers from a consumption standpoint, moved about 77K units each.
Due Sunday, Billboard’s more authoritative data may differ slightly from that reported by Hits. The differences should not, however, affect the overall outcome. “Kamikaze” will be a dominant #1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales (pure sales) and Billboard 200 (consumption) charts.
The album is the follow-up to Eminem’s “Revival,” which debuted at #1 with 197K sales and 267K total units.