Travis Scott Debuts Big with ‘ASTROWORLD’ | Chart Happenings

After dominating all summer, Drake finds himself in the runner-up spot on the Billboard 200, thanks to Travis Scott.  That and more on chart happenings.

After taking a week off, I’m back with the biggest waste of time ever – chart happenings! Sigh, I’m sure you’re just as pumped as I am to pick out a few notable events on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100 charts.  Definitely important information… Anyways, the main reason I decided to throw together a list of seven bullet points this week is because Drake has been dethroned by Travis Scott – on one of the two charts. So, get amped up, and check out chart happenings #6.

1. It was always going to take a special album to dethrone the king, Drake. Finally, the “6GOD” met his match with Travis Scott, who debuted with a robust 537,000 units of his third album, ASTROWORLD.  Also impressive is the fact that he actually sold 270,000 copies of the album.  There was no way the Houston, Texas rapper was not going to debut at no. 1 on the Billboard 200.

2. While Drake relinquishes the no. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, he remains in the driver’s seat on the Billboard Hot 100 with “In My Feelings.” No surprise, though, Travis Scott managed to chart all 17 songs from ASTROWORLD, including two top 10 singles: “Sicko Mode” and “Stargazing.”

3. Back on the Billboard 200, the top eight spots are held by rap artists.  Mac Miller debuts at no. 3 with Swimming, while YG arrives at no. 5 with Stay Dangerous.  The remaining spots belong to Post Malone, Juice WLRD, Cardi B, and XXXTENTACION. Falling short of a top-10 debut is Moneybagg Yo, who lands at no. 11 with Bet on Me.

4.Unsurprisingly, on the Hot 100, another hip-hop artist is experiencing some sick success.  That’s YG, who sees his banger “Big Bank” move up from no. 25 to a new peak position at no. 16.  This earns the record the award for ‘biggest gain in streams’ this week.

5. Apparently, some folks are getting tired of “Apes**t” from The Carters.  The former top-15 single from Beyoncé and Jay-Z slips from no. 35 to no. 51 this week, it’s eighth on the Hot 100.

6. R&B manages to snag a spot within the top 20 of the Billboard 200.  H.E.R. debuts at no. 20 with her EP, I Used to Know Her: The Prelude.  The numbers won’t knock any socks off, but hey, it’s better than many R&B projects as of late.

7. Because this list of chart happenings is dominated by hip-hop, let’s add some more to it.  Ladies and gentlemen, we have an epic commercial FLOP on our hands.  Iggy Azalea returned with a new EP, Survive the Summer that should’ve performed MUCH better than what it did.  Unfortunately for Iggy, Survive the Summer debuts tepidly at no. 144.  NOT GOOD.

Photo Credits: Cash Money, Def Jam, Epic, Island, RCA, Sony, Warner Bros.