music charts

Chance the Rapper Makes History: Coloring Book Becomes First Streaming-Exclusive to Debut in the Billboard 200 Chart’s Top 10

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Chance. Photo: Dave Kotinsky/2015 Getty Images

Chance the Rapper and Coloring Book are now linked to music history, as the artist’s latest solo release has become the first to debut on the Billboard 200 thanks entirely to streams. The magazine reported Sunday that the indie project, which has been an Apple Music exclusive since May 13, will hit the chart at No. 8 after having notched roughly 38,000 equivalent album units (Billboard’s relatively new multi-metric sales-tracking approach has 1,500 album streams equaling one traditional unit). Although Kanye’s Life of Pablo was a streaming heavyweight earlier this year, that album debuted with pure album sales because Tidal never reported initial streaming numbers to Nielsen Music, which provides data for the chart. Drake and Views will remain at the top of the current chart, with Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Meghan Trainor’s Thank You, Pierce the Veil’s Misadventures, and Rihanna’s Anti rounding out the rest of the top five. Coloring Book will see a wider release May 27, and blessings will likely keep falling in Chance’s lap.

Chance Makes History With Coloring Book