The artist formerly known as Kanye West’s new album BULLY has debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
According to Billboard, Ye’s latest album earned 152,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week ending April 2. Of that total, 96,000 units came from streaming, equal to 98.43 million on-demand official streams; 56,000 came from album sales; and the remainder came from track-equivalent albums.
BULLY arrived in stores on March 27 and on digital platforms and streaming services on March 28, the same day Ye released the music video for "FATHER" featuring Travis Scott and directed by Bianca Censori.
Billboard also notes that BULLY’s first-week sales were boosted by multiple color vinyl variants, deluxe boxed sets with branded merchandise, and signed editions.
Ye also staged his first major U.S. concert in nearly five years during BULLY's release week at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on April 1, with a second show on April 3. His special surprise guests included Lauryn Hill and Travis Scott.
BTS' ARIRANG remains at No. 1 for a second week with 187,000 equivalent units.
Melanie Martinez debuts at No. 3 with HADES earning 84,000 units, and Yeat's ADL arrives at No. 5 with 57,000 units, all supported by physical editions and deluxe box sets.
Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem falls to No. 4 with 76,000 units, Luke Combs' The Way I Am dips to No. 6 with 55,000 units, and Olivia Dean's The Art of Loving moves to No. 7 with 54,000 units.
Trailing behind are Don Toliver with OCTANE at No. 8 with 53,000 units, Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos at No. 9 with 50,000 units, and Harry Styles' Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. at No. 10 with 48,000 units.
It was recently announced that Ye would headline all three nights of London’s Wireless Festival in July.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told The Sun that the announcement is “deeply concerning” in light of Ye’s previous antisemitic remarks and embrace of Nazism.
Pepsi announced that the company “decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival” in a short statement shared on Sunday (April 5). The soft drink company had been sponsoring the festival since 2015.
In January, Ye apologized for his past antisemitic comments in a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal, blaming his issues on the car accident that he was in 25 years ago. While speaking to Vanity Fair, he later clarified that his letter wasn’t “about reviving my commerciality.”
