Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Tops Billboard 200 With Biggest Debut of 2021

Topping the Billboard 200 with the biggest week of the year, Rodrigo’s debut effort 'Sour' earned a whopping 295,000 equivalent album units.

May 30, 2021

Olivia Rodrigo has once again proved that misery loves company, as her anthemic breakup album Sour had a huge debut.

Rodrigo’s debut effort earned 295,000 equivalent album units to top the Billboard 200 with the biggest debut of the year, Billboard reports. These numbers include 72,000 album sales and 218,000 SEA units, helping the 18-year-old star top the 2021 record previously held by Taylor Swift, whose Fearless (Taylor’s Version) earned 291,000 units in its first week back in April.

Rodrigo’s reign also marks the largest week, by units, for a debut project in several years, taking the crown from Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, which earned 255,000 units in 2018. Rodrigo is the first woman to have her first album debut at No. 1 since Cardi, too.

The singer’s debut also arrives just a week after her hit single “Good 4 U” topped the Hot 100 songs chart, which marked the second chart-topper this year from the High School Musical star-turned pop sensation.

Rodrigo recently shared some images from her big week on her Instagram over the weekend, celebrating her mounting accomplishments.

“Thank u to everyone who listened to SOUR,” she shared. “This has truly been the coolest week of my life. so so so grateful.”

Meanwhile, J. Cole’s The Off-Season, which debuted at No. 1 last week, fell to a respectable No. 2. Twenty-One Pilots rounded out the top three with their new album Scaled and Icy.