Rapper Drake streams his way to No. 1 yet again with For All The Dogs

NEW YORK – In 2016, Drake’s album Views shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 245 million streams.

It was a gigantic number then, making him the champion of a new(ish) digital format that would transform the music industry.

The Canadian rapper held that position as further successful openings followed: More Life (385 million streams in 2017), Scorpion (746 million, 2018), Certified Lover Boy (744 million, 2021) and the 21 Savage collaboration Her Loss (514 million, 2022).

Now, he has done it again with For All The Dogs. Released on Oct 6, the album earned the equivalent of 402,000 sales in the United States, including 514 million streams in the week ending Oct 12, said tracking service Luminate. It is his 13th album to hit No. 1.

The 36-year-old remains one of the kings of streaming, a symbol of the format’s success.

As Billboard notes, of the five biggest streaming weeks in history, four are held by Drake – Scorpion (No. 1), Certified Lover Boy (No. 2), For All The Dogs (No. 4) and Her Loss (No. 5). In third place is Taylor Swift’s Midnights, which opened with 549 million streams a year ago.

But other artistes have been catching up.

The 514 million streams of For All The Dogs is the biggest weekly number this year, but only barely.

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time started with 498 million in March, and has since logged more than five billion clicks in the US alone.

Bad Bunny, who catapulted to chart-topping fame via streaming, released a surprise album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Manana (Nobody Knows What’s Going To Happen Tomorrow) last Friday. It has already posted huge numbers, challenging Drake for the lead position on next week’s chart.

Also this week, Wallen’s One Thing is No. 2 after notching its 16th week at the top. Rod Wave’s Nostalgia is No. 3, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts is No. 4 and Zach Bryan’s self-titled album is in fifth place. NYTIMES