We have seen the future of who’s moving up in the list of artists contending to have the most No. 1 albums ever, and its name is Future. The rapper debuted on top of the Billboard 200 with “The Real Me,” landing his 12th No. 1 on the chart. That means he’s now in fifth place, by himself, in the ranking of all-time chart-topping album artists.
“The Real Me” debuted with 131,000 equivalent album units to easily slip in ahead of Olivia Rodrigo’s “You Look Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” which moved another 96,000 units to hold on at No. 2 in its fifth week on the chart.
Previously, on the list of artists with the most No. 1 albums, Future had been tied with Eminem, with 11. With this 12th No. 1, he leaves Eminem behind to hold fifth place all by himself. The four artists ahead of him on that esteemed list are the Beatles (with 19 No. 1s), Drake and Taylor Swift (tied for second with 15 each) and Jay-Z (with 14).
Two albums besides Future’s debuted in the top 10. The Rolling Stones‘ “Foreign Tongues” bowed at No. 7 with 53,000 equivalent album units. That’s roughly in the same ballpark as a recent album by the Stones’ contemporary, Paul McCartney, which debuted with 63,000 in June.
The remaining top 10 entry was the soundtrack for television’s “Heated Rivalry,” which premiered in the No. 9 slot with 41,000 units. Billboard reported that this marked the first time a TV soundtrack had bowed in the top 10 in more than a decade — specifically, since the “Empire” soundtrack did it in 2015. (One other TV soundtrack, “Hazbin Hotel,” the companion album for an animated show, did reach the top 10 last year, but only after debuting at No. 70.)
