DaBaby Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Kirk'

DaBaby scores his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as Kirk opens in the top slot.
The set, which is the hip-hop artist’s second studio effort, starts with 145,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 3, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, just 8,000 were in album sales, as the set was powered largely by streaming activity. Kirk was released on Sept. 27 via SouthCoast/Interscope Records.
Elsewhere in the top 10, The Beatles’ former No. 1 Abbey Road returns to the top five after its 50th anniversary reissue, Kevin Gates’ I’m Him debuts and Whiskey Myers lands its first top 10.

Kirk, which is DaBaby’s actual last name (real name: Jonathan Kirk), follows his first studio release, Baby on Baby, which peaked at No. 7 on the June 1-dated list. The latter boasts DaBaby’s breakthrough single “Suge,” which marked his first top 10 hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart (reaching No. 7 on July 6). Through the week ending Oct. 2, Baby on Baby has earned 719,000 equivalent album units, and collected over 1 billion on-demand audio streams for its songs.  
As noted above, Kirk starts with 145,000 equivalent album units, of which 8,000 were in album sales, 2,000 in TEA units and 136,000 in SEA units. The latter sum equates to 181.7 million on-demand audio streams for the set’s 13 songs during its first week -- the fifth-largest debut streaming week for an album in 2019.

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding shifts down one slot after spending its first three weeks at No. 1. The album tallied 124,000 equivalent album units in the new tracking week, down 17%.

Back on the new Billboard 200, Kevin Gates collects his fourth top 10 album, as I’m Him bows at No. 4 with 70,000 equivalent album units earned (with 10,000 of that sum in album sales). He previously visited the top 10 with Luca Brasi 3 (No. 4 in 2018), By Any Means 2 (No. 4, 2017) and Islah (No. 2, 2016).
Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Lover falls one rung to No. 5 with 57,000 equivalent album units (down 13%).

Courtesy: Billboard.com