Kanye West's 'Bully' Debuts Strongly on Billboard 200 Amid Controversy

Kanye West’s latest album, Bully, has made a notable entrance on the Billboard 200, debuting at number two with 152,000 equivalent units sold in its first week. This impressive figure includes 96,000 from streaming, translating to 98.43 million on-demand official streams, and 56,000 from traditional sales. The album was edged out of the top spot by K-Pop group BTS, whose album ARIRANG garnered 187,000 equivalent units in its second week, following a blockbuster debut with 641,000 units.

This marks the end of Kanye’s 21-year streak of solo number one albums, with Bully becoming only his second solo LP, after The College Dropout, to miss the top position since its release in 2004. However, the album's distributor, Gamma., claims that Bully actually achieved over 200,000 equivalent units, which would have secured the number one spot. Their Instagram stories included a detailed breakdown showing a total of 200,997 units, but Billboard and Luminate have not yet commented on these claims.

In addition to its 18 tracks, fans can anticipate more music, as Gamma. teased an upcoming deluxe edition of Bully on their Instagram, stating, “Bully deluxe on the way.” Details regarding the release date or additional songs have yet to be revealed.

Amidst the album's release, Kanye's planned performances at London’s Wireless Festival in July have sparked controversy due to his past antisemitic remarks. Major sponsors, including Pepsi, Paypal, and Diageo, have withdrawn their support, while public figures like Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have expressed their concerns over his booking for the festival. Despite the backlash, Kanye is set to headline all three nights of the Wireless Festival following his recent sold-out shows at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in support of Bully.