By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — It was long awaited and anticipated, so it’s no surprise that Beyonce’s “Renaissance” would have immediate commercial impact. The album debuts this week in the number one spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 13) with 2022’s biggest week by a woman – and the second-largest week of the year overall. It sold 332,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 4, according to Luminate.
“Renaissance,” Beyoncé’s seventh solo No. 1 album – is the first album released by a woman in 2022 to top the Billboard 200. The last woman at No. 1 was Adele with “30,” which stayed on top for its six weeks on the list (charts dated Dec. 4, 2021-Jan. 8, 2022). Notably, both “30” and “Renaissance” were released via Columbia Records (with “Renaissance” issued through Parkwood/Columbia).
“Renaissance” is Beyoncé’s first LP since the chart-topping “Lemonade” in 2016.. All seven of her solo studio albums have also opened at number one (outside of her output as part of Destiny’s Child), starting with “Dangerously in Love” in 2003.
Of “Renaissance’s” 332,000 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 190,000; SEA units comprise 138,000 (equaling 179.06 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), and TEA units comprise 4,000.
The only album with a larger week this year by equivalent album units earned has been the debut frame of Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House,” which launched with 521,000 on the June 4-dated chart.
“Renaissance: logs the largest streaming week for an album by a woman in 2022 by on-demand official streams earned, with 179.06 million. It’s also the seventh-biggest streaming debut among all albums in 2022, and Beyoncé’s largest streaming week ever. (Of note, the largest streaming week for an album by a woman in 2022 was when Doja Cat’s Planet Her collected 46.68 million streams for its songs in the tracking week ending Feb. 3, as reflected on the Feb. 12-dated chart. The previous biggest debut streaming week in 2022 for a woman was registered by Lizzo’s Special, with 37.07 million streams for its songs in the tracking week ending July 21, reflected on the July 30 chart.)
In terms of traditional album sales, with 190,000 sold, “Renaissance” posts the third-largest sales week for an album in 2022, and the biggest by a woman. The only bigger sales weeks so far this year were captured by the opening stanzas of “Harry’s House” (330,000) and BTS’ “Proof” (266,000).
“Renaissance” sold 121,000 copies on CD, 43,000 via digital downloads and 26,000 on vinyl.
