Kesha’s Rainbowdebuts on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week at No. 1, earning 116,000 equivalent album units (of that sum, 89,000 were traditional album sales), according to Nielsen Music.
This album is Kesha’s second No. 1 album on the chart. Her first was with Animal, moving 152,000 copies in its first week. Her sophomore effort, Warrior, debuted and peaked at No. 6.
Billboard also points out that “Rainbow scores the second-largest week for an album by a woman in 2017 in terms of both units and sales. Only Katy Perry's Witness logged a bigger frame among women, when it launched with 180,000 units and 162,000 in sales (July 1).”
Rainbow’s long delay is largely due to Kesha’s legal battle with Dr. Luke. She sued him in 2014, alleging years of sexual assault and verbal and physical abuse. In several attempts to void her contract with Kemosabe Records/Sony and prove it is binding her in an abusive relationship, a judge has sided with Dr. Luke and rejected her amended lawsuit. Kesha remains legally tied to Dr. Luke, even after the release of Rainbow.
Elsewhere, there have been several notable shifts on the charts. Kendrick Lamar’s Damn falls to No. 2, DJ Khaled’s Grateful holds steady at No. 3, and Khalid’s American Teen jumps from No. 10 to No. 4.
A new debut is Moneybagg Yo’s Federal 3X, which bows at No. 5 with 30,000 units (14,000 in traditional album sales). Though the project was released on N-Less Entertainment and distributed by Interscope Records, the Memphis-born rapper is managed by Yo Gotti’s CMG imprint. He is the latest talent who has made an impact through his Heartless mixtape and 2 Federal with Gotti. He joins CMG artists Blac Youngsta, Snootie Wild, Zed Zilla, and Wave Chappelle.
