The Weeknd continued his reign over the Billboard 200 chart for a third week in a row.
After Hours took advantage of a relatively soft week on the chart, earning 90,000 equivalent album units. Of that total, 23,000 came from traditional album sales while 64,000 consisted of SEA units, which accounted for 89.4 million on-demand streams.
It's the lowest sum for no. 1 album since Harry Styles' Fine Line netted 89,000 units to top the Billboard 200 in its second week in early January.
The Weeknd managed to remain in the public consciousness after Variety published a lengthy interview Wednesday with the singer. The famously enigmatic artist revealed a few details about his latest project, including how the song "Faith" was about the "darkest time of my entire life," and why he was initially nervous while creating "Blinding Lights."
His remarks about Usher's "Climax" in that same profile sparked a bit of discourse among the parties involved, but The Weeknd quickly clarified that he was misinterpreted, calling the misunderstanding an example of how the media "blows things out of proportion and takes things out of context."
After Hours becomes the first album since 2019's Hollywood's Bleeding by Post Malone to spend its first three weeks atop the Billboard 200. Speaking of Bleeding, Post's third studio effort, along with Jhene Aiko's Chilombo, made their return to the top 10, occupying the 9th and 10th spots, respectively.
The power of streaming helped Pray 4 Love, the second album from Rod Wave, finish second in its debut week. Of the 72,000 equivalent album units, 69,000 came in the form of SEA units.
