Future’s Album Debuts at No. 1; Stones, ‘Heated Rivalry’ Bow in Top 10

We have seen the future of who’s moving up in the list of artists contending to have the most No. 1 albums ever, and its name is Future. The rapper debuted on top of the Billboard 200 with “The Real Me,” landing his 12th No. 1 on the chart. That means he’s now in fifth place, by himself, in the ranking of all-time chart-topping album artists.

“The Real Me” debuted with 131,000 equivalent album units to easily slip in ahead of Olivia Rodrigo’s “You Look Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” which moved another 96,000 units to hold on at No. 2 in its fifth week on the chart.

Previously, on the list of artists with the most No. 1 albums, Future had been tied with Eminem, with 11. With this 12th No. 1, he leaves Eminem behind to hold fifth place all by himself. The four artists ahead of him on that esteemed list are the Beatles (with 19 No. 1s), Drake and Taylor Swift (tied for second with 15 each) and Jay-Z (with 14).

Two albums besides Future’s debuted in the top 10. The Rolling Stones‘ “Foreign Tongues” bowed at No. 7 with 53,000 equivalent album units. That’s roughly in the same ballpark as a recent album by the Stones’ contemporary, Paul McCartney, which debuted with 63,000 in June.

The remaining top 10 entry was the soundtrack for television’s “Heated Rivalry,” which premiered in the No. 9 slot with 41,000 units. Billboard reported that this marked the first time a TV soundtrack had bowed in the top 10 in more than a decade — specifically, since the “Empire” soundtrack did it in 2015. (One other TV soundtrack, “Hazbin Hotel,” the companion album for an animated show, did reach the top 10 last year, but only after debuting at No. 70.)

Future’s figures for “The Real Me,” broken down, show streaming numbers far outstripping sales, which is typical for hip-hop. The album sold only 13,000 copies, but had 120.29 million on-demand streams, which translated into 118,000 SEA units.

Of course, the Stones’ numbers skewed the opposite way, with 48,500 albums sold, augmented by 4.48 million on-demand streams, amounting to 4,000 SEA units.

Curiously, the “Heated Rivalry” numbers came down entirely to sales, with 41,000 copies sold on CD and vinyl and 41,000 units altogether. That’s because the score album already came out digitally back in January, but it never accrued enough units on streaming alone to impact the chart prior to the July physical release.

Looking at the top 10, one big name is MIA: Madonna’s “Confessions II” has dropped out, after debuting last week at No. 1. Its chart position in week 2 isn’t yet known, as Luminate and Billboard only release the list of the top 10 albums on Sunday, so news of exactly where “Confessions II” came in in its sophomore session will have to wait till Monday.

The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” at No. 3, Ella Langley at No. 4, Noah Kahan at No. 5, Drake at No. 6, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at No. 8 and Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” at No. 10.