Drake Beats Own US Streaming Record with New Set 'More Life'
Sony/ATV songwriter Drake has broken his own weekly streaming record in the US after songs from his new set More Life were streamed nearly 385 million times.
The release earned 505,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the highest total of the year to date.
Out of that total 257,000 units were as a result of streaming with More Life’s 22 songs having been streamed 384.8 million times in the U.S. This is the highest weekly streaming tally for songs from an album of all time, beating the previous best total of 163,000 streaming equivalent units set by Drake’s own album Views last year.
More Life also achieved 226,000 traditional album sales during its first week of release in the U.S., all from digital downloads as the set to date does not have a physical release. This total is beaten in 2017 only by fellow Sony/ATV songwriter Ed Sheeran’s album Divide, which managed 322,000 traditional sales in its first week earlier this month.
More Life is Drake’s seventh No. 1 overall on the Billboard 200 chart, while it also debuted at No. 1 in Canada and entered at No. 2 in the U.K. and Australia.
A number of the album’s songs have also become hits in their own right, including in the U.K. where all 22 songs from the album are in the Top 75 of this week’s Official Singles Chart. The 22 songs also chart simultaneously on the U.S.’s Billboard Hot 100, part of a record haul for Drake who has 24 songs on the chart in total. This is more than any other artist has had in a single week in the entire 59-year history of the Hot 100 and includes two brand new entries to the Top 10 – “Passionfruit” at No. 8 and “Portland” at No. 9.
