Beyoncé has topped the Billboard 200 with her newest effort Cowboy Carter, as well as Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart – making for a historic moment.
With this feat, Bey is now the first Black woman ever to top the latter chart.’
According to Billboard, Cowboy Carter debuted atop both charts with 407,000 equivalent album units in its first week. This is now the biggest sales week of 2024, knocking out Future and Metro Boomin, who previously held the title with last month’s We Don’t Trust You.
Twenty three of the album’s 27 songs have also made it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This brought her career total Billboard Hot 100 songs to 106. She is now just the 17th artist, and only the third woman, to score over 100 entries since the Hot 100 launched in 1958.
Former chart-topper “Texas Hold ‘Em” leads the pack at No. 2, followed by “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus at No. 6 and Bey’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” at No. 7.
Ten other songs from the album also cracked the top 50, including the Post Malone collaboration “Levii’s Jeans,” “Bodyguard” and The Beatles cover “Blackbird.”
Another song on the chart is “Protector,” which features Beyoncé and JAY-Z‘s daughter, Rumi Carter. With the track debuting at No. 42 on this week’s Hot 100, Rumi is now the youngest ever female artist to appear on the chart.
At six years and nine months old, she beats the record previously held by big sis Blue Ivy. Blue broke the record at aged 7 when “Brown Skin Girl,” her Lion King: The Gift collaboration with her mom, landed on the chart in 2019.
However, as Billboard pointed out, Blue Ivy still remains the youngest artist to appear on any Billboard chart thanks to her cameo on dad JAY-Z’s “Glory” in 2012 (under the name “B.I.C.”).
That song, released just days after she was born, peaked at No. 23 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and No. 63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
As for Cowboy Carter’s other successes, Beyoncé and Post Malone‘s collaboration on “Levi’s Jeans” gave Levi Strauss & Co. a massive push.
Soon after the album dropped last month, the American clothing company altered its Instagram name to mirror the aforementioned song title. According to CBS News, their stock spiked by 20% on April 4.
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“I would just say that denim is having a moment and the Levi’s brand is having a powerful moment around the world,” chief executive officer Michelle Gass said.
“One of the things that really is significant about the Levi’s brand and we place a lot of emphasis and investment is making sure that Levi’s brand remains in the center of culture.
“And I don’t think there’s any better evidence or proof point than having someone like Beyoncé, who is a culture shaper, to actually name a song after us.”
