Jhené Aiko earns an impressive debut with her Chilombo album, which starts at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart dated March 21. The project kicks off with 152,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending March 12, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, her first time breaking the six-digit mark since Billboard shifted to consumption units from pure sales in late 2014.
The set also scores the biggest debut week for an R&B album by a woman since Beyoncé‘s Lemonade blasted in at No. 1 with 485,000 units on the chart dated May 14, 2016.
Chilombo gives the singer-songwriter her fourth No. 1 on Top R&B Albums. She first led with her Sail Out EP in 2013, following with 2014’s Souled Out and 2017’s Trip. In addition, she topped the chart as a member of the Twenty88 duo, with Big Sean, and its self-titled release in 2016. All five projects reigned for one week each on the list.
As Chilombo arrives, nine of its tracks debut on Hot R&B Songs, led by a No. 5 start for “B.S.,” featuring H.E.R. Check the full list of entrances:
No. 5, “B.S.,” featuring H.E.R.
No. 14, “Speak”
No. 16, “One Way St.,” featuring Ab-Soul
No. 17, “Tryna Smoke”
No. 20, “10K Hours,” featuring Nas
No. 22, “Surrender,” featuring Dr. Chill
No. 23, “Born Tired”
No. 24, “Lightning and Thunder,” featuring John Legend
No. 25, “Pray for You”
In addition to the nine new recruits, four more Chilombo cuts have already clocked time on Hot R&B Songs. Lead single “Triggered” peaked at No. 3 on the list last May, while “None of Your Concern,” featuring Big Sean, debuted at peaked at No. 7 in November. The latter re-enters the survey at No. 11 thanks to Chilombo activity. Plus, the set’s “P*$$y Fairy (OTW),” a former No. 6 success, returns to its peak, and, lastly, “Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.),” featuring Future and Miguel, races 15-8 in its second week on the chart.
With her Chilombo haul, Aiko moves to 26 career hits on Hot R&B Songs since the chart began in 2012. She passes Rihanna, with 24 in that time, for the second-most among all female acts, behind Beyoncé’s 35.
Elsewhere, Aiko claims her first top 40 results on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead act with “B.S” and “Fairy.” The former debuts at No. 24, easily securing a career-best debut among her dozen entries, thanks to its 20.8 million U.S. streams in the week ending March 12, enough for a No. 11 opening on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart.
“Fairy,” meanwhile, rockets 100-40 in its eighth week on the ranking. Among all of her credits, Aiko’s best Hot 100 showing comes from Omarion’s “Post to Be,” featuring Aiko and Chris Brown, which climbed to No. 13 in 2015.