NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Lil Uzi Vert performs during the TIDAL's 5th Annual TIDAL X Benefit ... [+]
Hip-hop fans were treated to something very special on Friday (March 6) when a new Lil Uzi Vert album appeared out of nowhere around midday. Now, just over a week since it appeared on streaming platforms and digital download stores, the set has conquered the Billboard 200 with one of the largest single-frame sums of 2020.
Lil Uzi Vert’s new album Eternal Atake opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 288,000 equivalent units shifted. That number is comprised of 9,000 actual purchases and 278,000 streaming equivalent units, which themselves are made up of 400 million plays on sites like Spotify and Apple Music.
Eternal Atake is Lil Uzi Vert’s second chart-topper on the all-genre ranking, keeping his record perfect when it comes to proper albums. In 2017 his debut album Luv Is Rage 2 also started off at No. 1. Before then, he placed several commercial mixtapes somewhere on the Billboard 200, though none of them came very close to the top tier on the chart.
The chart-owning rapper’s new album was previewed by two singles, both of which are actually labeled as bonus tracks on the set. First up was "Futsal Shuffle 2020,” which broke into the top five on the Hot 100 in late 2019, but it didn’t stick around for long, falling down the tally fairly quickly. Just days before Lil Uzi Vert unveiled Eternal Atake, he dropped “That Way,” which interpolates the Backstreet Boys’ 1999 smash “I Want It That Way.” That tune opened at No. 21 on the chart, and it could climb once again when the Hot 100 is renewed, based partly on when it was released and also because millions rushed to stream the album in full, including that track.
Lil Uzi Vert’s surprise release seemingly steals the spotlight from Jhené Aiko, who shared her new album Chilombo on the same day. Her latest solo effort enters the Billboard 200 at No. 2, and if the unexpected full-length from one of the most popular rappers in the business hadn’t arrived when it did, she would have earned her first leader on the list.
Just one week after he first dropped Eternal Atake, Lil Uzi Vert shocked fans once again by releasing an entire album’s worth of new material. He called the project Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2, and while it’s considered a mixtape of sorts, those 14 brand new tunes are only available on the deluxe edition of his latest album, which has now been rebranded as Eternal Atake (Deluxe) - LUV vs. The World 2.
