On the Charts: Future Makes Billboard 200 History With ‘HNDRXX’

Future made Billboard 200 history as the first artist ever to debut two different albums at Number One in consecutive weeks as HNDRXX followed Future to the top spot.

HNDRXX sold 121,000 total copies in its first week – a shade less than Future‘s 140,000 opening week sales – to give the rapper his fifth consecutive Number One album, following Evol, What a Time to Be Alive, DS2 and the self-titled LP.

As Billboard notes, Future is the first artist to top the charts in two consecutive weeks with two different albums since Simon & Garfunkel did it in 1968 with Bookends and The Graduate soundtrack; neither album debuted at Number One, however.

On top of HNDRXX‘s Number One debut, Future only slid one spot to Number Two, making the rapper one of just nine artists to simultaneously occupy the top two spots on the Billboard 200: Prince was the last to do it when, following his April 2016 death, the Very Best of Prince and Purple Rain charged to Number One and Two.

Individually released double LPs like Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion I & II and Nelly’s Sweat and Suit also accomplished the feat.

Two other new releases, both in the country music genre, debuted in the Top 10: Powered by the Taylor Swift-penned “Better Man,” Little Big Town’s The Breaker opened up at Number Four and 51,000 total albums. Aaron Watson’s Vaquero bowed in at Number 10.

The rest of the Top 10 was filled with returnees: Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic at Number Three, the Trolls soundtrack at Number Five, Migos’ Culture (Six), the Weeknd’s Starboy (Seven), the Moana soundtrack (Eight) and Big Sean’s I Decided (Nine).

Future’s two-album, two-week reign atop the Billboard 200 will almost assuredly come to an end next week as Ed Sheeran’s Divide is expected to capture Number One.