Beyoncé and Kanye West raced one another throughout last week to see who could debut higher on music charts all around the world. The two musicians both released new music just days apart from one another, and the pair saw their latest offerings quickly become streaming and sales successes. Which musician won that race may seem to be obvious at first glance, but both actually performed well in one of the largest music markets in the world.
This week, Beyoncé earns the top debut on the songs chart in the U.K. The singer’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” starts at No. 9 on the ranking of the most-consumed tunes in the country.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” is Beyoncé’s twenty-second top 10 hit in the U.K. While it opens higher than anything from her sometimes-friend West, he and his collaborator Ty Dolla $ign claim more spaces on the ranking than she does.
West and $ign released the first of their three collaborative albums, Vultures 1, a week ago. That title debuts at No. 2 on the ranking of the most-consumed full-lengths in the U.K. The set launches behind only Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, which is up to the highest rung in the same period while the title track from the project rules the singles chart.
While they might not have bested Beyoncé on the songs chart, and Vultures 1 missed the No. 1 spot on the albums ranking by just one rung, West and $ign do claim three quick wins on the singles tally. “Carnival” arrives on the tally at No. 12, narrowly missing out on the highest tier. Not far behind that track, two more start inside the top 20. “Burn” and “Back to Me,” which are both featured on Vultures 1, start at Nos. 17 and 18, respectively.
At the same time that Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ‘Em”—just after the Super Bowl–she also dropped “16 Carriages.” That cut appears on this week’s U.K. songs chart as well, but it lands much lower than the more popular of the two. “16 Carriages” kicks off its time on the tally at No. 44.
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