Olivia Rodrigo is back on top of the Billboard charts this week with her sophomore album Guts. The set easily conquers a number of tallies, as it was one of the most highly-anticipated releases of the year, and it opens with 302,000 equivalent units shifted. That’s not just enough to send Rodrigo to the No. 1 spot on a handful of rankings, but also to help her join with some of the most successful artists of the past few years.
Guts opens at No. 1 on a number of Billboard charts this frame, including the Top Alternative Albums ranking. The weekly list tracks the most-consumed alternative releases in America, using a methodology that combines sales and streaming data.
According to Billboard, Guts earns the fourth-largest debut ever on the tally since it changed over to an all-encompassing consumption model. For years, the Top Alternative Albums chart, along with many other album-focused lists published by the company, focused only on sales. As streams became more and more important to paint a picture of what music Americans are consuming—and not just buying—Billboard made the decision to change how it ranks what is the most popular in the U.S.
Rodrigo is now in some very esteemed company with one of the most impressive starts on the Top Alternative Albums chart. The biggest debut so far on the tally (since it began incorporating streams) belongs to Taylor Swift’s Folklore, which launched with 846,000 equivalent units shifted in August 2020.
Before that year was up, the singer-songwriter’s follow-up Evermore also opened at No. 1 on the Top Alternative Albums chart, launching with 329,000 equivalent units in December 2020.
For a time, before Swift swooped in and dominated the alternative charts, Billie Eilish claimed the largest debut on the Top Alternative Albums ranking. Her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? kicked off its time in first place in April 2019 with 313,000 equivalent units. Now, that sum places her in third place on this all-time list.
Rodrigo’s Guts doesn’t just rule the Top Alternative Albums chart, as it’s big enough to dominate several other rankings at the same time. The title becomes her second consecutive ruler on the Billboard 200, and it also opens in first place on the Top Album Sales list.
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