WORKING THE WEEKND SHIFT (UPDATE)
Expect nothing but sunshine for XO/Republic's The Weeknd, as his sixth studio album, After Hours, is on pace for a monster bow. The LP is projected to move 400k+ units and contend for the largest debut of the year.
That's a massive accomplishment given the current pandemic. Total U.S. streams fell by 10% last week as offices, schools, gyms, etc. closed.
The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness debuted with 411k in September 2015. The 400k+ total is made up of streaming equivalent albums of 160-200k and ticket/D2C bundles close to that, combined with album sales projecting over 200k. BTS currently owns the biggest 2020 first week with 422k.
Day one stats:
- 100m global streams
- Top 12 Apple Music Global 100 chart
- 14 of 15 on the Spotify U.S. chart
- "Blinding Lights" is Greatest Gainer at Spotify with 8.5m daily streams
- "Blinding Lights" spends its 25th consecutive day at #1 on the Spotify Global chart
A deluxe edition of After Hours dropped on Sunday. The expanded package contains four remixes—including Vapor Wave's reimagining of "Heartless" featuring a verse from Lil Uzi Vert—and The Weeknd's recent SNL premiere performance of "Scared to Live."
On Monday, the artist premiered a music video for "In Your Eyes," a gory thriller starring model Zaina Miuccia.
