The official numbers are finally in, and as expected, Beyoncé has proved yet again why she is the Queen Bey.
The sales of ‘Cowboy Carter’ have been tabulated over a week since its release, and early predictions that the 27-song set would cross over 400K in first-week units have proven accurate.
Billboard released the official numbers and stats on Sunday (April 7):
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter gallops in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 13), debuting with 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 4, according to Luminate. It’s the superstar’s eighth No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
With 407,000 units earned, Cowboy Carter claims the biggest week of 2024 and the largest since Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) bowed with 1.653 million units on the Nov. 11, 2023-dated list. Cowboy Carter’s launch is also Beyoncé’s biggest week, by units, since her Lemonade album debuted at No. 1 with 653,000 units (mostly from traditional album sales) on the May 14, 2016, chart. The new effort also lands Beyoncé her biggest streaming week ever.
Cowboy Carter also launches at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, Americana/Folk Albums and Top Album Sales charts. She’s the first Black woman ever to have led the Top Country Albums list, dating to its January 1964 inception. Cowboy Carter also claims the biggest week for a country album, by units earned, since last July, when Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), opened at No. 1 on the July 22, 2023 chart with 716,000 units.
Cowboy Carter was introduced by the singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” which were released during the Super Bowl festivities on Feb. 11. The tracks debuted and have peaked (through the charts dated April 6) at Nos. 1 and 9, respectively, on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, marking Beyoncé’s first entries on the tally. They have also reached Nos. 1, for two weeks, and 38 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
Of Cowboy Carter’s first-week unit sum of 407,000, SEA units comprise 232,000 (equaling 300.41 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), traditional album sales comprise 168,000 and TEA units comprise 7,000. With 300.41 million on-demand official streams, Cowboy Carter earns Beyoncé her biggest streaming week ever and the fourth-largest for a country album.
Cowboy Carter marks Beyoncé’s eighth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. She previously led the list with Renaissance (in 2022), Lemonade (2016), her self-titled album (2013), 4 (2011), I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008), B’Day (2006) and Dangerously In Love (2003). Beyoncé breaks out of a tie with Janet Jackson for the fourth-most No. 1s among women. Swift has the most, with 13, followed by Barbra Streisand (11), Madonna (nine), Beyoncé (eight) and Jackson (seven).
The vinyl edition of Cowboy Carter sold 62,000 copies (across its four variants combined), marking Beyoncé’s biggest week on vinyl and the largest week for any vinyl album in 2024.
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Bey’s company, Parkwood also took to social media to share the news and stats.
View this post on Instagram
Major!!!! Congrats to Bey!
