JAY-Z Scores 14th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart

JAY-Z collects his 14th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as his latest release, 4:44, debuts atop the tally.

According to Nielsen Music, in the week ending July 13, the set earned 262,000 equivalent album units -- a larger-than-initially-expected sum, and the fourth-largest week of 2017 for any album. Of its total, 174,000 units were in traditional album sales.

4:44’s No. 1 arrival extends JAY-Z’s record as the solo artist with the most No. 1 albums in the 61-year history of the Billboard 200 chart. He distances himself farther ahead of the two acts with the second-most leaders among soloists: Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand, who each have 11 chart-toppers. Among all acts, JAY-Z has the second-most leaders, behind only The Beatles, which have 19 No. 1s.

JAY-Z also furthers his own record as the artist with the most debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as all 14 of his albums have bowed in the top slot. (Springsteen has the second-most No. 1 debuts, with eight.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new July 29-dated chart (where JAY-Z starts at No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, July 18.