Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album, GNX, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking his fourth consecutive chart-topping album.
Released on November 22 as a surprise drop, the album sold 319,000 equivalent album units in its first week, according to Luminate. This impressive start also gave GNX the biggest streaming week for any R&B/hip-hop album in 2024, with 379.72 million streams.
Lamar dominated the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, holding seven of the top 10 spots. His song “Squabble Up” leads at No. 1, followed by “TV Off” at No. 2, “Luther” at No. 3, “Wacced Out Murals” at No. 4, “Hey Now” at No. 5, “Reincarnated” at No. 7, and “Man at the Garden” at No. 10.
With three No. 1 hits this year, Lamar now holds the record for the most No. 1 songs in 2024, surpassing Ariana Grande, Morgan Wallen, and Post Malone. He also joins Taylor Swift, Drake, and The Beatles as one of the few artists to claim the top five spots on the Hot 100 at the same time.
GNX features collaborations with Los Angeles-based artists like AzChike and Lefty Gunplay. It was produced by top talents such as Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, and Kamasi Washington. To support the album, Lamar released a music video for “Squabble Up” shortly after the album dropped.
This success continues Lamar’s streak of No. 1 albums, following Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), Damn. (2017), and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). His earlier projects, Untitled Unmastered (2016) and Black Panther: The Album (2018), also debuted at No. 1.
The soundtrack for the upcoming Wicked movie debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. This is the highest debut ever for a film adaptation of a stage musical. The last time a soundtrack from a stage-to-screen musical reached the top five was Chicago, which debuted at No. 4 in 2003.
The rest of the top 10 includes Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet at No. 3, Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia at No. 4, and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft at No. 5. Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us is at No. 6, Rauw Alejandro’s Cosa Nuestra at No. 7, and Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department at No. 8. Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time holds the No. 9 spot, and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess rounds out the top 10.
