Drake’s latest album If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which he surprised everyone by releasing last week, debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart on Wednesday.
The hip-hop star’s new album sold 495,000 copies in its first week, according to Billboard, just shy of the 500,000 figure predicted by industry insiders.
If You’re Reading This is Drake’s fourth effort to debut atop the charts, a remarkable feat for an album that wasn’t studio recorded. The album has sold more copies in its first three days than any other album in 2015 except for Taylor Swift’s record-breaking 1989.
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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com