Meek Mill's 'Championships' Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Meek Mill is a winner on the new Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 15), as his new release Championships [featuring "Trauma," "Respect the Game," "Cold Hearted II," and the title track all co-written by Larrance Dopson] debuts at No. 1. The set earned 229,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 6, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 42,000 were in traditional album sales. The album was released on Nov. 30 via Maybach/Atlantic Records and is the hip-hop artist’s second chart-topper, following 2015’s Dreams Worth More Than Money.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multimetric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Championships is Meek Mill’s first full-length album since his release from prison in April. In July, he dropped the four-song EP Legends of the Summer, which debuted and peaked at No. 9 on the July 21-dated tally.

In total, Championships is Meek Mill’s sixth consecutive top 10 effort -- the entirely of his charting albums.

Championships also logs the ninth-largest streaming week of 2018 for an album, the sixth-largest debut streaming frame of the year for an album, and Meek Mill’s best streaming week ever. The album bows with 235.4 million on-demand audio streams tallied for its tracks in the week ending Dec. 6. The largest streaming week of 2018 (and of all time) for an album is owned by Drake’s Scorpion, which clocked 745.9 million on-demand audio streams for its tracks in its first week (July 14-dated chart).

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Lil Baby notches his highest-charting album, as his third release of 2018, Street Gossip, starts with 88,000 equivalent album units (with 5,000 of that sum in album sales). The set was largely driven by streaming activity, as it logged 82,000 SEA units, which translates to 114.2 million on-demand audio streams for its tracks in its opening week. Street Gossip follows Drip Harder(with Gunna, peaking at No. 4 on the Oct. 20 chart) and the solo effort Harder Than Ever (No. 3, June 2).

6ix9ine’s Dummy Boy is at No. 3 with 83,000 units after its first full tracking week. The album debuted on the chart a week ago from only three days of tracking activity, after it was released on Tuesday, Nov. 27, instead of the previous Friday, Nov. 23, as originally planned.

Rock band The 1975 bows at No. 4 with its new album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, as the set begins with 66,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, 48,000 were in album sales, which also makes the set the top-selling album of the week. The new album is the group’s second top 10 effort and follows the chart-topping 2016 release I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful, Yet So Unaware of It (chart dated March 19, 2016).

Michael Bublé’s ever-popular Christmas is at No. 5, as the former No. 1 album, released in 2011, earns 55,000 units (18,000 in album sales).

Rapper Ski Mask the Slump God starts at No. 6 with his debut full-length set, Stokeley, which earned 51,000 equivalent album units (5,000 in album sales). Like many hip-hop releases, the set is powered by streaming activity: 45,000 in SEA units, equaling 71.5 million in on-demand audio streams for the album’s tracks. Stokeley is the artist’s second chart effort on the Billboard 200, following Beware of the Book of Eli, which debuted and peaked at No. 50 (May 26).

Rounding out the new top 10 at Nos. 7-10, respectively: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack (48,000 units), Travis Scott’s Astroworld (47,000 units), Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack (a little more than 40,000 units) and Pentatonix’s Christmas Is Here! (40,000 units).