New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Kanye West's new Jesus Is King LP has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. West's gospel-inspired album "Jesus is King," released October 25, has hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, his ninth consecutive album to debut at No. 1.
West is now tied with Eminem for the most consecutive No. 1's on the Billboard 200 charts, says Billboard.
The album pulled in 196.9 million on-demand audio streams since its much-delayed release on Oct. 25. Of the 264,000 equivalent album units, 109,000 were pure album sales. The numbers slightly trump his previous album, Ye, which amassed 208,000 in total activity and 85,000 in album sales. Jesus Is King's debut at the top makes Kanye the only artist other than Eminem to have nine consecutive No. 1 albums in a row.
Jesus Is King was a success despite West's typical delays and some high profile criticism. West scrapped Yandhi—which was originally pegged as his ninth album—and made a hard left turn towards gospel music. In August, Kim Kardashian revealed Jesus Is King's title, tracklist, and a Sept. 27 release date.
Sept. 27 came and went, as did the Sept. 29 release date Kim promised afterward. West did hit the new announced Oct. 25 (albeit at noon instead of midnight).
Like the album, West's Jesus Is King documentary got a mixed reception. The 35-minute short film pulled in over $1 million from its first week in theaters, according to Variety. West's partnership with IMAX is set to expand, with the film expected to hit 78 additional foreign territories on Nov. 8.
Despite his foray into design, fashion and politics, West says he has no plans to stop producing music. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music's Beats 1, West announced that he plans to release an album titled "Jesus Is Born" on Christmas Day.
"I believe because God has given me a gift that I pray for and so many people love," West told Lowe, "that if I stop doing it, he might start to take all the things away."
