Drake returned last week with the surprise release of his dance-heavy Honestly, Nevermind album. The project drew criticism from some fans and became the polarizing center of debate in music over the weekend.
Speaking to the power of the 6 God, even without any promo and just an Instagram post to announce the LP mere hours prior to its arrival, he’s expected to post another solid first week on the charts.
According to HITS Daily Double, Honestly, Nevermind is slated to move between 210,000 and 230,000 album-equivalent units in the first week and earn Drake his 12th No. 1 album atop the Billboard 200.
.@Drake‘s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ aiming for #1 debut on the US albums chart with 210-230K units first week (via @HITSDD).
— chart data (@chartdata) June 18, 2022
Comparatively, Drizzy’s last album Certified Lover Boy earned 613,000 first-week album-equivalent units, while 2018’s Scorpion opened with a 732,000 tally. Honestly, Nevermind‘s sales forecast puts it on par with 2020’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes, which notched 223,000 sales.
Despite its fewer first-week sales, Honestly, Nevermind still made Apple Music history by breaking the record for the most first-day streams for a dance album. The project also posted 61 million streams on Spotify in its first full day on the service, surpassing the 100 million mark by Sunday (June 19).
.@Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ has now surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify (album).
— chart data (@chartdata) June 19, 2022
The Breakfast Club‘s Charlamagne Tha God offered a brutally honest review of Honestly, Nevermind on Friday (June 17), describing it as “elevator music.”
“The vibes, to me, are the vibes you hear when you’re at a Beverley Hills luxury hotel,” he said. “This is lobby, elevator music. This is the vibes when you sitting in the lobby of the SLS hotel having some drinks on a leather couch with the lights dimly lit.
“You got a suit on, no tie, first couple of buttons on your shirt open, some slippers on, loafers no socks. I’m never going to revisit the album again but if it comes on when I’m in the lobby of a luxury hotel, I’m not mad at it.”
However, many of Drake’s rap peers — including Jay Eletronica, Joey Bada$$ and Soulja Boy — have come to the album’s defence, with J. Cole declaring it “phenomenal.”
Even Drake himself addressed the polarizing reactions to his latest effort, saying, “It’s all good if you don’t get it yet. That’s what we do! We wait for you to catch up. We in here, though, we caught up already. On to the next.”
Stream Honestly, Nevermind below.
