How Does Cardi B’s First-Week ‘Am I the Drama’ Performance Compare to Our Expectations?

After a seven-year hold pursuing unanimously acclaimed 2018 debut Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B yet returned to DSPs and vinyl and CD store shelves this period with her sophomore medium AM I THE DRAMA?

This week, pursuing a months-long media full-court press, DRAMA debuts atop the Billboard 200 with 200,000 first-week units. In addition, the medium charts 17 of its tracks connected the Billboard Hot 100, led by the Kehlani collab “Safe,” which debuts astatine No. 26.

Was the first-week show of DRAMA little oregon much than what we expected? And volition we get a 3rd Cardi B medium earlier the crook of the decade? Billboard staffers sermon these questions and much below.

1. Cardi B’s AM I THE DRAMA? bows atop the Billboard 200 with 200,000 first-week units moved. Is that fig lower, higher oregon astir what you would person expected? 

Kyle Denis: I’ve had truthful overmuch clip to foretell her archetypal week numbers and gauge my expectations, and I’m inactive unsure. Considering hip-hop’s existent commercialized pull, the deficiency of deed azygous oregon viral impermanent verse up of the medium release, the plethora of variants, and her late-stage promotional blitz, 200,000 first-week units is astir wherever I would person expected AM I THE DRAMA? to land. What’s getting maine is however overmuch we had to spot Cardi and her squad sweat and combat to scope that figure…

Carl Lamarre: Higher, but not by much. I’m arrogant to accidental that I was 1 of the precise fewer who thought that Cardi could eclipse 175K. She sealed my stake erstwhile she went brainsick with her promo tally going into merchandise week. From doing in-store meet-and-greets to virtually kissing babies successful Dyckman, her hustler’s spirit is what helped her sprint to a hefty 200k debut. 

Jason Lipshutz: Higher. “Eternity” doesn’t bash justness to a seven-year spread betwixt full-length projects successful modern hip-hop, and while Cardi B has scored aggregate chart-toppers since 2018’s Invasion of Privacy, AM I THE DRAMA? arrived without immoderate deed azygous preceding it. The deficiency of momentum yet didn’t matter, since Cardi remains specified a unit of quality arsenic a hip-hop creator and personality. Her instrumentality was ever going to make a batch of interest, but considering the circumstances, DRAMA outpaced tenable expectations successful its debut week.

Heran Mamo: A spot little considering the meme-driven and guerilla marketing for the album, from the “courtroom edition” CDs featuring viral images from her recent battle trial connected the covers to selling said CDs and much positive vinyls

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