Beyoncé’s ‘B’Day’ Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart

Beyoncé achieves her sixth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart as B’Day debuts at No. 1 on the list dated Sept. 19. The new leader, released in 2006, received an expanded deluxe edition on Sept. 4 to mark its 20th anniversary, prompting its surge on the chart, which launched in January 2013.

For its coronation, B’Day, on Parkwood/Columbia Records, earned 38,000 equivalent album units in the United States for the tracking week of Sept. 4-10, according to Luminate. Its expanded edition swelled to 31 tracks – more than double the 2006 standard version – and includes collaborations with Pharrell (“Can I Watch You),” Maluma (“Cuerpo [Tumbao]”) and a Spanish-language version of “Irreplaceable” that features a sample of Selena’s 1992 classic “Como La Flor.”

Streaming activity contributed 22,000 units of B’Day’s weekly sum, equal to 22.5 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Traditional album sales provided 16,000 units, with a negligible number of track-equivalent units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 1,000 paid/subscription tier or 2,500 ad-supported tier of official on-demand audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

With B’Day, Beyoncé adds her sixth No. 1 on the 13-year-old Top R&B Albums chart, which launched after her career started. Despite the mid-career arrival, the singer is now in the second place for the most No. 1s in the list’s history; only The Weeknd, with 8 champs, claims more.

Here’s a review of the superstar’s leaders on Top R&B Albums:

Beyoncé, 11 weeks at No. 1, beginning Dec. 28, 2013
Beyoncé: More Only (EP), one, Dec. 13, 2014
Lemonade, 19, May 14, 2016
The Lion King: The Gift, two, Aug. 3, 2019
Renaissance, nine, Aug. 13, 2022
B’Day, one (to date), Sept. 19, 2026

Notably, two of her solo albums that pre-date the Top R&B Albums’ arrival later found their way to the chart. Her 2011 set, 4, premiered at No. 18 on the first chart (dated Jan. 26, 2013) and climbed to a No. 6 peak, while 2008’s I Am…Sasha Fierce achieved a No. 17 best in 2017.

Elsewhere, B’Day returns at No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200. The project debuted at No. 1 on both rankings in 2006.

Besides B’Day, Beyoncé claims another No. 1 with the expanded B’Day single “Morning Dew (Donk).” The track jumps 7-1 to rule the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and become Bey’s 14th career leader. With the result, Beyoncé extends her status as the woman with the most No. 1s, now three ahead of Cardi B, on the chart, which began in September 1993. (Drake remains the overall leader, with 42 chart-toppers.)

“Morning Dew” also wins a second term atop Adult R&B Airplay. Last week, it secured Beyoncé’s fourth No. 1 at the format.