Rapper Drake becomes first artist to hold top three Billboard 200 spots

Canadian rapper, Drake has made history after claiming the top three positions on the Billboard 200 albums chart simultaneously for the first time ever.

The Billboard report confirms ICEMAN opens at No. 1 with 463,000 equivalent album units in the United States for the week ending May 21, followed by HABIBTI at No. 2 with 114,000 units and MAID OF HONOUR at No. 3 with 110,000 units. All three projects were released on May 15.

The achievement also gives Drake his 15th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, placing him ahead of Jay-Z among solo male artists and tying him with Taylor Swift among solo performers overall.

Only The Beatles, with 19 chart-topping albums, remain ahead.

According to Billboard’s data, ICEMAN’s first-week performance was driven primarily by streaming activity, with 449,000 SEA units equalling 462.2 million on-demand streams.

HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR also recorded strong streaming-led debuts, with over 100 million streams each.

Billboard notes that Drake is now the only act in chart history to debut at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously, surpassing previous milestones set by acts such as Guns N’ Roses and Nelly, who each debuted at Nos. 1 and 2 in the same week.