Travis Scott‘s new album Utopia has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with major first-week sales.
According to Billboard, the project moved 496,000 album-equivalent units, comprised of 243,000 SEA units (330.68 million on-demand streams), a massive 252,000 pure album sales and 1,000 TEA units.
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In doing so, Utopia secured the third-biggest week for any album in 2023 and the largest for any Hip Hop release. Its vinyl sales — 55,000 — also mark the largest tally for a rap album since tracking sales began in 1991.
Released on July 28 following years of anticipation, Utopia was stacked with features from fellow chart-toppers like Drake, Future, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, SZA, Young Thug and Bad Bunny.
All 19 songs on the album also debuted on the Hot 100, with the highest being the Drake-assisted “Meltdown” at No. 3. “FE!N,” which landed at No. 5, earned Playboi Carti his highest-charting song, while “Parasail” (No. 53) gave Dave Chappelle his first Hot 100 hit.
Utopia is the third No. 1 solo album of Travis Scott’s career and his first since 2018’s Astroworld, which also debuted at No. 1 with 537,000 album-equivalent units in its first week — including 270,000 pure album sales.
His JackBoys compilation album also debuted at No. 1 in 2019 after opening with 154,000 units.
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Speaking to PIN-UP Magazine in May, Travis Scott shed light on his creative process and mindset behind Utopia.
“I made most of my new album on an MPC,” he said. “I got new ones; I got some old ones. My favorite is the 2000XL. It produces a very distinctive sound that makes it feel alive.
“Utopia is something that people feel is so far-fetched and out of reach, some perfect state of mind. But you create it yourself.
“There are people who achieve utopia every day. They may not be the richest people with the dopest cribs, but it’s a utopia wherever they are, and that’s the most you can have.”
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He continued: “With every album I live in these worlds in my mind — I’m trying to show people experiences where utopian things can exist, and you can enjoy yourself and have a good time.
“They can create energy that spews out magical things — new cures, new buildings, new avenues for people to move forward. People need to see that utopia is real.”
