Last week, there were reports that Drake’s surprise new release, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, might not debut at No. 1, a feat that has been accomplished by a bunch of Drake projects before it. Drake’s latest faced stiff competition from Here And Now, the 19th album by country music legend Kenny Chesney. Now the numbers are out, and Chesney managed to beat Drake for the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart dated May 16.
It was a real close call: Here And Now earned 233,000 equivalent album units in the US for the week ending May 7, while Dark Lane Demo Tapes managed to rack up 223,000 units.
This release was a big one for Chesney, as this No. 1 placement has tied him with fellow country icon Garth Brooks for the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 for a country act, with nine. Here And Now had the third-biggest sales week of the year so far, following the debut weeks of projects from BTS and The Weeknd. The album also had the biggest week for a country album in over a year, since Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty back in September of 2018.
As for Drake, Dark Lane Demo Tapes is his 12th top-10 release, joining every other charting release Drake has put out. Drake earned his ninth straight No. 1 release last year with Care Package, and Dark Lane Demo Tapes could end that run if it doesn’t find its way to the top of the chart in the coming weeks.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
