Madonna’s new album, “Confessions II,” her first in seven years, has topped the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 134,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.
According to Billboard, “Confessions II” is Madonna’s best performance in years. Of the 134,000 album-equivalent units, 19,000 were streamed, or more than 20.1 million streams. This is a record for the singer. Another 114,000 came from physical and digital sales, her best performance since 2012.
The new album also significantly outperformed the debut of Madonna’s previous work, “Madame X.” In 2019, it debuted with 95,000 album-equivalent units, which was enough for it to debut at number one.
Billboard notes that Madonna became the first artist to top the Billboard 200 in the 2020s, with No. 1 albums in three decades—the 1980s, 2000s, and 2010s. However, none of her 1990s albums topped the chart.
“Confessions II” became Madonna’s tenth album to top the Billboard 200 and her 24th to enter the top 10.
Only five artists in the history of the Billboard 200 have had more No. 1 albums than Madonna. The Rolling Stones have topped the chart with 38 different releases.
The success of “Confessions II” was also notable because none of the singles released before the album’s release became major hits. In particular, the duet with Sabrina Carpenter, “Bring Your Love”, presented after their joint performance at the Coachella festival, rose only to 74th place on the Hot 100 chart.
Despite this, the album started successfully. Billboard notes that listeners received “Confessions II” positively, which resembles a coherent dance album more than a collection of individual pop songs.
The album also received high reviews from critics. On Metacritic, its average rating is 84 points out of 100.
In the UK, “Confessions II” also debuted at number one. This is Madonna’s 13th album to top the British chart.
The Warner label announced that Madonna became one of two artists in history to have ten No. 1 albums simultaneously on the US and UK charts. The Beatles were the first to achieve this.