R. Kelly's 'Buffet' Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart

R. Kelly's 'Buffet' Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart

  

Plus, August Alsina’s album starts at No. 2 & Post Malone earns airplay leader

R. Kelly scores his 12th No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (chart dated Jan. 2) with his debut of The Buffet, holding on to his position as the solo act with the second-most chart leaders. The new album opens with 36,000 copies sold in the week ending Dec. 17 (according to Nielsen Music), inching the singer closer to Jay Z’s record 13 No. 1s. It has been six years since Kelly crowned the list last when Untitled debuted at No. 1 on the Dec. 9, 2009 chart.

Among all acts, The Temptations has the most No. 1s on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with 17.
 
The Buffet's single “Wake Up Everybody” hops 21-18 on Adult R&B Songs (up 25 percent in spins at the format during the week ending Dec. 13), becoming Kelly’s 34th top 20 on the chart. He maintains his record lead for most top 20s, Mary J. Blige follows with the second-most top 20s (30). (Kelly’s first top 20 hit came in 1994 when “Bump N' Grind” spent three weeks at No. 1.).

The singer -- who made news on Dec. 21 (days after the new chart’s tracking week ended) after walking off the set of a live Huffington Post interview -- makes his entrance on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (No. 52), amid buzz surrounding the release of The Buffet. 

August Alsina Arrives: R&B singer August Alsina takes the second best arrival on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums as his second studio set This Thing Called Love enters at No. 2 with 36,000 copies sold with a narrow margin of sales between his set and Kelly’s. (Both albums sold slightly more than 36,000 — though R. Kelly’s set is a few hundred copies ahead of Alsina.) 

Alsina’s entrance launches its single “Song Cry” onto Hot R&B Songs, where it begins at No. 20. Streaming provides the majority of points causing its arrival, partly due to a video clip released on the 23-year-old’s Vevo on YouTube channel on Dec. 11. The track amassed 1.2 million domestic weekly streams through the most recent tracking week (ending Dec. 17), with 61 percent of all clicks stemming from YouTube, and Vevo on YouTube, views. 

Post Malone’s Rhythmic Reign: Rapper Post Malone reaches the top of Rhythmic Songs with his debut single “White Iverson,” stepping 2-1 in its 17th charting week. The capping rise bumps Alessia Cara’s 

“Here” from a two-week stay at the top, which she also achieved after in her 17th week with her debut single (both songs tie for the longest trips to the top in the last year).

In fact, Post Malone (real name Austin Post) becomes the fifth act in the last 12 months to earn a No. 1 on the chart with their first charting song (following Cara, Natalie La Rose’s “Somebody,” Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen,” and OMI’s “Cheerleader”).

“Iverson” maintains its No. 10 peak Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, aided by a 12 percent climb in digital sales (to 29,000 downloads).