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UPDATE: Spotify has corrected a statement it sent to Variety earlier on Monday that inaccurately stated that West also topped Rodrigo’s record as 2021’s most-streamed artist in 24 hours; West’s record is only for 2021’s most-streamed album in 24 hours.
After several weeks of one of the most highly publicized and confusing album rollouts in history, Kanye West’s “Donda” finally was officially released to streaming services at the unusual, if not completely unprecedented, time of early Sunday morning. While it’s unclear exactly when the album was posted, a press release from Def Jam, West’s label, announcing it arrived at around 8:15 a.m. ET.
Around 32 hours later, the numbers are still rolling in, but one thing that can be confirmed is that “On Sunday, August 29, Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ broke the record for the most-streamed album in a day so far in 2021,” topping Olivia Rodrigo and her debut album “Sour,” according to a rep for the streaming giant, the world’s largest paid music subscription service.
“Donda” seems likely to break even more records as the week goes on — at least until Drake’s hotly anticipated “Certified Lover Boy” album finally drops on Friday. At the time of this article’s publication, songs from “Donda” occupied six of the top 10 spots on Spotify’s Top 200, with another six between 11 and 20, and another six between 21 and 30, and another five between 31 and 50. That’s 23 of the album’s 27 songs taking up more than half of the Top 50.
While no official certifications have been announced at the time of this article’s publication, at Apple Music it’s even bigger, with songs from the album occupying the top 18 spots in its U.S. Top 100, with another seven further down in the top 50.
Variety will have more on this fast-moving situation as it develops.
