Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella
Jhené Aiko has landed the first Billboard 200 No. 1 of her career as Westside Whimsy debuts atop the chart. Per Complex citing Luminate figures reported by TheGrio, the album earned 74,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. for the week ending September 17.
Of that total, about 70,000 units came from streaming (~71.33 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), with 3,500 from album sales and 500 track-equivalent album units.
A long climb to the summit
The debut caps nearly 13 years since Sail Out peaked at No. 8 in November 2013. Chilombo came closest previously, opening at No. 2 in 2020. Westside Whimsy is Aiko’s sixth Billboard 200 top 10 and also opened at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums.
The 20-track set arrived September 11, with guests including Kendrick Lamar (“So Good”), Ab-Soul (“Love Bomb”), Tyga (“Like, Whatever”), Larry June (“Neighbors”), and OHMA (“Golden Coast”).
First R&B album by a woman to top the chart in 2026
The run also makes Westside Whimsy the first R&B album by a woman to lead the Billboard 200 in 2026—and the first since SZA’s SOS returned to No. 1 in May 2025.
Source reporting: TheGrio (Complex/Luminate figures)