While Bey’s established name was strong enough to put her in at No. 1, her first-week numbers are a sharp decline from her previous releases. 2006′s B’Day pushed an impressive 561k first week, while its follow-up I Am Sasha Fierce managed 482k. Even her debut Dangerously In Love posted higher numbers, with 317k. The predicted 275-300k for 4 puts Beyonce in the same field as Britney Spears, who sold 276k of her latest release Femme Fatale.

Interestingly enough, while Beyonce’s first-week numbers have grown smaller with her last three releases, her chart rival Rihanna has managed to consistently post higher and higher first-week sales with every album she releases.