Frank Ocean is set to fly straight to #1 on the Billboard 200 with sophomore album ‘Blonde.’
Unleashed as a surprise on Apple Music on Saturday, the LP followed pre-cursor project ‘Endless,’ which arrived 48 hours earlier.
Armed with the hype and the critical praise heaped on the project, what are its first week numbers looking like?
Wonder no more because the first forecast is out!
According to Billboard, ‘Blonde’ is as good as a lock for the top spot and is projected to open with 225,000 – 250,000 equivalent SPS units.
No word yet on what the sales/streaming differential is shaping up to be; but given the muscle Apple are flexing in support of the project (see: exclusivity on iTunes and streaming service), it’s fair to assume the album is performing well on both fronts.
One facet of its success is certain, though, and that is that it’s already set to best the launch of its predecessor ‘Channel Orange.’ That record arrived in July 2012 with pure sales of 131,000 — opening and peaking at #2.
With physical units and streaming on all platforms expected imminently, Ocean looks likely to swim to new levels of slayage in the weeks and months ahead.
He tries so hard to be non-rnb but ends up just being weird and vocally he does not bring it for me. Good idea putting Beyonce in the mix, so her needy/angry/fake/loser stans can download that track and push his numbers. This cd is an epic fail for me.
You mad or really mad?
B**** u a epic fail
I think you meant “you’re AN epic fail”
We use the word “an” when ever a word that follows begins with a vowel.
as epic of a fail as your life?
But you was pressed enough to give first comment. shut up h**.
@Danzou, people are allowed to not like the art. It’s subjective. Some people will be unable to make any connection between his music and the real world and that’s okay. You can’t come for everybody who says they are not feeling it. And it seems like the only reason you like this release so much is because of his sexuality. Take the art for what it is. Are you really able to process his concepts in a way that resonates with your soul?
@credits it’s honestly not that serious I take all this as a joke. It’s just a blog for crap and giggles no one on here is worth all that lol all the gay guys and white people hate me and I love it. Anyway I get everybody doesn’t like everything it’s just funny messing with people. Honestly tho to answer your question yes I do feel him in my soul. It’s not just about his sexuality it’s more about the moving forward of a lot of things. C’mon a black guy? Bisexual? Selling albums and shows successful in R&B? Who wwould’ve thought? It’s just interesting to see that’s all. Everything else is just my sense of humor cuz all these queens and crackers are mad sensitive.
@credits I do the SAME s*** on rap radar and r*****. I don’t really trash talk everybody who disagrees just people who are ignorant about their points of view. It’s a pet peeve. For example, grown ass men come here to hate and bash women that they wanna be or they bash men that they wish they could f***. That’s all these comments ever are and I like pitching through the stupidity just to see what people will say which is usually nothing intelligent nor important.
@Wentz @Janet Im going to need you to retire this tired ass account, just like I made you retire that fake ass Janet account. Come at the Hive under your real account @WENTZ and stop creating this 94626182681 random accounts to try us.
Don’t hurt your self baby… The way you lie to us about king b… You only lying to yourself…
On the other hand, good start for frank Sea ( the ocean is for another album)
Love it!
All the f*** and homophobes are about to SEETHE.
Trash box vd having ho
I love you too baby.
His album is TRASH
Lol youre the most transparent troll evr. Your “now playing” drags itself.
Could you please take your 9in peen and put it deep inside of your own a***, and stop trying to fu<k everyone else over.
@Jamie you want my 9 inches don’t you baby?
I wouldn’t mind it. You turn me on so bad, and the fact you’re opinionated makes me want to climax.
Congrats to Frank ! Very impressive. I liked the album as a whole …..there were some songs I wasn’t feeling but Nikes, solo , pink & white, self control , ivy & nights are dope as hell. I hate that Tory isn’t getting as much recognition I think his album is a bit better but oh well.
Tory lanez, is that you?!
Lmao corny
@credits HA!
I hope you are on Tory’s payroll the way you have been promoting him in the frank ocean posts lately. Sucks that Frank’s surprise release took tory’s shine. You can’t compare the two though, musically they are in two different….”lanez” lol.
This is such a win for ART and CREATIVITY beyond discrimination and transcending sexuality and race and everything. This is R&B selling 200.000 first week in 2016? From a bisexual artist? this is very emotional for me.
Shut up
Make me h**
Shut up. You sound so stupid with that lame lament.
i love you too babe.
I wouldn’t classify this as R&B though (iTunes doesn’t). MAYBE alternative R&B, but even that is pushing the genre envelope. Not to take anything away from his numbers, but you can’t compare his success to those of the likes of Usher, Chris, August, etc. Frank doesn’t have an R&B fanbase.
I do not want to see the hate. Uhn uhh not today. Im scalping left and right prepare yaselves.If you didnt like it then dont buy it and dont listen to it again and leave the post.
Slutty bat
My mouth is literally wide open on the floor right now. OMG….the waiting game CLEARLY payed off for him. If this album isn’t gold in less than 3 months, I’d be completely confused.
Yall give tory lanes album a shot. Its not all that but its purposeful.
I honestly can’t respect his album either. In my opinion, it’s overly produced and sounds like a knock off of VIEWS, dvsn, and PND all at the same time. I’m tired of the PBR&B wave that now as not much of it has much originality. It’s like all of them, including Bryson Tiller, just recycle each other’s track. I will say that Tory is talented, and I hope he grows for his sophomore effort.
Yo i was JUST thinking the same thing about the views knockoff part. Like i just dont like that. BUT i do relate to the interludes that he was using and the things he had to say abouy his life and his come up. it gave his album a bit of substance. then there were a couple of out there tracks that i didnt expect from him so…it wasnt all bad.
Yes, this pbr&b stuff is all starting to sound the same. I think “marvin’s room” is what really set that wave into motion. This is why I valued Frank’s channel orange and the material that came before it. The instrumentation was a brilliant mixture both synths and real instruments. No other male sounded like him at the time.
The album is trash; I’m so disappointed in Frank. I fell in love with him during his mixtape days for his melodic tones and introspective lyrics on songs like Swim Good, Novacane, and Thinking About You. However, on both albums that he just released, it’s overly just melodramatic as it’s obvious he’s heavily involved in drug use due to deep depression. The album reminds me so much of everything Kid Cudi has released after Man On the Moon II. Getting through the album, all three times I’ve listened to it, was very strenous, and not even a Beyonce or Kendrick feature can save it. I’m highly disappointed as a fan.
I like you so i wont scalp you lol. Plus you generally give analytical points of view. Anyway kid cudi has been releasing trash ever since man on the moon II with the exception of INDICUD and i liked some of satellite flight.
YESS! Indicud is a JAM! I still listen to Girl$, Just as I am, and Solo Dolo regularly. Plus, I love Balmain Jeans and Satellite Flight. I watched a recent interview with Kid Cudi on Pharell’s Beats One Radio where he expressed how depressed he was. Supposedly he’s working on two different projects and plans to bring back some hip-hop so we’ll see.
Yeah hes always depressed lol i hope he gets better and is ok but thats no excuse for crap music. If anything his depression shouldve shot out some good music. It did for mary j and kanye as well as other sad artists as well but idk. And then i got annoyed when he blamed his fans for only wanting him to give similar material to man on the moon but he completely ignored the fact that HE TOLD US that he was gonna release MOTM3 then blamed us for getting upset that he released trash instead.
He claims that he’s in a much better place now. Also, he did say that some of the tracks for Man on the Moon III will appear on one of his new projects. In terms of both Cudi and Frank, you’re right you would think that depression would birth some good music. I don’t know why Frank released two depressing projects back to back.
This album is okay, but it’s not that great. Frank is such a talented guy, but he reminds me of alot of people in our generation, trying so hard to be different + artistic. It comes across very confusing and a little bit too abstract. His music doesn’t have that punch, that catchy hook, that raw feeling. It feels like he spend all this time trying to re-word every lyrics so that you have to do LSD to understand it. Mad respect for his ability to remain original, but i’d rather jamal from empire drop an album than waiting for frank. Vocal performance was weak + the album really just doesnt really make sense. And yall stans need to grow up, everybody is entitled to have an opinion as well as to voice it, im sure you’d love a site with just compliments and smiles, but everybody isnt going to like the project. maturity is key. maybe his next project will be worth the wait.
Right. I was listening to miseducation of Lauryn today and I realized how easily she made her album personal, but at the same time everyone could understand and connect with her lyrics. I have no time for these egocentric projects some of these artists (Frank) want to put out
@chile shut yo stupid ass up. Egocentric? You just sound dumb. damn.
@danzou – I know that word is too big for you to grasp. Also, grab a thesaurus and come up with better words than “stupid” and “dumb”, then maybe your wanna be drags would be worth reading. I notice you use those words a lot, but I suppose a 5th grade education doesn’t give you many options. Have a nice day sweety!
I use those words a lot because its nearly the only way to describe people like YOU. So while you scan my comments for a weakness make sure you learn something and apply it to your validation seeking existence you ignorant derelict. Are those big enough words for you h**? My comments couldnt be anymore of a “wanna be drag” than your father. At ease my n****.
I think alot of people wanted him to lose. He has a lot against him. Homophobes dont like him for obvious reasons. gay people dont like him because hes bisexual which is the most annoying thing about gay people. hes an R&B artist so that explains itself.
250,000 in this sales climate….he’s definitely not losing.
i believe the quality of the previous album helps determine the initial success of the new album for an artist, at least most of the time so im not surprised that it will debut strongly but i wasn’t expecting THAT much. I’ll wait for the hype to die before actually giving it a go.
The albums not trash, Some songs are actually pretty good. A shame he was beyspired..
Lol well if he was rihspired he wouldnt have sold 200,000 first week with minimal promo. No tea no shade.
LMAO No, if he was rihinspired his album would have debuted with only 465 copies…
No shade, no tea.
@amerikkka’s most wanted – If they were giving away cars for free… would you go buy the same car if it were already there for the taking? Answer that then think about what you wrote.
That comparison makes no sense. You’re comparing a $12 album to a $12,000 car at the least. Where is the logic? Most people aren’t lucky enough to buy a brand new car straight from the dealership. As for streaming album’s. Drake has proven people will stream your album and still go out and buy it if they find the music good enough.
Lol that is your response?? Ok, remove the comparison of the car to album and put anything that is equivalent to a $12 album that you would desire. You’re telling me that you wouldn’t take the free item if it meant saving money? We are cheap bastards anyway that is why only 5 artists sell big numbers and the rest cant even crack 100k. So don’t give me that s*** about people loving it so much that even though they got a free copy they are still going to buy a copy off iTunes or any other retailer. It happens but very very rare.
Are u seriously comparing a car to a mixtape?
B**** are u stupid?
@Tyler I can’t stop laughing at the car to a mix tape comparison.
These stans are getting out of hand. Frank did 200k sales but where are his singles and concert tickets gonna be like this time around? Not to mention he isnt going to bank as much as Rih’s album since Rih has her own company and label. Call me when Frank does platinum in the first week, 2x platinum and selling tour
SPS isn’t impressive. It’s what he sold in REAL units that matter.
But streaming converts to real units – What’s your point? You do know SPS is a statistic right? Y’all say some of the most ridiculous things sometimes. Lol how you gonna say the system is wrong when it is the system that 65% or more of the world is using.
He takes himself very seriously. It’s depressing
lol says who? And how serious should anyone take a kpop stan? Get real h**.
Bye. Kpop artists are trained by their companies for 3 – 6 years in writing, producing, sings and dancing at the same time BEFORE they debut.
And whats your point?
These aren’t even good numbers. For somebody as overhyped as he is, he should be doing at least twice as much out the box. Under 300k is lackluster.
Not good numbers? H** have you been under a rock? An R&B album selling this many copies first week in 2016 from a black bisexual artist? Please hush.
The album just got released though, sheesh give it some time. Nobody wasn’t expecting Adele numbers anyhow but close to that of Drakes
@lmfao i was JUST thinking the same thing like sheesh. People got jobs and gotta get paid or save up first and have better things to do before they buy music especially if they arent die hards.
Considering his lengthy break away from the spotlight, these numbers are pretty good. And it further suggests that it is not his celebrity status, it truly is the music and the trendiness to be hyped by his comeback, that’s working.
Not a flop, but the way his fans been waiting and fending over this release several times, I would expect nothing less than 400K. But still good numbers, he better go plat with all this hype.
You expected Anti to debut with 500K, and it didn’t. So what’s your point ?
I think it would’ve. But who cares, 1.4 million downloads within 2 hours. 🙂
I wanna know who was the fat, 65yr old Jewish exec who was like “Oh yeah this is some good music here…This is what the kids these days are listening to; they’re going to love this.”
lol there wasnt one. thats the beauty of it.
I bet it came mostly from streaming. Nobody is trying to buy this clowns whole album.
even if it did that still speaks volumes. Over 250000 people were listening to frank. There are countless other artists to stream/buy but they chose frank. Its free will homie.
I am shocked that his album will do that well. I guess ppl like what they like.
I’m sorry y’all I do like this album . A few songs have to grow on me but I think overall he did a good job.
For all all the years of anticipation and the music world going out of its way to constantly prop and protect him, these numbers are just okay. Not special. Let’s see what kind of legs this mess has as the weeks and months go by.
Probably none, he’ll probably do a couple shows or a tour but I don’t see a full promotional run for this album. And there isn’t anything worth promoting that can catch commercial appeak…I guess Night but that’s it. It’ll probably scan Gold by the end of the year. This isn’t even hating, it’s just not good nor does it feel like an “era”. He tried extremely too hard to be artistic and it failed.
I feel like if channel orange came out after Blonde then yall would still say the same hateful s***. I hear people say they felt channel orange was just as overrated as blonde so to be honest theres just no making yall happy.
Why are Rih fans in here throwing shade at Frank. Shouldn’t you flops be more concerned about why your fav was booed for lip synching. Oh, and not another album selling more than AntiFlop.
Well excuse me to pick up my jaw off the damn floor!! Wow just wow!!! ????????
Congrats Frank! Well deserved selling albums the HONEST way!
.
LOL!!! Another artists who debuted above #460. I see why the Slavi is pressed throwing shade. I’d be mad too if an artists can disappear for year’s and come back to slaughter my favs sales.
With all of the hype I expected 300K + sales numbers. Hmmm. Interesting.
Not Frank outselling Rih Rih?
He outsold ci too so please don’t get ha dragged. I get tired off them coming for you.
Sis you’ve been on this site long enough to know that I say what I want, and I don’t give a f*** what any of these lames have to say. ?
Alright babe
I didnt like the first 2 tracks I heard on his album, However I will reserve judgement until I play it through completely…
The very last track was my fave.
Does he have a single out or just dropped a cd? Wow sales impressive
Nope he just dropped. He’s become one of those artists that don’t need certain promo tactics.
Rihanna and Beyonce fanatics giving critiques on musical quality…lol. How the f*** do you diagnose someone you don’t know with a psychological disorder (depression) based on the kind of music they make? Lol some people on this site LMAO how do you come up with this s***? Anyway I digress….The album is excellent, a solid 80%. He wrote 67% of the album single-handedly. There’s an authenticity in his music because he writes it himself which enhances the quality. If Kanye West has you on repeat, you must know that you’re the real deal.
The quality of this man’s music has nothing to do with who he has s** with, its just good period. The whole stupid notion that he’s being “protected”, “overrated” and that people like him only because he “came out” is absurd. I’ll tell you what’s overrated: making a visual album that is little more than ineffectual music videos for the songs in your album that’s about your cheating husband that you hired other people to write for you. IRONICALLY, it’s even more absurd when you consider the fact that his music depends very little on sexual rhetoric. Prominent straight artists on the other hand though make music that completely depends on s** or is sexual, whether through imagery or lyrics.
The sales are VERY good, and I say good because of the current climate in sales generally. I just wish he’d just release f****** CDs the traditional way like Adele did because I think he underestimates the fact that there are people who are going to buy them. This streaming nonsense really irks me. If you want to stream FINE! But release CDs also please. I like HOLDING my music lol.
The album’s not perfect, how could it be? Perfection is impossible. This is music, for there to be those who like it there must be those who loath it.
They pitted him against Miguel and now that the numbers are in for both their follow up albums, its safe to say Frank has blew Miguel completely out of the water (and I’m not just talking about sales only). You can only sing about f****** your girlfriend so many times before people are bored by it.
I hope he grows and they give him EVEN MORE artistic independence because he’s such a great soldier of a genre of music I like: RnB. Kudos.
The grammys have a HUGE job on their hands for next year shame. Beyonce, Frank Ocean, Adele, Rihanna, Drake, Kanye West…only Beyonce and Frank have impressed me and I’d give it to Beyonce because Lemonade was waaay better than anything she’s ever released.
Agree 100 percent. I’m so sick of them. And their hate.
Pop girls except Adele, Taylor and Beyoncé should hide their face. Not this irrelevant artist doing 200k in less than a week tracking time.
Why put Beyonce there as if she’s selling storm as those you named up there. Don’t put others down to elevate some. At the end of the day, what goes to their bank account is what matters.
Miguel some sitting in the corner madd..
I’m getting tired of this surprise album gimmick. People need to notice it’s a way of not letting critics and fans bash your album before it’s released. I suppose it’s a win for the POC LGBT community showing that the GP are becoming more accepting!
These are good #s.
Wow really impressive. In this climate where pretty much noone can do over 50k copies first week and for being an artist very hard to digest for the masses (you know how most people only want basicness, at least what mainstream tries to offer them at any cost) and for not having a hit single or promo… this is just impressive. I didn´t expect it.
Wow