The third time’s the charm for R&B hitmaker Khalid.

After impacting the Billboard 200’s top 10 with his first two releases, 2017’s ‘American Teen’ LP and 2018’s ‘SunCity’ EP respectively, the 21-year-old is now laying claim to his first run atop the tally with, ‘Free Spirit.’

‘Spirit’ – the singer’s sophomore LP lead by Hot 100 top 40 hits ‘Better,’ ‘Talk,’ and more – was originally forecast to shift 145,000-165,000 units (SPS) its first full week of availability (as we reported here).  Now with its inaugural tracking week behind him, the crooner is not only able to report his best first week sales to date, but also the highest first week sales of the year (among males).

Curious to see how close his final number landed in relation to the prediction? Look inside to see:

Khalid’s ‘Free Spirit’

First Week Sales (SPS):  202,000

First Week Sales (Pure):  85,000

Billboard 200 Placement:  #1

Released on April 5th courtesy of RCA Records, the figures reported above amount to the fourth-largest premiere week of 2019 for any album so to date.

Congratulations are due!

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