Ye’s comeback is making noise on the charts, but BTS isn’t moving. According to Billboard, BULLY debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 this week with 152,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending April 2. Of that total, 96,000 came from streaming, equal to 98.43 million on-demand official streams, while 56,000 came from album sales. First-week sales were bolstered by multiple color vinyl variants, deluxe boxed sets with branded merchandise, and signed editions.
BTS’ ARIRANG holds firm at No. 1 for a second consecutive week with 187,000 equivalent units, down 71% from its record-breaking debut but still enough to keep Ye off the top spot. With two weeks at No. 1, ARIRANG has now spent more time at the summit than any previous BTS album, each of which topped the chart for just one week.
BULLY marks Ye’s 14th top-10 album, though it ends a nearly unbroken run of No. 1 solo debuts stretching back to 2005’s Late Registration. His 2004 debut The College Dropout is the only other solo project to miss the top spot, also peaking at No. 2.
BULLY arrived in stores on March 27 and on digital platforms on March 28, the same day Ye released the music video for “Father” featuring Travis Scott and directed by Bianca Censori. During release week, Ye staged his first major U.S. concert in nearly five years at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on April 1, with a second show on April 3. Special surprise guests included Lauryn Hill and Travis Scott.
Elsewhere on the chart, Melanie Martinez debuts at No. 3 with HADES earning 84,000 units, Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem falls to No. 4 with 76,000 units, and Yeat’s ADL arrives at No. 5 with 57,000 units. Luke Combs’ The Way I Am dips to No. 6 with 55,000 units, Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving moves to No. 7 with 54,000 units, Don Toliver’s OCTANE sits at No. 8 with 53,000 units, Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos holds No. 9 with 50,000 units, and Harry Styles’ Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. rounds out the top 10 with 48,000 units.
Off the charts, Ye’s upcoming appearances are generating controversy of a different kind. He is set to headline all three nights of London’s Wireless Festival in July, his first U.K. performance in 11 years. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told The Sun the booking is “deeply concerning” given Ye’s previous antisemitic remarks and embrace of Nazism. On Sunday (April 5), Pepsi announced it was withdrawing its sponsorship of the festival, ending a partnership that dated back to 2015. The festival had been officially branded as “Pepsi MAX Presents Wireless.” As of Sunday, festival organizers had not publicly responded.
In January, Ye took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for his past antisemitic comments, attributing his behavior in part to a manic episode following a car accident 25 years ago. He later told Vanity Fair the letter was not “about reviving my commerciality.”
