Kendrick Lamar Tops Songs and Albums Charts Following Super Bowl Performance
Another win for Kendrick Lamar: His “GNX” album returns to the top of the Billboard 200 with 236,000 equivalent album units following his performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
With its latest jump from No. 4 to 1, “GNX” marks the set’s second week atop the chart following its release in November. Additionally, two of Lamar’s other albums — 2017’s “Damn” and 2012’s “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City” — return to the top 10, as the former surges from No. 29 to 9 and the latter from No. 28 to 10. His latest feat makes him the first rap artist to have three albums in the chart’s top 10 at the same time.
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Lamar’s “Not Like Us” also leads the Hot 100 songs chart again after a break of 29 chart weeks — it first led the list with 71 million streams and 5 million radio impressions upon its release in May. On the Feb. 22-dated chart, “Not Like Us” totaled 49 million streams and 20.5 million radio impressions, per Luminate.
Lamar holds a total of three Top 10 songs on the latest singles list, with “Luther,” featuring SZA at No. 2, and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, at No. 3. Lamar performed both of these songs during his Halftime set.
Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show enlisted SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard for an ode to Compton on the biggest stage in the world. The setlist was largely comprised of songs from “GNX” as well as a few classics from his deeper catalog (“DNA.,” “Humble” and “All the Stars,” among others).
“GNX” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release in November, becoming the California rapper’s fourth consecutive chart-topping effort. The surprise-released set sold a total of 319,000 album units. The album’s debut also launched Lamar to become the fourth artist in history — joining Taylor Swift, Drake and the Beatles — to simultaneously hold the top five spots on the Hot 100 with the set’s leading singles: “Squabble Up,” “TV Off” and “Luther” with SZA.
The performance followed Lamar’s big sweep at this year’s Grammys ceremony where his Drake diss track, “Not Like Us,” took home five awards: song of the year, record of the year, best rap song, best rap performance, and best music video.
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