Jhené Aiko’s “Westside Whimsy” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking her first album to reach the top spot. Billboard and Variety report that the album opens with 74,000 equivalent album units, with Aiko landing the highest-charting position of her album career.
The outlets also note the broader chart context for the R&B genre. Variety says it is the first R&B album by a woman to top the Billboard 200 this year, and that it is the first time since SZA’s “SOS” that an album reaches No. 1. Billboard similarly highlights that it is the year’s first R&B album by a woman to lead the chart. Across the two sources, the focus is on the chart achievement and its significance within R&B releases, with both outlets citing the No. 1 debut and the album-units figure.
