Key Takeaways
- Jhené Aiko's "Westside Whimsy" debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first career chart-topping album for the R&B singer.
- The 20-track project was projected to move around 62,000 units in its opening week, according to Talk of the Charts citing Nora Music Inc.
- "Westside Whimsy" features Kendrick Lamar on "So Good," Ab-Soul on "Love Bomb," Tyga on "Like, Whatever," Larry June on "Neighbors" and OHMA closing the album on "Golden Coast."
- The No. 1 debut ends a long gap for Aiko, whose decade-plus catalog had produced hits without ever landing a chart-topping album before this release.
Jhené Aiko has finally secured her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.
The singer's new album, Westside Whimsy, debuted atop the chart dated Sept. 26 after earning 74,000 equivalent album unitsin the U.S. during the week ending Sept. 17, according to Billboard.
The milestone arrives nearly 13 years after Aiko first appeared on the Billboard 200 with Sail Out, which debuted and peaked at No. 8 in November 2013.
Aiko came close to the top spot with her previous studio album, Chilombo. Released in 2020, the project debuted at No. 2 and later earned an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys. Westside Whimsy now becomes her sixth project to crack the Billboard 200's top 10.
The album's opening-week performance was driven overwhelmingly by streaming. Of its 74,000 equivalent units, 70,000 came from streaming activity, representing 71.33 million official on-demand streams of its songs. Another 3,500 units came from album sales, while 500 were track-equivalent album units.
The numbers were stronger than early projections that had Westside Whimsy opening with around 62,000 units.
Aiko also becomes the first female R&B artist to lead the Billboard 200 in 2026 and the first since SZA's SOS spent its 13th and final week at No. 1 in May 2025. Bruno Mars' The Romantic is the only other R&B album to reach No. 1 this year.
Released Sept. 11, just three days after it was officially announced, Westside Whimsy contains 20 tracks and features several notable guests.
Kendrick Lamar joins Aiko on "So Good," while Ab-Soul appears on "Love Bomb." Tyga contributes to "Like, Whatever," Larry June appears on "Neighbors" and OHMA is featured on closing track "Golden Coast."
The achievement ends a lengthy wait for Aiko, who went 12 years and 10 months between her Billboard 200 debut and her first No. 1. Among female soloists, Billboard notes that the last woman to wait longer was Solange, who went 13 years and eight months before A Seat at the Table topped the chart in 2016.
Westside Whimsy also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Streaming Albums chart, giving Aiko another career milestone alongside her long-awaited first Billboard 200 crown.
