Vinyl Release Pushes Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 30), as the set’s release on vinyl LP prompts its jump from No. 120 to No. 1. It’s the album’s second nonconsecutive week atop the list; it debuted at No. 1 on the July 10, 2021-dated chart.
Call Me earned 59,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending April 21 (up 507%), according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. Of that sum, 51,000 were in traditional album sales — almost entirely vinyl LP sales.
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The vinyl edition of Call Me was sold exclusively through the artist’s webstore and sold 49,500 copies, making it the largest sales week for a hip-hop album on vinyl, or for a solo male album on vinyl, since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 30, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on April 26. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Call Me’s 59,000 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 51,000; SEA units comprise 8,000 (down 12%; equating to 11.54 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs); and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
The vinyl edition of Call Me was announced on Wednesday, April 6 via Tyler, the Creator’s social media accounts, with a link directing fans to his webstore to purchase the $35 standard black double-LP set. The vinyl was initially announced without fans knowing when the album would ship out to them. Then, on Friday, April 8, it became known that the album would start shipping out on Tuesday, April 12 (in order to begin arriving to customers on Friday, April 15, the first day of the new chart’s tracking week).
In total, the 49,500 vinyl copies sold of Call Me If You Get Lost mark the ninth largest sales week for a vinyl album since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. It’s also the biggest frame for a hip-hop set on vinyl, or a vinyl album by a male artist in that span of time. The previous largest week for a hip-hop set or solo male album on wax, since 1991, was registered by the debut frame of Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, in December, with 41,500. The largest vinyl week, overall, since 1991, was the opening week of Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), with 114,000 vinyl LPs sold, last November.
Notably, all physical versions of the Call Me album — vinyl, CD and cassette — have been exclusively sold through Tyler, the Creator’s official webstore. No physical versions of the album have been officially available to any other sellers in the U.S. The set has been widely available to all streaming services and digital retailers since its initial release on June 25, 2021.
With Call Me’s jump back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it becomes the fourth album to return to the top following its vinyl release. It follows Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (which jumped 157-1 on the Oct. 16, 2021 chart after its vinyl bow), Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (3-1; Sept. 4, 2021) and Swift’s Evermore (74-1; June 12, 2021).
Call Me has the largest jump to No. 1 since Fearless (Taylor’s Version) vaulted 157-1 (Oct. 16, 2021). Call Me was last at No. 1 nearly 10 months ago, on the July 10, 2021-dated chart. It’s the first album to wait that long between weeks at No. 1 since November of 2020, when Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get returned to No. 1 after nearly a year.
The rest of the Billboard 200’s new top 10 is a bit sleepy, as five former No. 1s are Nos. 2-6 on the tally. Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album holds at No. 2 (50,500 equivalent album units; up 9%), Lil Durk’s 7220 falls 1-3 (43,000; down 9%), the Encanto soundtrack dips 3-4 (40,000; down 12%), Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour is steady at No. 5 (36,000; down 8%) and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy is stationary at No. 6 (30,000; down 3%). Doja Cat’s Planet Her rises 8-7 with 29,500 (up less than 1%).
The Weeknd’s hits compilation The Highlights bounces 60-8 with 27,000 equivalent album units earned (up 92%). Meanwhile, his After Hours album, which re-entered the chart at No. 35 a week ago, falls off the chart. The two albums share four songs (“Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears,” “In Your Eyes” and “Heartless”). On the latest chart, the TEA and SEA units for the four songs contribute to The Highlights, as a song’s activity is assigned to the artist’s album with the most sales in a week. (The Highlights sold a little over 1,000 copies in the latest tracking week, while After Hours sold less than 1,000.) A week ago, the TEA and SEA for the four songs were directed to After Hours (which in that frame outsold The Highlights). In turn, with the songs’ activity contributing to The Highlights, the album rises 60-8.
Rounding out the new top 10 are two former No. 1s: Gunna’s DS4Ever (rising 12-9 with 23,500 equivalent album units; down 7%) and Lil Baby’s My Turn (13-10 with 21,000 units; down 4%).
Luminate, formerly MRC Data, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to the final calculation.
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