Jhene Aiko just hit a career first, and she’s giving all the credit to fans.
The 38-year-old singer has finally reached the top of Billboard 200 as her new album, Westside Whimsy, debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 26 after earning 74,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during its first week.
Aiko celebrated the long-awaited milestone with a simple message on Instagram, writing, Thank you for listening.”
She later added in the comments, “Congratulations everyone” and “What’s mine is ours.”
The achievement comes nearly 13 years after Aiko first appeared on the Billboard 200 with Sail Out, which debuted at No. 8 in November 2013. This time, streaming drove most of her album’s opening-week numbers, accounting for 70,000 of the 74,000 units through 71.33 million official on-demand streams.
Another 3,500 units came from traditional album sales, while track-equivalent units made up the remaining 500.
Released September 11, Westside Whimsy arrived six years after her last album with 20 tracks and collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Tyga, Larry June and OHMA.
The album also makes Aiko the first female R&B artist to top the Billboard 200 in 2026. It additionally debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Streaming Albums chart, adding another major milestone to her career.
2026-09-22 00:24:00
