Atlanta Rapper Destroy Lonely Beats Out Ed Sheeran for Spotify Top Album Debut in U.S.

Friday (May 5) saw Ed Sheeran release his sixth studio album – (Subtract), just hours after he won his controversial “Thinking Out Loud” copyright lawsuit. On the same day. Destroy Lonely, a 21-year-old Atlanta rapper, put out his brand new album If Looks Could Kill, a 26-song follow-up to his breakout 2022 LP No Stylist.

While Sheeran’s LP unsurprisingly hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Top Albums Global Debut chart, Lonely was able to spoil the party for Sheeran in the United States. Revealing the chart on Monday (May 8), Spotify announced that If Looks Could Kill topped its Top Albums USA Debut chart, whereas – (Subtract) landed at No. 2.

The chart follows the number of streams each album got from May 5-7 in the U.S., and with its results, Spotify showed that Lonely’s album gained more plays on the platform this past weekend than Sheeran’s. This fact is particularly meaningful considering Sheeran added four new bonus songs to – (Subtract) as a deluxe version over the weekend, which likely brought the English singer even more streams.

But, in just a matter of days, multiple songs on If Looks Could Kill eclipsed 1 million Spotify plays, as it is on pace to be Lonely’s most successful release of his young career. Additionally, Chart Data revealed that the album nearly hit 10 million Spotify streams on Friday alone, making it his biggest all-time streaming day ever.

With his aforementioned previous full-length effort No Stylist, Lonely was able to reach No. 91 on the Billboard 200, his first time landing on the chart. Additionally, the album’s lead single also titled “No Stylist” became a massive hit on TikTok, as it has been used in more than 170,000 videos on the app. Currently, the song is his most successful ever in terms of streams, as it sits at 55 million plays on Spotify.

Chart projections for If Looks Could Kill or its songs have not been released yet. But, if its performance over the weekend is any indication, Lonely’s new album is another step in the right direction for the rising rap sensation.

Photo: Myles Henrik Hall / Courtesy Universal Music Group