In something of a surprise upset, Chance The Rapper’s debut album The Big Day has debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, bested by rapper NF’s new record The Search. Billboard’s tracking initially pointed toward The Big Day debuting at number one, bolstered by Chance’s extensive press campaign (including stops at The Tonight Show and Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show) and merchandise/album bundles being sold on Chance’s website.

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NF’s The Search ended up garnering 130,000 album equivalent units, enough to get him to the top spot ahead of Chance, which garnered 108,000 album equivalent units. Both artists utilised album/merchandise bundles and concert ticket/album bundles, a common practise when looking to boost a record’s chart position. Read Billboard’s full analysis here.

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