Travis Scott Returns to No. 1 on Artist 100, Becomes First Rapper to Lead the Chart in 2023

Travis Scott vaults from No. 38 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Aug. 12), returning as the top musical act in the U.S. for a third total week, and for the first time since 2018, thanks to the arrival of his new LP, Utopia.

The album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 496,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week (July 28-Aug. 3), according to Luminate. It captures the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album (after the opening frames of Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time), and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release.

The new release is also just the second rap album to top the chart this year, after Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape last month.

Utopia becomes Scott’s third No. 1 album, after 2016’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight and 2018’s ASTROWORLD. (Plus, in between those two albums, the Jackboys supergroup – led by Scott – notched a No. 1 with its self-titled release in 2020.)

Also boosting Scott’s Artist 100 reign are 19 songs on the latest Billboard Hot 100 – every track from Utopia. Two debut in the top 10: “Meltdown” featuring Drake (No. 3), and “FE!N” featuring Playboi Carti (No. 5).

Scott last topped the Artist 100 chart in 2018, upon the chart arrival of ASTROWORLD.

Notably, Scott is the first rap or hip-hop act to hit No. 1 on the Artist 100 chart in 2023. The last rapper to lead the chart was Lil Baby in October. The other acts to lead the chart this year are Taylor Swift (17 weeks), Morgan Wallen (eight), Jimin, Rihanna, SEVENTEEN, Ed Sheeran, Stray Kids and TOMORROW X TOGETHER (one each).

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.