Karol G Achieves Historic First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘Mañana Será Bonito’

Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito makes an unprecedented splash on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated March 11), as the set debuts atop the tally. It’s both the first No. 1 for the artist and the chart’s first No. 1 all-Spanish-language album by a female artist.

Previously, only two all-Spanish albums led the list, both by Bad Bunny (Un Verano Sin Ti in 2022 and El Ultimo Tour del Mundo in 2020).

(Mañana is effectively an all-Spanish-language effort, save for a handful of English lyrics by guest artist Sean Paul on one track.)

Mañana earned 94,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 2, according to Luminate. Its starting sum was largely powered by streaming activity.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Gorillaz collect their sixth top 10-charting set with the No. 3 debut of Cracker Island, Yeat achieves his third top 10 with the No. 4 bow of AfterLyfe and Don Toliver nabs his third top 10, as well, with the No. 8 arrival of Love Sick. Plus, The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy returns to the top 10 for the first time since 2017 (climbing 14-9), following the release of a new remix for the set’s resurgent “Die for You.”

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 March 11, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 7. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Mañana’s 94,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 83,000 (equaling 118.73 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 17 tracks), album sales comprise 10,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. The album’s sales were largely powered by its digital download album (8,500), though there was a CD available in limited quantities, selling about 1,500 copies. The digital album was also offered in two alternative cover variants on Karol G’s official webstore.

Mañana logs the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a Latin album by a woman since the chart began measuring by units in December of 2014. (Latin albums are defined as those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.) Further, as Mañana generated 118.73 million official on-demand streams for its songs, the set registers the biggest streaming week ever for a Latin album by a woman.

Mañana is also the first Latin album by a woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since 1995, when Selena’s posthumously-released, mostly-Spanish effort Dreaming of You topped the list for one week. (The 13-song Dreaming album has six tracks in Spanish, five in English and two duets that blend English and Spanish.)

Only three mostly-non-English-language albums by women have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – the all-Spanish Mañana, Dreaming of You and The Singing Nun’s all-French-language self-titled album in 1963.

Karol G made her Billboard chart debut in 2016 and has been a force on Billboard’s Latin genre charts ever since, notching 17 top 10 hits on the Hot Latin Songs chart – including five No. 1s (through the most recently published chart, dated March 4). On the Top Latin Albums list, she’s previously logged a trio of top two-charting sets, including one No. 1, her previous release, KG0516, in 2021.

Mañana is the fourth charting album for Karol G on the all-genre Billboard 200, but first to reach the top 10. She previously visited the list with KG0516 (No. 20 in 2021), Ocean (No. 54 in 2019) and Unstoppable (No. 192 in 2017). Preceding the release of the new album, Karol had logged five top 40-charting hit songs on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, but with three of them coming in 2022: “Mamiii,” with Becky G (No. 15), “Provenza” (No. 25) and “Gatubela,” with Maldy (No. 37). Both “Mamiii” and “Provenza” became Karol’s first top 10-charting hits on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, reaching Nos. 5 and 10, respectively. (Both “Provenza” and “Gatubela” are included on Mañana.)

SZA’s SOS falls to No. 2 after 10 nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, earning nearly 87,000 equivalent album units (down less than 1%).

With Karol G’s Mañana replacing SZA’s SOS at No. 1, it’s the first time a woman has replaced another woman atop the list in over a year. It last happened when a trio of leading ladies traded off the top spot from Nov. 20, 2021-Dec. 4, 2021. Summer Walker’s Still Over It debuted at No. 1 on the on Nov. 20 chart, Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) then opened atop the list on Nov. 27, and Adele’s 30 bowed at No. 1 on the Dec. 4 chart.

Gorillaz score their sixth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as Cracker Island arrives at No. 3 with 64,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 48,500 (the top-selling album of the week, debuting at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 15,500 (equaling 20.39 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 500. The star-studded Cracker Island features guest turns from Bad Bunny, Beck, Bootie Brown, Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala and Thundercat, among others. The album was initially released on Feb. 24 as a 10-track standard edition across physical and streaming formats, along with an 11-track digital retail and streaming edition. On Feb. 27, a 15-track digital and streaming deluxe version was released, including bonus tunes with De La Soul and Del the Funky Homosapien.

Cracker Island was preceded by a pair of top 20-charting hits on the Alternative Airplay chart – the title track, featuring Thundercat (No. 2), and “New Gold,” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown (with the latter rising to a new high of No. 16 on the most recently published chart, dated March 11).

Rapper Yeat logs his third top 10 on the Billboard 200 as AfterLyfe debuts at No. 4 with nearly 55,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise the vast majority – about 54,500 (equaling 78.42 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks).

Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights falls 3-5 with just over 48,000 equivalent album units (down 10%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album dips 5-6 with nearly 46,000 units (up 5%) and Metro Boomin’s former leader Heroes & Villains falls 4-7 with 42,000 units (down 10%).

Don Toliver notches his third top 10 on the Billboard 200 as Love Sick starts at No. 8 with 40,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 39,500 (equaling 51.23 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise nearly 1,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album was initially released as a 16-track standard set on Feb. 24. On Feb. 28, a deluxe edition of the album with four additional tracks (including one featuring Travis Scott) was released.

The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy climbs back to the top 10 for the first time since 2017 (its release year), as the set steps 14-9 with just over 40,000 equivalent album units earned (up 73%). The album’s rise comes following the Feb. 24 release of a new Ariana Grande-assisted remix of the set’s revived hit single “Die for You.”

Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti rounds out the new top 10, falling 6-10 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Keith Caulfield

Billboard