Over the past few years Jhené Aiko has slowly emerged a powerful commercial force in the music world, with strong selling albums and more Grammy nominations coming her way.
While it was in 2014 that Jhene dropped her debut album, Souled Out , the L.A. singer actually started her career in the early 2000s, contributing vocals and appearing in several music videos for R&B group B2K. The label saw the potential in the young artist and pushed her onto a solo career. Jhene was meant to release her debut album, My Name Is Jhené , in 2003, but it never dropped and she eventually asked to be released.
Several years later, she would release her debut mixtape, Sailing Soul(s) , independently and caught the eye of No I.D., who signed her to his record label ARTium, under the aegis of Def Jam Recordings. From there, she would continue to build her brand and collaborate with high-profile artists like Lil Wayne and Big Sean.
More recently, she dropped Chilombo , her third and most successful album to date. Featuring a diverse line-up of artists like Nas, Ty Dolla Sign, Future, John Legend, Miguel, and H.E.R., Chilombo debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and received received three nominations at the Grammys, including Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B Album, and Best R&B Performance for “Lightning & Thunder”.
From her 2014 debut album, Souled Out , to her latest release, 2020’s Chilombo , we look at the rankings for Jhené Aiko’s first week album sales.
Trip
Released: September 22, 2017
Label: ARTium, Def Jam
First week album sales: 32,000
Billboard 200 position: 5
Singles: “While We’re Young”, “Sativa”
Features: Big Sean, Rae Sremmurd, Kurupt, Brandy, Mali Music, Dr. Chill, Namiko Love, and Chris Brown.
Twenty88 (with Big Sean)
Released: April 1, 2016
Label: ARTium, Def Jam, GOOD Music
First week album sales: 48,000
Billboard 200 position: 5
Singles: “Selfish”
Features: K-Ci & JoJo, and Detail.
Souled Out
Released: September 9, 2014
Label: ARTium, Def Jam
First week album sales: 70,000
Billboard 200 position: 3
Singles: “To Love & Die”, “The Pressure”, “Spotless Mind”
Features: Cocaine 80s, Miyagi, Namiko, Common.
Chilombo
Released: March 6, 2020
Label: ARTium, Def Jam
First week album sales: 152,000
Billboard 200 position: 2
Singles: “Triggered (Freestyle)”, “None of Your Concern”, “Pussy Fairy (OTW)”, “Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.)”, “B.S.”, “Born Tired”
Features: Nas, Ty Dolla Sign, Future, John Legend, Miguel, and H.E.R.
