J. Cole claims his seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as his new studio album, The Fall-Off, opens atop the list dated Feb. 21. The set launches with 280,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Feb. 12, according to Luminate. That marks the largest week for any R&B or hip-hop album in nearly a year, since Playboi Carti’s MUSIC opened at No. 1 with 298,000 (March 29, 2025-dated chart). (R&B/hip-hop and R&B albums are defined as those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top R&B Albums charts, respectively.)
J. Cole previously hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with The Off-Season (2021), KOD (2018), 4 Your Eyez Only (2016), 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014), Born Sinner (2013) and Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011).
Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, two albums by Bad Bunny bound up the list following his Super Bowl LX halftime show (Feb. 8) — with 2025’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS posting its biggest week to date — while ATEEZ and Joji see their latest albums debut in the top five.
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 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Feb. 21, 2026-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Feb. 18 (one day later than usual, due to the President’s Day holiday on Feb. 16). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.
Of The Fall-Off’s 280,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week SEA units comprise 166,500 (equaling 169.5 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks; it debuts at No. 2 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 113,000 (it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 500.
Sales of the album were enhanced by its availability on vinyl (in only one variant), marking the first time a J. Cole album has been issued on vinyl concurrent with its release across digital and streaming platforms. About 71% (or 80,000) of The Fall-Off’s first-week sales were vinyl purchases. That’s J. Cole’s biggest week ever on vinyl, and the largest sales week for any R&B/hip-hop album on vinyl in a year. The last larger sales week for an R&B/hip-hop vinyl album was when Kendrick Lamar’s GNX was issued on vinyl for the first time, selling 87,000 copies (chart dated Feb. 22, 2025).
Bad Bunny rides his Super Bowl LX halftime show (Feb. 8) to big gains in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, as his former No. 1, and most recently released album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS holds at No. 2 with 250,000 equivalent album units — its best week ever, up 194% — while 2022’s chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti jumps 16-6 with 81,000 (up 163%). It’s the first time Bad Bunny has placed two titles concurrently in the top 10.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’gain was also assisted by a new vinyl pressing that become widely available during the tracking week, helping the album’s sales for the week jump 732% to 61,000. On the streaming side, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS earned 186,000 in SEA units (equaling 195.31 million on-demand official streams of its songs; it returns to No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums for a fifth nonconsecutive week, with a 2-1 rise).
ATEEZ earn their eighth top 10-charted album on the Billboard 200 as GOLDEN HOUR : Part.4 bows at No. 3 with 200,000 equivalent album units earned — marking the act’s best week ever by units. Of that sum, traditional album sales comprise 195,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, with the act’s best sales week yet), SEA units comprise 5,000 (equaling 5.58 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album’s first-week sales got a boost from its availability across more than 25 physical variants (all containing collectible items such as photocards, posters and stickers, with some items randomized), including signed editions.
Don Toliver’s OCTANE falls 1-4 in its second week on the Billboard 200 with 97,000 equivalent album units earned (down 40%).
Joji captures his fourth top 10-charted project on the Billboard 200 as Piss In the Wind arrives at No. 5 with 86,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 45,000 (his best sales week; it debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 41,000 (equaling 42.17 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs, it debuts at No. 8 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability in deluxe edition boxed sets (containing a piece of branded clothing and a CD) and more than 10 vinyl variants (including a signed edition).
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200 are Morgan Wallen’s former leader I’m the Problem (3-7 with 77,000, down less than 1%); Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving (4-8 with 75,000, up 7%); Taylor Swift’s chart-topping The Life of a Showgirl (5-9 with 54,000, up 18%); and the former No. 1 KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack (6-10 with 42,000, down 2%).
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.
