Certified Lover Boy, the newest album from Drake, has broken the Apple Music streaming record set by Kanye West just a few days ago.
In just 12 hours after the album’s release at midnight EST on Friday, September 3, it become 2021 most-streamed album and surpassed the 60 million streams that Donda racked up during its first 24 hours of availability.
Certified Lover Boy is Drake’s sixth studio album. It contains 21 tracks and features high-profile guests like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, and Rick Ross. Drake describes it on Apple Music as “a combination of toxic masculinity and acceptance of truth which is inevitably heartbreaking.”
This isn’t the first Drake album that has been a big success on Apple’s platform. Scorpion, released in 2018, picked up a streaming record after attracting 17 million streams within 24 hours after its release. But that figure seems like nothing compared to the numbers Apple Music pulls in today.
Drake beats Kanye in Apple Music streams
Apple hasn’t yet disclosed exactly how many streams Certified Lover Boy saw during its first day of availability. But the company did tell Billboard that Drake’s newest album broke the streaming record recently set by Kanye’s Donda — 60 million streams in 24 hours — in half the time.
What makes this even more impressive is that Certified Lover Boy dropped with little fanfare, unlike Donda, which was hyped for months before its debut. Kanye even hosted three sold-out “listening events” in major stadiums — all streamed on Apple Music — before his album finally arrived.
One thing that may have helped Drake in recent days is that Certified Lover Boy’s album cover has become something of a meme. The original features 12 pregnant emoji characters — the same ones found on Apple devices — and fans have been recreating it online using their favorite emoji icons.
Listen to Certified Lover Boy on Apple Music
If you haven’t already heard Drake’s new album, you can listen to it now on Apple Music. You will also find a music video for the track Way 2 Sexy, featuring Future and Young Thug. An Apple Music subscription starts at $9.99 a month, but a free trial is available for new users.
