SZA’s ‘SOS’ Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart

SZA’s SOS adds another record to its ever-growing list of achievements on Billboard’s charts, as the blockbuster album collects an unprecedented 41st week at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, the most by any project since the list launched in 2013.

SOS achieves its record week on the list dated Sept. 30, where it earned 53,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week of Sept. 15 – 21, according to Luminate. The album gained 17% in units compared with the prior week, ending Sept. 14, helped by the arrival of a remix with Justin Bieber for the album’s single “Snooze.”

With a 41st week at the summit, SOS takes the title for the longest-running No. 1 from The Weeknd’s After Hours, which clocked 40 weeks in charge from April 2020 – June 2021. Here’s a look at the updated standings for the list’s 11-year history:

Weeks at No. 1, Album Title, Artist, Year(s) at No. 1

The new coronation continues the album’s colossal chart year that began with its No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, which ranks all albums regardless of genre, and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts last December. While it racked up 10 weeks atop the former, it rolled to 21 weeks at No. 1 on the latter, breaking the record for the longest stay for an album by a woman in the chart’s history and managing the longest run of any LP since 1990. Plus, SOS’ “Kill Bill” single racked up its own 21-week run at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the most of any song since the chart launched in 1958.

On this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list, SZA lands her third No. 1 through a featured spot on Drake’s “Slime You Out.” The new champ, which premieres in the top slot, follows her prior leaders “I Hate U” and “Kill Bill.”