Associated Press: Def Jam Released Frank Ocean From Contract Early
Endless may not be chart-eligible, but Blonde, the second of Frank Ocean's two 2016 releases, has made a predictably stellar debut on the charts. According to Billboard, Blonde (Blond, Blonded) landed atop the Billboard 200 in its debut week, surpassing 2012's number two debut of channel ORANGE with equivalent of 272,000 album in traditional iTunes album sales and bulk stream via Apple Music.
It marks the third highest-selling opening week for an artist in 2016, behind Drake's VIEWS and Beyonce's Lemonade, as well as the third Number One debut of an independently-released album, after Blink-182’s California and The Lumineers’ Cleopatra. The visual album Endless was deemed ineligible for charting because it wasn't for-sale, but that only adds to the gift that is this most fruitful and layered year in Frank Ocean. If you've yet to hear the album everyone's talking about, pick up your copy on iTunes today, or stream it via Apple Music.
The accompanying zine Boys Don't Cry is expected to hit shelves in the weeks to come. In the meantime, you can also delve into some of our suggested listening for the album or add your "three album covers" theory to the hat.
