Kanye West Ascends To No. 1 On Elite 100

Kanye West has risen to the top of the Elite 100 Artists chart for the week ending Oct. 31, after the release of his latest album, Jesus Is King.

Yeezy led the chart in album sales (115,800) and on-demand streams (261.3 million) for the week, and logged a total of 309,700 album units, more than double No. 2 Post Malone. He was no slouch in the song sales category (42,500) but ultimately finished behind Selena Gomez in that metric, as she sold 60,400 songs after the Oct. 24 release of “Look At Her Now.” 

Jesus Is King was much anticipated after being delayed from its initial release date, but has ultimately landed with great impact. As is custom whenever a Kanye project drops, his name is once again peppered throughout various headlines: People are questioning his catering decisions after a fundraiser brunch; his political, religious and social commentary on the album and in public are subjects of wide discussion; and his Sunday Service performances are provoking thought about what tours look like.

Kanye hasn’t done a traditional tour since he was checked into a hospital after giving several lengthy speeches onstage during the “Saint Pablo Tour.” Yeezus didn’t tour after releasing Ye and the joint album Kids See Ghosts with Kid Cudi in 2018, but the duo did perform the full album live at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw last year. 

Rex Orange County climbed to No. 5 this week after the Oct. 25 release of Pony. He sold 62,900 albums for the week and logged 30.6 million on-demand streams, and is a regular fixture on the chart even when he doesn’t have an album coming out. 

His touring business is still growing, and last year was a great time to see him live, as his tickets were usually under $30. His grosses at clubs like Showbox SoDo in Seattle ($36,800) and Union Transfer in Philadelphia ($24,000) weren’t jaw-dropping, but the tickets were 100 percent sold out. 

ROC has a full tour booked through Europe and then the U.S. in late 2019 and early 2020, and is slotted to play at the various South American Lollapalooza events in Chile, Argentina and Brazil. 

Old Dominion came in at No. 21 after the release another eponymous album, logging 18,100 album sales; 19,700 song sales and 21.5 million on-demand streams. 

One of the rare artists with the distinction of having made the cover of Pollstar twice. The band was one of the key clients that came under the Paradigm umbrella after the agency’s acquisition of Dale Morris & Associates in November 2018. Nate Ritches, who joined the Paradigm roster in that deal, talked to Pollstar in March about OD’s growth, saying: “With Old Dominion, we were selling 500 to 1,000 tickets in some key markets they started building early and not in just a hometown or Nashville, before we had a record deal, due to SiriusXM’s early belief when the streaming platforms were really launching. That’s the most rewarding piece to all of this, being part of the artist development and grassroots approach. Old Dominion is a prime example of that and setting a foundation – you can go down as quick as you go up, foundation is key.” 

A fresh face on the chart is Roddy Ricch, who recently performed at Goldenvoice’s hip-hop megafest Day N Vegas. Roddy released a new track with Gunna on Oct. 25, called “Start Wit Me” and he logged 25.5 million on-demand streams for the week. 

Finally, Van The Man is back at it again, as Van Morrison reached No. 70 on the chart after the Oct. 11 release of Days Gone By. 

Next week’s chart will include data from Hootie And The Blowfish, Miranda Lambert, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Gang Starr, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Kiwanuka, DDG, Yelawolf, Cold War Kids, and Stalley.

Also be on the lookout for new projects from Luke Combs, French Montana, Dave East, Clams Casino, Jacquees, Taylor Hawkins, Kele, Bishop Nehru, Yungeen Ace, Reese LaFlare, and Girl Ray.