A vulnerable, experimental shift lands Brent another top 10 debut.

Brent Faiyaz’s Icon is projected to open at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, earning 58,000 first-week units, with 13,500 coming from pure sales.

This is an interesting release for Brent. While he has always made music with outstanding vocals and exquisite production, in the past, he leaned more into toxic R&B themes, often talking about taking someone’s girl and doing ungodly things with unapologetic energy. This time around, he leans more into vulnerability, singing about love in nurturing and gentle ways. It almost gives the album a newer The Weeknd-type feel. That could very well be influenced by Raphael Saadiq, who played a major role in the album’s creation (Chad Hugo, Benny Blanco, and Mike Dean also were involved). So far, fans are gravitating toward “other side.,” “have to.,” and “butterflies.”

To put it in perspective, Brent’s last project, Larger Than Life, debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 with 42,000 units sold in 2023, while WASTELAND debuted at number 2 with 88K units sold in 2022. Considering that this latest album arrived as a bit of a surprise and leans heavily into experimentation, 58K feels solid.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.