There’s no reason to be surprised that Ariana Grande’s first-week numbers are massive.

Remember when people wondered whether Ariana Grande would be able to match the momentum of eternal sunshine? Well, those conversations might be over already.

According to HITSDD, petal is currently projected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 291,000 equivalent units in its first week. If that projection holds, it will give Ariana her seventh No. 1 album, further cementing her status as one of the most successful pop stars of her generation. While the total comes in below the 300K mark some initially expected, it’s still an outstanding debut and would comfortably surpass the 227,000-unit first week that eternal sunshine posted.

The project is pulling off these numbers without a single featured artist. petal contains 12 solo tracks, with “hate that i made you love me” emerging as the biggest standout. Fans have embraced the project from top to bottom, with every song already clearing three million streams and most pushing well beyond four million.

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Ariana is that she never forces releases. Sure, she’s stayed active through the Wicked soundtracks and anniversary editions of albums like My Everything and Dangerous Woman, but every new studio album still feels like a genuine event.

If these projections become reality, petal will end up with one of the year’s biggest debuts and another No. 1 album for Ariana. At this point, that kind of success feels almost expected.

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.