We were frankly shocked when Hits Daily Double's initial projections for Travis Scott's Astroworld album came out as 300-400k SPS with 45-65k in traditional sales in its first week. We were expecting around 100 to 150K for LaFlame.
Imagine our surprise when HDD quickly upped their Astroworld projections to 450-500k SPS, 170-195k traditional.
The last time we saw an album get that kind of quick bump up in projections it was Kendrick Lamar's DAMN., which ended up with 603K SPS and 361K traditional.
While we doubt Travis ends up over 600K, we do now think he's a clear bet for the second biggest opening of the year, following Drake's Scorpion with 732K.
There's also a good chance Scott will end up having a bigger opening week than any rapper not named Drake or Kendrick has had since 2013. (The 492K J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only did in 2016 would be the only thing standing in his way.)