Kanye West's 'Donda' Sets 2021 Apple Music Record With 60 Million First-Day Streams
Kanye West's latest album has achieved a new high for most streamed pop album of 2021 on Apple Music after its delayed release on Sunday (via Billboard). "Donda" set a record for the most streams in a 24-window on the service this year, pulling in over 60 million plays in the United States.
That makes "Donda" the third-most streamed album ever in the first 24 hours of a release. West's album also topped Apple Music's top albums charts in 152 countries in the same time span, setting another record.
J Cole's 2018 album "KOD" sits atop Apple Music's all-time debut chart with 64.5 million streams, followed by Drake's "Views," which courted around 63.5 million streams.
Following the arrival of "Donda" at the weekend, West claimed in an Instagram post that Universal, the parent company for Def Jam Recordings and West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, put the album out without his approval.
The album was originally supposed to arrive in late July, but West delayed it to August 6, then again to August 22, before the album eventually appeared on Apple Music and Spotify the following week.
West held a public listening party for the album on July 22 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Itended up breaking Apple Music livestreaming records with 3.3 million viewers tuning in. Even more Apple Music listeners participated in a second streaming event, which was held in Atlanta on August 5.
Popular Stories
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week.
With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement.
Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes.
Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing.
We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week.
iOS 18.5 is a relatively...
Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone next year, according to several reporters and analysts who cover the company.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone will offer two key advantages over other foldable smartphones.
First, he said the foldable iPhone will have a "nearly invisible" crease when unfolded. This means the device's...
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it.
Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September.
Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain.
According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
