Travis Scott's Astroworld bows atop the Billboard 200 chart with 2018’s second-largest week for an album, earning the rapper his second No. 1. The album has become a favourite in India too, debuting at #1 on the Apple Music Album charts, while placing 2 songs- ‘Stargazing’ and ‘Sicko Mode’ in the Top 10 on the singles chart.

Says Arjun Sankalia, Director International Music, Sony Music India “From a critical standpoint, this is perhaps the Album of the Year. Travis Scott has proven himself to be a creative force with this collection of songs and his overall vison for Astroworld. This is one of those albums that transcends music and becomes art.  It’s success in India is extremely gratifying too, no doubt stemming from the increasing acceptance of  hip-hop fuelled by the vibrant local scene.”

The set which was released early this month, via Cactus Jack/Grand Hustle/Epic Records -- earned 537,000 equivalent album units in the week ending August. 9, according to Nielsen Music. Of that total, 270,000 were driven by traditional album sales -- the second-biggest sales week of 2018.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Aug. 18-dated chart (where Astroworld launches at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on Tuesday, August 14.