Snoop Dogg’s Missionary album debuts in the top 10 across multiple Billboard charts, as the set opens in the top 10 on Top Album Sales (No. 7), Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (No. 7) and Top Rap Albums (No. 3) — all charts dated Dec. 28. It also launches at No. 20 on the overall Billboard 200 chart. On Top Album Sales, Missionary marks Snoop’s highest-charting effort in over 15 years.
Missionary is the first album from Snoop Dogg produced by Dr. Dre since their successful teaming on Snoop’s debut effort Doggystyle in 1993.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.
Missionary debuts with 38,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 19, according to Luminate. Of that sum, album sales comprise 20,500, SEA units comprise 16,500 and TEA units comprise the remaining sum.
On Top Album Sales, Missionary is Snoop’s 13th top 10-charting effort and highest charting effort set Ego Trippin debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the March, 29, 2008-dated list.
As for the rest of the top 10 on Top Album Sales, Stray Kids’ HOP opens at No. 1 with 180,000 sold (it’s the sixth leader for the group); Taylor Swift’s chart-topping The Tortured Poets Department falls 1-2 with 50,000 (down 75%); the Wicked film soundtrack rises 6-3 with 29,000 (down 5%); Chappell Roan’s former leader The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess jumps 8-4 with 28,000 (up 34%); and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet goes 7-5 with 26,000 (down 8%).
Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft scales 9-6 with 23,000 (up 26%); TWICE’s STRATEGY falls 2-8 with 19,000 in its second week (down 76%); Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas TV soundtrack bumps 10-9 with 16,000 (up 20%); and Taylor Swift’s former No. 1, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) climbs 12-10 with 14,000 (up 29%).
