Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Sets 2021 Apple Music First-Day Record

Kanye West’s eagerly anticipated 10th studio album Donda amassed over 60 million streams in the U.S. on Apple Music in the first 24 hours since its release Sunday morning, setting a 2021 record for the streaming service and becoming the third-highest total ever in that span. 

Donda topped a record 152 countries on Apple Music’s album charts in its first 24 hours, while also occupying 19 of the top 20 spots on its Daily Top 100 Global songs chart. Meanwhile, over on Spotify, Donda earned more than 94 million worldwide streams, the second-most all-time for the streamer. 

The surprise release of Donda was met with pushback from Kanye, who accused DaBaby’s manager Arnold Taylor of holding back “Jail, Pt. 2,” featuring a verse from the controversial rapper, from appearing on his latest album. West shared screenshots of a text exchange with his manager Abou “Bu” Thiam on Instagram where he refused to remove him from the song. “I’m not taking my brother off,” he wrote. “He was the only person who said he would vote for me in public.”