Ariana Grande's eighth studio pop album, Petal, has topped the US Billboard albums chart with 295,000 equivalent album units, according to Variety, marking her most successful American chart week since 2019 and her seventh US number-one album overall. The album also topped the UK albums chart over the same weekend. "Thank you," Grande wrote on her Instagram Story, expressing deep gratitude alongside a heart emoji.
The album's commercial strength ran across formats: NPR reported Petal sold 96,000 vinyl copies in its first week alone, the most in a single week of Grande's career, while all 12 of the album's songs landed in that week's streaming Top 40. Lead single "Hate That I Made You Love Me" climbed to No. 2, and the "Petal" title track, released as a single alongside a blood-splattered video the same day as the album, debuted at No. 4.
The chart milestone landed the same week Grande's representatives confirmed she would be stepping back from the spotlight following her current Eternal Sunshine tour, a decision that came after renewed public commentary about her body and appearance intensified around the release of the "Petal" video. She has also withdrawn from what would have been her West End debut, a revival of Sunday in the Park with George at London's Barbican Centre alongside her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey, and from the new season of American Horror Story because of touring commitments.
During a show at Chicago's United Center last week, Grande addressed the speculation directly, telling the crowd that "multiple things can be true at the same time" and that "boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes," even as the tour remains "the greatest experience of my professional and creative life."
Grande is still set to open a 10-night residency at London's O2 Arena on August 15, running through September 1. NME's three-and-a-half-star review of Petal said the record "pulls inward, beseeching the listener to hold empathy for her experiences" rather than turning heartache into the kind of collective, anthemic moments that have defined her past work.
The facts
- Petal topped the US Billboard albums chart with 295,000 equivalent units
- It's Grande's best US chart week since 2019 and her seventh number-one album
- Petal also topped the UK albums chart the same weekend
- Petal sold 96,000 vinyl copies in its first week, the most in her career
- Grande's team confirmed she is stepping back from public visibility
- She withdrew from a West End run of Sunday in the Park with George
- She opens a 10-night O2 Arena residency on August 15
- She also pulled out of the new season of American Horror Story
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