Ye's 'Bully' Debuts at Number Two: A Contentious Comeback?

Fresh off a series of sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Ye's Bully has become his 14th top 10 album.

After years of lawsuits and controversy, it seems Ye still commands an audience—or at least, his music does. Bully, his long-delayed new album, debuted at Number Two on the Billboard 200, suggesting listeners are largely willing to welcome the controversial musician back into the mainstream.

Bully debuted behind BTS’ Arirang, which continues its chart dominance after debuting last week at No. 1, with 187,000 equivalent album units earned in the most recent week of tracking. Ye wasn’t far behind with 152,000 equivalent units moved. Bully sees Ye resurrecting many of the sounds he’s become known for throughout his career, even down to the finely curated soul samples. Over the past several weeks, he’s announced a series of high-profile concert performances, including a three-night run at London’s Wireless Festival this summer, a move that has already caused some sponsors to back out.

This past week, in Los Angeles, Ye performed two sold-out nights at SoFi Stadium, drawing tens of thousands of fans per show. At one point, taking in the scale of the crowd, he paused to declare: “That’s what 80,000 people sound like… They said I’d never be back in the States. Two sold-out concerts, baby!” Indeed, Ye has been something of an outcast in the mainstream entertainment industry since a series of antisemitic and racist tirades in 2022, culminating in the release of a swastika T-shirt via his Yeezy brand. Ye has since made a number of apologies and, in January, in an interview with Vanity Fair, pointed to complications both with his mental health and a car accident that happened early in his career as the source of his past behavior.

Ye's 'Bully' Debuts at Number Two: A Contentious Comeback?

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