Nicki Minaj’s New Single Outsold The Next Seven Bestselling Songs In America Combined

Nicki Minaj returns to the Billboard charts in dramatic fashion this week with her comeback smash “Do We Have A Problem?” The tune blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 2, powered by an incredible number of streams (it starts in the runner-up rung on the Streaming Songs chart) and impressive sales. In fact, the title sold so well, it didn't just beat every other release, it outperformed its closest competitors by an enormous margin.

“Do We Have A Problem?” debuts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, which Billboard publishes every week and which ranks which tracks actually sold the most copies (which is different from, say, the Hot 100, which takes into account other forms of consumption). The tune sold just over 48,000 copies in its first full tracking frame, which is easily enough for it to beat every other single. In fact, nothing else came close.

Minaj’s new smash, which also credits rapper Lil Baby in a joint lead role, was the only track to rack up a five-digit sales sum last week. That’s not just a sign that Americans rushed to support the two hip-hop talents, but that sales are continuing to dwindle. The second-bestselling tune in the U.S. last week was “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the animated film Encanto. That earworm sold about 8,400 copies, which means that Minaj and Baby outsold the runner-up more than five and a half times over.

“Do We Have A Problem?” was so successful in its debut frame, it blows every other release out of the water. The hip-hop smash outsold the next seven bestselling tunes on the Digital Song Sales chart combined. That roundup of hits includes major wins by the likes of Elton John and Dua Lipa (“Cold Heart,” No. 3), Mary J. Blige (“Family Affair,” No. 4), Gayle (“ABCDEFU,” No. 5) and even Ed Sheeran (“Shivers,” No. 8).

This latest hit became Minaj’s ninth No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, which tied her with Beyoncé for the fourth-most among women. Outside of just leaders, the bestselling female rapper ever has broken into the top 10 on the purchase-only list with an insane 43 different releases. Amazingly, the tune is the first champion for Baby, and his fourth top 10.