Jhené Aiko has earned her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, as Westside Whimsy opens atop the chart dated September 26 with 74,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. The milestone arrives nearly 13 years after Aiko first appeared on the chart with Sail Out in 2013.
According to Billboard, Westside Whimsy generated its 74,000 units during the tracking week ending September 17. The result gives Aiko her first Billboard 200 leader and her sixth Top 10 album overall, extending a chart run that began with her 2013 debut project.
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Sail Out debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 in November 2013, immediately establishing Aiko as a major R&B presence. Her next studio album, Trip, reached No. 5 in 2017, while Chilombo debuted and peaked at No. 2 in 2020 and later earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
Westside Whimsy marks Aiko’s return to the Billboard 200 after a six-year gap between studio albums. Released September 11 through ArtClub International and Def Jam Recordings, the 20-track project was announced by surprise on September 8, only three days before its release. The album includes collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Larry June, Ohma and Tyga.
The project’s release caps a rollout that began well before its surprise announcement. Jhené Aiko released “Break” in November 2025, with the song later appearing on Westside Whimsy.
The No. 1 debut also carries significance for R&B on the Billboard 200. Westside Whimsy becomes the first R&B album by a woman to top the chart in 2026 and the first R&B album to reach No. 1 since SZA’s SOS completed its 13th and final week at the top in May 2025. Bruno Mars’ The Romantic, which led the chart in March 2026, is the only other R&B album to reach No. 1 this year.
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