Even though Kanye West delayed releasing his new album Bully on Apple Music after it hit Spotify, it still managed to claim the number one spot on the platform.
Kanye has sparked plenty of conversation among fans with Bully, whether it’s about the messy rollout or the overall sound of the project. Still, all that buzz seems to be working in his favor, as the album is pulling in stronger attention compared to his previous release.
According to Kurrco on Instagram, the project racked up 33.2 million streams across all tracks on Spotify within its first 24 hours. That figure surpasses what Vultures 2 achieved, with the Ty Dolla $ign collaboration sequel bringing in 24.7 million streams during the same timeframe.
Technically, that wasn’t Kanye’s most recent streaming release, since he later reissued Donda 2 after its initial exclusive run on the Stem Player. However, streaming data for that drop remains unclear. Even with this jump from Vultures 2, Bully still falls short of the huge numbers pulled in by earlier projects like Vultures and Donda at the start of the 2020s.
Even so, these first-day streaming numbers prove the Chicago artist still knows how to grab attention right out the gate. The big question now is whether this early momentum will carry over into strong first-week sales.
The rollout for Kanye West’s Bully came with its fair share of chaos, as expected. On its intended release date, Friday, March 27, the album was only accessible through a YouTube livestream. It wasn’t until the following day, Saturday, March 28, that Ye made the full project available on Spotify.
Even then, Apple Music users had to wait a little longer, as the album arrived there hours later. Despite the delay, Bully still climbed straight to number one on the United States all-genre album charts.
Fans are also diving deep into the meaning behind Kanye West’s Bully. In a supposed 2024 text, Ye reportedly opened up about the inspiration behind the title and the message he wanted to convey.
“The next album is called BULLY,” he allegedly wrote. “Sometime you the BULLY. Sometimes your partner is the BULLY. Your boss. Your kids. Society. The devil. Even God can be your BULLY. God Why you beating me down like this … So nothing directly about me. Something a high school [kid] can relate to.”
