J. Cole Makes Record Vault to No. 1 on Billboard Artist 100 Chart

The rapper roars 96-1, fueled by his new album, "KOD." Plus, Avicii re-enters at No. 4.

J. Cole skyrockets from No. 96 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated May 5) to become the top musical act in the U.S. for a second total week. The surge is powered by his new album KOD, which launches atop the Billboard 200 with the biggest week of 2018 in overall units.

KOD starts with 397,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, marking the biggest week for an album since Taylor Swift's reputation bowed 1.238 million on the chart dated Dec. 2, 2017.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

J. Cole's 96-1 flight is the biggest to the top in the four-year history of the Artist 100. Mumford & Sons previously held the record, having jumped 83-1 in May 2015. Further, J. Cole ties the mark for the largest overall upward movement on the Artist 100. The 1975 also soared 95 positions (100-5) in March 2016.

J. Cole previously hit No. 1 on the Artist 100 in December 2016, when his last set, 4 Your Eyez Only, opened atop the Billboard 200.



Late Swedish EDM pioneer Avicii re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 4, his highest placement on the tally (surpassing his prior No. 38 best). Following the first full tracking week after his death on April 20, the DJ's biggest Billboard chart hit, 2013's “Wake Me Up,” re-enters the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 34, while his debut studio album True re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 22.

Also in the Artist 100's top five, Drake rises 3-2, Cardi B dips 2-3 and Imagine Dragons holds at No. 5.

Among other Artist 100 moves, Ariana Grande re-enters at No. 6, her highest rank since January 2017, as her new single “No Tears Left to Cry” launches at No. 3 on the Hot 100. Grande spent two weeks atop the Artist 100 in 2014.