Written by: Khalif Thompson
The leak of Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE album a few days before its official release appears to have had no effect on the industry icon's seventh studio album's first-week sales forecasts.
On Saturday (July 30), it was stated that the mother of three is likely to sell between 275 and 315K copies in the first seven days of the project's release.
Furthermore, the 16-track effort is expected to amass around 170 million streams over the following week.
According to HDD, these forecasts are strong enough to offer Beyoncé a No. 1 start on the charts, similar to Lemonade, which topped Billboard's list with 485K album sales and 115M streams in 2016.
Though it's guaranteed to be a hit on streaming services and at award events, RENAISSANCE hasn't been without criticism.
The project was mostly created by personalities like Mike Dean and The-Dream, but there was a big list of prominent people that helped in some fashion - some without their awareness.
As previously reported, "Midnight Snacks" singer Kelis was dismayed to learn that her 2003 "Milkshake" single was sampled on Queen B's "ENERGY" starring Beam.
Since then, the Harlem native has slammed Beyoncé on social media, bringing Nas and Rihanna into the mix.
Given that The Neptunes are the original authors and producers, and they were acknowledged on RENAISSANCE, it's unclear if anybody was legally compelled to inform Kelis, but she's been vocal about her disappointment.
Are Beyoncé's first-week sales forecasts surprising to you?
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