Even Without ‘Donda,’ Kanye’s Streams Have Increased Dramatically

Twice in the past month, Kanye West fans have eagerly anticipated the Friday release of his latest studio album, Donda — and twice, they’ve left disappointed. But even with the new album yet to materialize on streaming services, the controversial hip-hop legend’s clicks have been experiencing a major surge.

On Friday July 23, the first day Donda was supposed to be released — following a live debut event the night before at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium — West posted 16 million total on-demand streams (including both his solo work and working alongside Jay-Z as the Throne), according to MRC Data. That was up a whopping 88% from his total the previous Friday, when he posted 8.5 million total on-demand streams. His stream count had been swelling since that Monday, with the announcement of the live event, climbing from 7.6 million streams on Sunday the 18th to 8.7 million on the 19th — and continuing to grow throughout the week, reaching 9.4 million on the 20th, 10.3 million on the 21st, 11.8 million on the 22nd, and then 16.0 million on the 23rd.