You'll Never Guess Which Artist Sold More Records Than Kanye West This Year

We're now officially at the halfway point of the year 2018, and Kanye West apparently isn't the best-selling musical artist of the year, according to recent sale reports. That's right; Kanye West, along with Justin Timberlake, Cardi B, and Taylor Swift, are being outpaced by unlikely competition: last year's surprise musical hit, The Greatest Showman. Turns out, the Oscar-nominated show tunes for the Hugh Jackman-led musical extravaganza, based loosely on the life story of P.T. Barnum, soared to the top of the list, having sold almost four million copies for Atlantic Records. And Kanye isn't in second place either.

Yep. According to Bloomberg, that second place distinction goes to Post Malone and his newest album, Beerbongs & Bentleys. Evidently, while Kanye West has been more productive than ever this year, producing a slew of new music for fans, it hasn't found him on the top of the actual charts. Kanye West hasn't responded to having the title taken from him. But considering the rapper and designer's penchant for drama, that could happen at any time.

It's safe to say it has been a turbulent year for Kanye West. The rap artist was met with both praise and a giant heap of disdain for his various enterprises. His best selling albums received critical acclaim, including last month's ye and _Kids See Ghosts _-- made alongside Kid Cudi. However, West received heavy criticism for his heavy-discussed use of social media, particularly with his vocal support of President Donald Trump (along with claims that he is going to run for president), and his controversial comments about race. Kanye West is as defined by his highs as he is by his lows, as it was made evident by his newest studio album. Whether or not he'll bounce back up the charts from here is something Kanye will need to determine in the future. Perhaps it'll fuel his fire? We'll see.

Meanwhile, The Greatest Showman's nearly 4 million sales is major for a variety of reasons, notably because it's the first soundtrack in nearly four years to sell one million copies in the United States. Not since Frozen has an original movie album sold as well as this one. Evidently, it's striking a chord (or two, or three) with people right now, and selling like hot cakes with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Meanwhile, we'll continue to keep you posted on the latest developments in Kanye West's day-to-day life right here at CinemaBlend.