Waiting To Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album - Commercial Performance

Commercial Performance

Waiting to Exhale Original Soundtrack Album entered on the Billboard 200 chart at number three and on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number two respectively, the issue date of December 2, 1995, with 177,248 copies sold in its initial week. In its third week, the album reached number one on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, selling 200,000 copies, and stayed there for 10 non-consecutive weeks. It also topped the Billboard 200 chart in its 8th week, the issue date of January 20, 1996, with 231,000 units sold, and spent five consecutive weeks at number one. The album stayed for a total of 49 weeks and 70 weeks, on the Billboard 200 chart and the Top R&B Albums chart respectively. With this success on the charts and strong sales, it became 1996's "No. 1 Soundtrack Album" on the Billboard year-end charts and the "Best-selling Soundtrack Recording" by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) in 1995–1996. The soundtrack album was certified 7× Platinum for shipping 7 million copies in the United States alone by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 4, 1996. According to the Nielsen SoundScan, as of 2009, it sold over 5,100,000 copies in the United States. Worldwide, sales exceed 20 million copies.