Frank Ocean's 'Blonde' Didn't Go Platinum This Week Because...The Internet

It looks like Frank Ocean's new album Blonde will debut in the number one slot of the Billboard 200 chart. According to Billboard, the surprise double-release, paired with the visual album Endless, is expected to move between 225,000 and 250,000 units on streams alone as an Apple Music exclusive. But had you pesky piraters of the internet not done what you always do, the album could have very well gone platinum in less than a week. NME reports that Blonde was downloaded illegally over 750,000 times.

Not that we can blame you. These streaming exclusives aren't easy on the eager, especially when it comes to a project as anxiously anticipated as this. But damn, Frank could have had a plaque sitting on his mantle by now. So don't be surprised if it takes another four years for him to resurface from his travels (beautifully documented in the Boys Don't Cry zine, by the way.) For those of you looking to actually cop the album, you can do so on iTunes today. Or just hope that copies of Boys Don't Cry are made available to purchase before then for the physical. In the meantime, Frank Ocean's Blonde is streaming on Apple Music. But you'll probably figure out away around it. Won't you?