Doechii has officially achieved a remarkable milestone by landing her very first top 10-charting album on the prestigious Billboard 200. Her album, Alligator Bites Never Heal, has impressively surged from the 24th to the 10th position on the chart dated May 3. This significant leap can be attributed to the album’s increased availability in vinyl format and its inaugural release on CD, allowing a broader audience to connect with her music. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, showcasing the growing popularity of physical music formats in today’s digital era.
The Billboard 200 chart is a comprehensive ranking that highlights the most popular albums in the United States each week. This ranking is based on a multi-metric consumption model that measures album performance through equivalent album units, which are compiled by Luminate. Each unit is calculated based on various factors, including album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Specifically, one unit corresponds to one album sale, ten individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported streams or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand streams of songs from the album. The complete chart for the week dated May 3, 2025, will be published on Billboard’s official website on April 29.
The acclaimed 2025 Billboard Woman of the Year and Grammy Award-winning artist, Doechii, has seen her album Alligator Bites Never Heal ascend the Billboard 200 list, thanks in part to its new availability on vinyl and its first release on CD. During the tracking week ending April 24, the album amassed an impressive 33,000 equivalent album units in the United States, reflecting a substantial increase of 43%. This figure includes 18,500 SEA units (down 3%, equating to 25.9 million on-demand official streams of the songs from the streaming edition), and 14,000 in album sales (an astonishing rise of 325%, marking the highest sales week for both the album and the artist). Notably, it reentered the Top Album Sales chart at No. 1, marking its first week at the top. Additionally, TEA units accounted for 500 (down 12%).
>Of the total sales for the week, just over 11,000 were attributed to vinyl purchases, highlighting the resurgence of interest in this classic format among music enthusiasts and collectors alike. This trend reflects a broader movement within the music industry, where fans are increasingly seeking tangible versions of their favorite albums.
Originally released in 2024, Alligator Bites Never Heal features a robust collection of 19 songs. It was reissued in March with the inclusion of a bonus track — the viral hit “Anxiety” — available on the “extended” digital download and streaming editions. The addition of “Anxiety” not only energized the album’s appeal but also helped it reach its previous peak ranking of No. 12 on the March 29 chart, showcasing the impact of strategic releases on chart performance.
All physical versions of Alligator Bites Never Heal maintain the original 19-song tracklist. Up until April 17, the album was exclusively available for purchase as a digital download and in two unique vinyl variants. Following this, on April 18, it became much more widely available on vinyl, introducing two new color variants that are sold exclusively at Target and Urban Outfitters, along with the widely distributed CD version.
The single “Anxiety” made significant strides by entering the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart dated March 29, climbing from the 13th to the 10th position, signifying Doechii’s first appearance in the top 10. The album also produced an earlier hit, “Denial Is a River”, which reached No. 21 in February, demonstrating the artist’s growing influence and the critical reception of her work.
