Early sales projections had Ashanti's new album 'Braveheart' at 18-21K in its opening week. She's surpassed that by quite a large margin. She pushed 28K in her first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures.
The album, released independently through Written Entertainment / eOne Music, landed at #10 on the the Billboard 200.
Her fans have been waiting for her to drop 'Braveheart' since the Net came into existence (happy 25th birthday). These numbers would be good for an independent artist that was just starting out but an established one? While it's no secret that going the indie route can be a struggling process, Ashanti had more privilege than other indie acts that accomplished more. As a result, these numbers are not good, but for little promo, they're not tragic either. I still say it's major that she finally got the album out. A congrats is definitely in order.