Travis Scott, Sabrina Carpenter's Billboard Duel Turns Messy As Rapper's Label Makes Sabotage Allegations
Travis Scott's label wants a recount after Sabrina Carpenter's "Short N' Sweet" album beat the rapper's "Days Before Rodeo" mixtape to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week.
Cactus Jack Records sent a letter to Billboard and Luminate, which tracks Billboard's weekly chart data, disputing Carpenter's narrow No. 1 victory over Scott, Vulture reported.
Scott's label alleged that Luminate did not include more than 1,200 units of "Days Before Rodeo" sold in the 15 minutes before the end of the last day of tracking, which was Aug. 29.
These units would have pushed Scott to the top had they been added to the rapper's final figure. According to Billboard, Carpenter's "Short n' Sweet" logged 362,000 album units, while "Days Before Rodeo" sold a little over 361,000 units.
However, Luminate insisted that its data was accurate and that the correct process was followed.
"We are confident that our numbers are correct in accordance with our processes and methodology," a spokesperson for the company told the outlet.
Cactus Jack's letter listed a number of accusations and concerns, including potential sabotage to help Carpenter earn a No. 1.
Scott's label claimed it reached out to a Luminate employee regarding the rapper's additional units that were not counted, but its request to update the data was rejected.
Cactus Jack claimed that this employee, who was not named in the report, previously worked for Carpenter's label Island Records and allegedly had "a personal incentive" for her to top the Billboard chart.
The employee worked for Island Records but left in May 2021, four months after the "Espresso" hitmaker joined the company, Vulture confirmed.
Scott and Carpenter have not publicly addressed the letter.
RELATED: Spotify Accused Of Autoplaying Sabrina Carpenter's Songs To Boost Her Streams
The claims received mixed reactions on social media, with some saying they believe that this week's chart was "rigged" and that Scott was robbed of the No. 1.
"Naaaa this crazy. The billboard data employee who ignored it came from Sabrina label..." DJ Akademiks wrote on Instagram.
"They couldn't let a 10-year-old mixtape beat out [Sabrina Carpenter's] new album," another Instagram user claimed. "They had to rig it."
Over on X, formerly Twitter, one user reacted to the letter by tweeting, "I thought it was obvious they rigged it."
"I told you that they don't want the Black man to win against the industry plant," another alleged. "It [was] so obvious."
However, others were skeptical of the claims in the letter.
"How do y'all believe anybody's numbers at this point lol," one Instagram user wrote.
"I mean him doing [360,000] units on a project that's been out for 10 years kinda seems [suspicious] too," another claimed.
A third user pointed out, "Every time somebody doesn't go No. 1, the chart is [rigged]... but when they do go No. 1, it [is] never [rigged]."
"I don't think Travis Scott fans realize how massive Sabrina Carpenter is," an X user commented before acknowledging, "Granted it was still extremely close."
