Jelly Roll has called out what he describes as "chart manipulation" in the music industry, specifically regarding recent Billboard 200 chart rankings. Speaking on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show, he detailed suspicious activity during his album release week.

The controversy centers around the release of Jelly Roll's "Beautifully Broken" album, which competed with Charli XCX's "Brat" remix album and Rod Wave's "Last Lap" for the top spot. According to Jelly Roll, approximately 40,000 albums suddenly appeared from a third-party aggregator just before the final count.

Key points from Jelly Roll's revelation:

• Luminate, the official chart tracking company, rejected the suspicious 40,000 album sales
• Rod Wave actually streamed more than Jelly Roll and other competing artists combined
• Traditional retail sales at stores like Walmart and Target helped boost Jelly Roll's numbers

The final Billboard 200 rankings showed Jelly Roll claiming the top spot, with Rod Wave and Charli XCX following behind. Despite his own success, Jelly Roll publicly acknowledged Rod Wave as the rightful #1 artist based on streaming numbers.

The incident highlights ongoing concerns about transparency and fairness in music industry chart rankings, particularly regarding the integration of streaming numbers with traditional sales figures.

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