"We know it's rigged" - Fan debate ensues as video claims Travis Scott was ahead of Sabrina Carpenter before sales recount

After Sabrina Carpenter staked her claim on the #1 spot on Billboard 200 for Short N’ Sweet, a video supposedly claimed Travis Scott was initially ahead of her with his album Days Before Rodeo. Billboard crowned Sabrina the winner on September 3, stating her latest album sold a total of 362,000 units in sales and streams.

Despite attaining over 361,000 unit sales, Travis Scott was defeated by Sabrina Carpenter with a gap of 600 units, earning him the #2 rank on the Billboard 200 charts.

However, a video shared on September 4 by X user @Kurrco shows that on the last day of tracking, dated August 29, Days Before Rodeo was ahead of Short N’ Sweet in terms of overall activity.

According to the video, Travis’ album was leading with a difference of approximately 11,400 units with a total of 365,817 in album sales and streams, whereas Sabrina Carpenter's album reached 354,436 in total activity.

Moreover, days before the final result was out, many expected Travis Scott's album to remain at #1 on the charts.

After the supposed significant gap in numbers as shown in the X video, netizens responded with their thoughts.

Several said the tracking was manipulated, claiming Days Before Rodeo originally sold more units than Short N' Sweet, but the Billboard did not reveal the actual numbers.

Some also suggested Travis was likely deprived of the number 1 spot due to his race.

"We know it’s rigged", claimed one X user.

"They didn’t want a black rapper to beat their white disney actress industry plant", said another.

"They delayed the info for a reason", wrote one person, referring to Billboard's timing of announcing the chart results.

"billboard waited till they girl passed travis and uploaded the results", another chimed in.

A few others, however, wrote charts and numbers should not matter to fans as long as the music is good. Some pointed out, referring to Days Before Rodeo, which was originally released in 2014, that it was unreasonable to expect a 10-year-old album to top the charts.

"People care way to much on how many album sales an artist gets like why does it matter to you ??? Shouldn’t you only care if the music is good or not as a fan ?????", wrote one X user.

"I’m not even a Travis fan , but going number one off of a 10 year old tape is insane", noted another.

"Those are general numbers not fully vetted yet. Billboard then vetted them, took out the invalid sales that don’t abide by their guidelines, and then leave the rest", shared one person.

It is to be noted that the authenticity of this video is unconfirmed.

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Sabrina Carpenter beats Travis Scott in Billboard 200 battle

Following Billboard's announcement, Sabrina Carpenter took to social media to react to her latest achievement with a hint of humor as she called herself "vertically challenged", in regards to her height.

The Please Please Please crooner further sent her gratitude to her fans for supporting her album and helping her secure the #1 spot:

"thank you for listening to short n’ sweet :’) i love you so so so much"

Despite hailing from two different genres of music, Sabrina Carpenter and Travis Scott's respective albums fought a close battle. Originally released in August 2014, Days Before Rodeo was launched in deluxe editions this August as the album entered its 10th year.

Travis Scott also got the album into online streaming services, making way for it to increase numbers on chart tracking.