Beyoncé Hits The Charts @ #1

The fourth solo effort from the pop superstar enters at No. 1 with 310,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. 4 becomes Beyoncé’s fourth solo No. 1, making her the third act following Britney Spears and DMX to see their first four studio albums debut atop the Billboard 200.

The album, which includes the singles “Run the World (Girls) and “Best Thing I Never Had,” also claims the third-largest sales week of the year following Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (1.1 million) and Adele’s 21 (351,000).

4 is No. 1 throughout the world, including the U.K. where it sold 89,000 units in the first week, giving her her second No. 1 album in the country.

Despite the respectable numbers, the project is the lowest opening week of Beyoncé’s career. 2008’s I Am … Sasha Fierce entered with 482,000, B’Day bowed with 541,000 in 2006, and her debut Dangerously in Love arrived in 2003 with 317,000.

Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, Big Sean enters at No. 3 with 87,000 copies of his G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam debut Finally Famous.