Rest Up Purple One!
In the wake of Prince‘s passing on April 21, the music icon now rules the Billboard 200 chart with the No. 1 and No. 2 albums.
Selling 179,000 equivalent album units, The Very Best of Prince tops the chart, marking Prince’s fifth stay at No. 1. It’s his first since 2006’s 3121. Meanwhile, Purple Rain comes in at No. 2 with 69,000 units, which includes 63,000 in pure album sales.
Overall, Prince’s discography, which is only available for streaming through TIDAL, saw an increase of 5,298 percent in sales after moving 256,000 units.
The Purple One didn’t just have the No. 1 and No. 2 albums this week. He also had a third project, The Hits/The B-Sides, in the top 10. That effort reached No. 6.
This all happened relatively quickly as well. Prince died on the final day of tracking for this week, meaning his impact was made in a short span of time. His passing is expected to impact next week’s chart as well.
With this chart appearance, Prince became the first act with both the No. 1 and No. 2 position in the same week in over 10 years. The previous act to reach this feat was Nelly in 2004. This is also the first greatest hits project to reach the top of the chart since 2007 when the Notorious B.I.G. had that distinction.
More milestones were reached here. For instance, Purple Rain’s rise to No. 2 helps mark its 100th week on the chart. With The Very Best of Prince and The Hits/The B-Sides visiting the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time, Prince ups his total of top 10 albums to 18. Prince also has eight albums on the Billboard 200 this week, including 1999, Ultimate, and Sign ‘O’ the Times.
via Billboard
