The demand for Prince’s music following his unfortunate passing has skyrocketed and according to industry insiders, it’s nothing like they have seen before. The out pour of emotion from fans and fellow musicians has been overwhelming.
As a result, two of Prince’s albums have landed on the number 1 and 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart this week, based on just one day sales. The Very Best of Prince tops the chart while the Purple Rain soundtrack re-enters at #2, its 100th week on the chart.
The Very Best of Prince earned 179,000 equivalent album units in the week ending April 21 out of which 100k were pure sales. Purple Rain shifted 69,000 units (63,000 in pure album sales).
The legendary artist passed away on the final day of the latest tracking week for the new chart, which gave it only about half a day before the week closed. But it was enough to push him to the top spots. Another Prince set hits the top 10, as his triple album The Hits/The B-Sides re-enters at No. 6 with 41,000 units (24,000 pure sales) of that sum in album sales. Remember that TIDAL is the only streaming service carrying all his albums.
Some interesting facts noted by Billboard:
– Prince’s Fifth No. 1 Album
– First Act With Nos. 1 & 2 Albums in More Than 10 Years
– The First Greatest Hits Album at No. 1 since 2007
– Purple Rain’s 100th Week on the Chart
– 18 Top 10 Albums
– Eight Prince Albums are on the Billboard 200 right now.
Previously: LISTEN TO PRINCE PERFORMING ‘PURPLE RAIN’ & ‘KISS’ ON HIS ‘PIANO & A MICROPHONE’ TOUR
Watch Saturday Night Live’s Prince tribute from yesterday if you missed it: