David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, giving the late pop star his first number one album in the United States.
David Bowie’s final album, "Blackstar," debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart https://t.co/YuojZt5S0X pic.twitter.com/s19ZjjB9Bj
— billboard (@billboard) January 17, 2016
Bowie’s final record sold 181,000 units in the United States, 174,000 of which were pure album sales. That knocked Adele’s 25 out of the top spot on the Billboard 200, which had been No. 1 on the charts since its Nov. 20 (2015) release.
Blackstar was released on Jan. 8, Bowie’s 69th birthday, and just two days before his death from cancer. The album has received glowing reviews from critics and fans, earning an 86 score on Metacritic. (Bowie’s previous album with new music, The Next Day, hit No. 2 on the U.S charts after it was released in 2013.)
It is the first posthumous No. 1 album since Michael Jackson’s This is It reached the top spot in 2009. Unlike many albums by recently deceased artists that hit number one, Bowie did so with a record featuring all-new music, rather than a “greatest hits” compilation.
Blackstar wasn’t the only Bowie album to find its way into the Billboard 200 list. Best of Bowie, a compilation album released in 2002, hit No. 4 on the list, moving 94,000 units and with 51,000 pure album sales. That’s a steady 6,698 percent increase. The album initially peaked at No. 70 back in 2002.
Reaching No. 1 was a long time coming for Bowie in the United States. It’s just too bad that it took his 25th and final album to achieve that honor, and for it to occur after his death. It’s well deserved for the late music legend.
