David Bowies Blackstar Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 2...

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6844036/dav...

David Bowie's 'Blackstar' Album Debuts

at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
1/17/2016 by Keith Caul1eld

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David Bowie in the video for "Lazarus."

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Blackstar is Bowies 1rst No. 1 album.

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1/17/16, 7:41 PM

David Bowies Blackstar Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 2...

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6844036/dav...

Billboard

Bowie died on Jan. 10 of cancer, two days after the release of the album.
Blackstar was issued through ISO/Columbia Records and earned 181,000 equivalent album
units in the U.S., during the week ending Jan. 14, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum,
174,000 were in pure album sales -- Bowies biggest sales week for an album since Nielsen
began electronically tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991. (His previous sales high
in that span of time came when his last album, 2013s The Next Day, bowed with 85,000 sold
in its first week.)
How David Bowie Fearlessly Changed Rock'n'Roll: Billboard's Special Tribute
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric
consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and
streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Jan. 30, 2016-dated chart (where Bowie debuts
at No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboards websites on Wednesday, Jan. 20. (Charts will be
refreshed one day later than usual this week, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan.
18.)
Clearly, music fans were moved by the news of Bowies death, as not only did Blackstar
perform strongly, but he has nine further albums that either re-enter or debut on the Billboard
200 chart. Among them are two further titles in the top 40: the greatest hits collection Best of
Bowie (No. 4) and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (No. 21).
More From Billboard's David Bowie Tribute: Bowies Sexuality | His Many Muses | His
Passion for Soul and R&B | 25 Poignant Moments From His Life and Career | His Space
Obsession | His Pioneering Use of TV | His Arresting Presence on Film | His Rebellious
Style
Bowies history on the Billboard 200 dates back nearly 44 years, when Hunky Dory bowed on
the chart dated April 15, 1972.
Blackstar and Best of Bowie bring the artists total of top 10-charting albums to nine. He
previously hit the region with The Next Day (peaking at No. 2 in 2013), Lets Dance (No. 4,
1983), ChangesOneBowie (No. 10, 1976), Station to Station (No. 3, 1976), Young Americans
(No. 9, 1975), David Live (No. 8, 1974) and Diamond Dogs (No. 5, 1974).
Best of Bowie, released in 2002, returns to the chart at No. 4 (a new peak) with 94,000 units
(up from only a few thousand in the week previous). It sold 51,000 in pure album sales,

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David Bowies Blackstar Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 2...

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Billboard

Remembering David Bowie: See All of His Album Covers

Naturally, a significant portion (48 percent) of Best of Bowies total units during the latest week
were driven by track and streaming equivalent album units of its popular tracks. Among the
tunes on the album: 11 of his 13 top 40-charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Those
include his six top 10 hits: Fame (No. 1 in 1975), Golden Years (No. 10, 1976), Lets
Dance (No. 1, 1983), China Girl (No. 10, 1983), Modern Love (No. 14, 1983), Blue Jean
(No. 8, 1984), This Is Not America (with Pat Metheny, No. 32 in 1985) and Dancing in the
Street (with Mick Jagger, No. 7 in 1987).
With Blackstar and Best of Bowie at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, Bowie is one of the handful of
acts to manage the feat of having two albums in the top four of the chart at the same time.
Previous to Bowie, the last act to do so was Adele on the chart dated March 3, 2012. That
week, in the wake of her performance and six wins at the Grammy Awards (Feb. 12), 21 held
at No. 1 while her previous album 19 rose 9-4.
Blackstar is additionally the first posthumous No. 1 album since Michael Jacksons This Is It
soundtrack arrived atop the list dated Nov. 14, 2009. Jackson died earlier that year.
David Bowie's Top 20 Biggest Billboard Hits
As for the rest of the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, Adeles 25 slips to No. 2 (143,000
units; down 26 percent) after seven consecutive weeks at No. 1. Justin Biebers Purpose
also moves down a rung, to No. 3, with 104,000 units (down 17 percent).
Twenty One Pilots Blurryface falls 3-5 (43,000; down 17 percent), The Weeknds Beauty
Behind the Madness dips 4-6 (39,000; down 14 percent) and Chris Stapletons Traveller
holds steady at No. 7 (33,000; down 20 percent). Bryson Tillers Trapsoul hits a new peak,
climbing 9-8 with nearly 33,000 units (down only 8 percent).
G-Eazys When Its Dark Out returns to the top 10 for the first time since its debut frame, as it
rises 13-9 in its sixth week (29,000; down 2 percent). Fetty Waps self-titled album descends
8-10 with 29,000 units (down 20 percent).

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