Fans around the world obviously touched by the January 10 death of pop icon David Bowie have propelled his final album, Blackstar, to the top of the charts to mark the first number one album ever for the innovative rocker.
Compiling 181K impressions (174K pure sales), Blackstar made light work of Adele’s 25, which had held the number one spot for seven consecutive weeks. In addition to being his first number one album, the set also marks the largest first week sales any Bowie album has seen since Soundscan began tracking sales in 1991. Blackstar also has the distinction of being the first posthumous No. 1 album since Michael Jackson’s This Is It hit stores almost five months after his death in 2009.
Elsewhere on the chart, Adele’s 25 and Justin Bieber’s Purpose each slide down a notch to number two and three, respectively. Bowie’s Best of Bowie, originally released in 2002, re-enters the charts at number four to mark the first time since 2012 that an artist has had two albums in the top four. Oddly enough, the last artist to achieve that feat was Adele when she had 21 in the top spot while 19 reached number four. Twenty One Pilots round out the top five this week with their latest LP, Blurryface.
Check out the complete list of top 10 albums below.
1. David Bowie – Blackstar
2. Adele – 25
3. Justin Bieber – Purpose
4. David Bowie – Best Of Bowie
5. Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface
6. The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness
7. Chris Stapleton – Traveller
8. Bryson Tiller – Trapsoul
9. G-Eazy – When It’s Dark Out
10. Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap
