The success of The Very Best of Prince marks the first greatest hits to make number one since 2007 since The Notorious B.I.G’s Greatest Hits took number one in March 2007, 10 years after his death.
Advertisement
Another five Prince albums are on course to enter this week’s Official Albums Chart Top 40: 1999 at Number 18, the Parade soundtrack at 21, Diamonds And Peals at 25, Hitnrun Phase One at 30, and Lovesexy at 39. Individual song numbers are even more impressive coming in a 2.82 million downloads during that period. He occupies the #1 and #2 positions on the chart, with The Very Best of Prince at #1 and 1984’s classic Purple Rain at #2.
Fans have responded to Prince’s death by buying his music and sending back to the top of the album and digital charts. It is also his first No. 1 album since 2006’s 3121.
Also in three days after his death, fans purchased 2.3 million Prince songs.
In one factor that likely increased outright sales, fans looking for Prince’s music were unlikely to find it through streaming, which is factored into the chart through its own formula.
Another notable figure here is how many actual albums were sold – versus album streams, which have become a crucial part of chart positioning. In an age of free, bootlegged, and cheap-streaming music, people are still ready to pay for Prince.
Advertisement
His 2001 release “The Very Best Of” is now leading the all-Prince Top 5 on the midweek update. The artist, 57, who was found dead in his suburban Minneapolis home Thursday, April 21, 2016, had intended it for his Prince, Piano and a Microphone tour. As of Monday morning, Prince still holds the top six spots; in order, they are: “Purple Rain”, “Little Red Corvette“, “When Doves Cry“, “Kiss“, “Let’s Go Crazy”, and “Rasberry Beret”.
