After His Death, Prince Broke

After His Death, Prince Broke Another Impressive Chart Record That Didn't Get Much Attention

LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 22: Recording artist Madonna performs a tribute to Prince onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Even though he is no longer with us, Prince is still making waves and breaking records on the charts. When the rockstar passed away last month, fans rushed to buy his music wherever they could, and in doing so, they collectively helped the adored musician find new spots in the history books to occupy.

Because of the immediate and unprecedented popularity that his back catalog enjoyed after his untimely death, Prince now holds the record for controlling the most positions on the Billboard 200 in a single week. Once a full charting frame had gone by after his passing, the legendary musician’s albums took up a history-making nineteen positions on the all-encompassing albums ranking. The week dated May 14th, 2016 is now very special in that Prince was in charge of almost ten percent of all available slots, something that had never been done prior to this month. Before Prince, the Beatles had the distinction of being the musicians with the most albums simultaneously charting on the Billboard 200, thanks to one week back in 2014 when the Fab Four managed to place thirteen titles at the same time.

Interestingly, while his music was selling better than it had in years because of the shock of his unexpected death, Prince wasn’t at number one in the week where his music seemed to be everywhere on the albums chart. His compilation The Very Best Of Prince had ruled the week prior, but after a full seven days had gone by, he was bested by another superstar. Beyoncé’s new album Lemonade stormed in and took the top spot from the Prince himself after being released just a few days following his death.

He might not have been at number one, but in the week he sent nineteen titles onto the Billboard 200, Prince did have a very strong presence in the top ten. The great Purple One owned half of the highest region on the chart that week, which was also a first for the decades-old tally. He and Bey also broke another record together, as both of them sent eight different songs into the top 40 on the Hot 100 simultaneously.

It is nice to see that Prince’s legacy is powerful enough to keep him charting in death just as well (if not better) than he did in life.

source: www.forbes.com