David Bowie did the unbelievable during his life, and he's continuing to carry on that legacy in death. The legendary, late rock icon's new album Blackstar has displaced Adele's 25 on the U.S. albums chart, after the latter led sales by wide margins for seven straight weeks.
According to Billboard, Blackstar bested 25 by 38,000 album equivalent units, with 181,000 moved during its debut week. Of that massive number, an impressive 174,000 copies were pure album sales, speaking to a post-death boost that helped increase discourse around Blackstar.
The album, which was written by Bowie as a farewell to his fans, features lyrics about life, death and soaring through the heavens. Mixed in with its positive reviews, buying the record seemed like a good way to honor Bowie's legacy and helped him beat out the previously unstoppable 25.
In its eighth week on sale, 25 moved 143,000 units, 26 percent less than it sold last week.
Bowie's new album isn't his only appearance on the Billboard 200 or even in the chart's top 10 ranking. His 2002 compilation album Best of Bowie also bumped back onto the charts, soaring to No. 4 with 94,000 units moved. 51,000 of those copies were full album sales but streams of Bowie's biggest hits ("Space Oddity," "Changes," "Under Pressure") and single sales of those same fan favorites helped boost the best-of record by another 43,000 units.
Additionally, seven other Bowie albums entered the chart this week, including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust...
Though Bowie's death and album sales dominated talk in the world of music this week, other albums reached into the top 10 as well. Justin Bieber's Purpose slipped one spot to No. 3 with 104,000 units moved and twenty one pilots rounded out the top five with 43,000 copies moved of Blurryface.
The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness was displaced by the Bowie debuts, moving down to No. 6, while Chris Stapleton's Traveller held steady for a second straight week at No. 7. R&B rounded out the charts, with Bryson Tiller's Trapsoul, G-Eazy's When It's Dark Out and Fetty Wap's self-titled debut charting at Nos. 8 through 10, respectively.
