Music fans everywhere are still in shambles in the wake of the shocking loss of Prince, who was found dead in his Minnesota estate on Thursday morning (Apr. 21). It is a testament to his far-reaching talent that the late icon has taken the top two spots on this week's Billboard 200 chart. According to Billboard, a greatest hits compilation of his, The Very Best of Prince, sold a reported 179,000 copies, claiming the No. 1 spot, and Prince's 1984 album Purple Rain took No. 2, selling 69,000 copies.
Keep in mind that this week's chart accounts for the albums sold throughout the week of April 15 to April 21. That means the vast majority of those sales (248,000 in total) occurred on the same day as Prince's death. On April 21, his total album sales (The Hits/The B-Sides also landed at No. 6) amount to 256,000. There is likely still a massive influx in Prince's album sales that hasn't been accounted for, so expect those same albums to appear near the top of the albums chart next week as well.
What's also incredible about Prince's posthumous album sales is that the majority of them they are just that -- pure album sales. On April 21, Purple Rain sold an actual 63,000 copies and The Very Best of Prince moved an approximate 100,000 in pure sales. The only online outlet that has made a large portion of Prince's discography available for streaming is Tidal. Thus, the numbers not included in pure album sales can mostly be credited to Tidal, which must be sitting pretty considering the surprise release of Beyonce's Lemonade.
