Bruno Mars achieved something he has never achieved before in his career, debuting directly at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with his fourth studio album. The romantic opening with 186,000 equivalent album units in its first week.
This is a truly historic moment for the Grammy-winning singer.
While Mars had previously risen to first place with Unorthodox jukebox in 2013, it took him three months to reach the summit.
His 2016 album 24K magic, widely considered by many fans to have been a chart topper, actually peaked at No. 2, blocked by Metallica Wired…to self-destructa revelation that caused a sensation on social networks last week.
His Silk Sonic 2021 collaboration An evening with Silk Sonic also peaked at No. 2.
Billboard notes that Mars’ 13-year gap between No. 1 albums is the longest for a living male solo artist since Paul McCartney returned to the top in 2018 with Egypt stationwhich itself marks a remarkable gap of 36 years.
The rest of this week’s Billboard 200 sees Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar More photos hold at No. 2, followed by Morgan Wallen’s I am the problemDon Toliver Octaneand that of Olivia Dean The art of loving.
This triumph comes just weeks after Mars briefly found itself in a different kind of spotlight.
Last month he hit back at an X fan who suggested he had been releasing “the same song for 10 years”.
Mars reportedly responded with a scathing and crude response before quickly deleting it, leaving only screenshots and widespread reactions in its wake.
According to screenshots online, the singer responded on Twitter: “and you’ve never been shitty in your entire life.”
Based on this week’s chart, it looks like the numbers answered for him.
