By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — He may be gone, but the music of Prince retains plenty of popularity. His newest posthumous LP “Welcome 2 America” was only released last week, but it is already his 20th Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart. It debuted at number 14 on Saturday, That feat makes Prince one of only 12 artists to have at least 20 Top 10 LPs in the charts’ 65-year history.
Technically, “Welcome 2 America” is not a new album. Prince recorded it in 2010, but for whatever reason it has just now been released. It’s also his first LP to make the charts since Prince’s death April 21, 2016, at age 57. He first made the Billboard 200’s top 10 on the May 28, 1983-dated chart, when “1999,” which was released in 1982, climbed from number 13 to number nine. That set re-entered the chart after Prince passed, reaching the number seven spot.
Prince has had five albums top the Billboard charts. These are “Purple Rain” (1984), “Around The World in a Day,” (1985), The soundtrack “Batman” (1989) and “3121” (2006), and “The Very Best of Prince” (released 2001, topped the charts in 2016). “Welcome 2 America” marks Prince’s first debut in the Billboard 200’s top 10 since 2014. It is his highest entrance since 2009.
