INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Blink-182 Knocks Drake From His Top Spot On The Billboard Charts

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:30 PST, Jul 14, 2016

Blink-182 recently reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, a slot that had belonged to Drake’s Views for nine weeks. According to Billboard, Blink-182’s latest album, California, debuted at number 1 with 186,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 7.

California is Blink-182’s second album to reach the number 1 spot following their 2001 classic, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, which spent one week at number 1 on the list that was dated June 30, 2001. Blink-182 has managed to earn a total of seven top 10 singles, dating back to their 1999 release “Enema of the State,” which peaked at number 9. “Bored to Death” is the single that lead the new Blink-182 album, which hit the number 1 spot on the alternative songs chart dated July 9. The new single marks the first number 1 on the list since 2004.

The new album is also the first album released by Blink-182 without co-founder, singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge, who left the band in 2015. The Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba joined Blink-182 to replace DeLonge soon after. The launch of California was met with 172,000 copies sold, marking Blink-182’s biggest sales week since 2003. The self-titled album of the band held the number 3 spot with 313,000 units sold.

Between the 2003 release and California, Blink-182 released three other albums, all of which saw their best sales week immediately after their debut. Blink-182’s Greatest Hits album was released in 2005 and was met with 72,000 units sold. Their next release, Neighborhoods, debuted in 2011 with 151,000 sold, and their EP, Dogs Eating Dogs, earned 57,000 sales when it was released in 2013.

California‘s sales of 172,000 units impressively earned Blink-182 the third largest sales for a rock album in 2016. The only releases that managed to receive larger sales were the debuts of Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool, which sold 173,000 units, and David Bowie’s Blackstar, which sold 174,000 units.

Fifteen years have passed since the last time that Blink-182 was number 1 on the Billboard 200, which is the longest gap between a number 1 for an act since 2012. Lionel Ritchie returned to number 1 that year, after 25 years, six months, and 25 days, when his Tuskegee rose to the top of the list dated April 28, 2012. The release was Lionel Richie’s first number 1 since Dancing on the Ceiling spent its second and final week on top of the chart during the week of October 4, 1986.

Blink-182’s gap between number 1 releases is the longest for a rock act since AC/DC took 26 years between For Those About To Rock We Salute You in 1982 and Black Ice in 2008. The third and final week at number 1 for the release of the former was on January 9, 1982, while Black Ice enjoyed the number 1 spot on November 8, 2008.

The success of the new album of Blink-182 also earned them a number 1 spot on the UK charts, according to Official Charts.

Blink-182 thanked the fans for the support they have given their new release.

“We’re so excited and thankful to be Number 1 in the UK. This is the first time we have ever got a Number 1, and we are super thankful to all of you for supporting us.”

Blink-182 has recently made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. According to Entertainment Weekly, Blink-182 performed two songs on the show for Colbert’s audience with the inclusion of the 1999 hit, “What’s My Age Again?”

During the broadcast, Blink-182 also performed “Bored To Death,” the first single from the new album.

[Composite image containing photos by Justin Sullivan,Mike Coppola/Getty Images]

Share this article: Blink-182 Knocks Drake From His Top Spot On The Billboard Charts
california blink 182 drake
More from Inquisitr