Bruno Mars has accomplished something he’s never accomplished 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.
It’s a truly historic moment for the Grammy-winning singer.
While Mars had previously climbed to No. 1 with Unorthodox Jukebox back in 2013 it took three months to reach the top.
His album from 2016 24K magic, widely believed by many fans to have been a chart topper, actually peaked at No. 2, famously blocked by Metallica’s Hardwired… to self-destructa revelation that caused quite a stir on social media in the past week.
His Silk Sonic collaboration in 2021 An evening with Silk Sonic also maxed out at No. 2.
Billboard notes that the 13-year gap between Mars’ No. 1 albums is the longest by any living male solo artist since Paul McCartney’s return to the top in 2018 with Egypt Stationwhich in itself marked a remarkable 36-year gap.
The rest of this week’s Billboard 200 sees Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Má’s photos team at No. 2, followed by Morgan Wallens I am the problemDon Toliver’s Octaneand Olivia Dean’s The art of loving.
The triumph comes just weeks after Mars briefly found itself in a different kind of spotlight.
Last month, he fired back at a fan on X who suggested he’d been releasing “the same song for the last 10 years.”
Mars reportedly responded with a sharp, profanity-laced reply before quickly deleting it, leaving only screenshots and widespread reactions in its wake.
According to screenshots online, the singer tweeted back, “and you’ve never been sh-t in your life.”
Based on this week’s chart, it looks like the numbers have answered him.
