Bruno Mars Dominates Billboard 200 After Decade-Long Wait; Gorillaz, BLACKPINK, and Mitski Score Top 10 Debuts
Bruno Mars achieves his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with The Romantic, marking his first chart-topper in over a decade. The album's impressive debut leads a week of notable entries from Gorillaz, BLACKPINK, and Mitski.
Bruno Mars has landed his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, with The Romantic debuting at the top spot (dated March 14). According to Luminate, the album launched with 186,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States during the week ending March 5. His last No. 1 was Unorthodox Jukebox, which reached the summit in March 2013, nearly three months after its debut. The Romantic also marks Mars’ first No. 1-debuting album.
In total, The Romantic is Mars’ fifth top 10 album, following An Evening With Silk Sonic, a collaboration with Anderson .Paak (No. 2, 2021), 24K Magic (No. 2, 2016), Unorthodox Jukebox (No. 1, 2013), and Doo-Wops & Hooligans (No. 2, 2010).
Mars’ gap of almost 13 years between No. 1 albums is the longest for any living solo male artist since Paul McCartney topped the charts in 2018 with Egypt Station, 36 years and three months after his last No. 1 with Tug of War in 1982. Before Mars, Toby Keith posthumously reached No. 1 with 35 Biggest Hits in February 2024, 14 years and four months after Bullets in the Gun (2010).
Billboard 200 Chart
Also debuting in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 are Gorillaz’s The Mountain, BLACKPINK’s DEADLINE, and Mitski’s Nothing’s About To Happen to Me.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, measured in equivalent album units compiled by Luminate. These units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams from an album. The complete March 14, 2026-dated chart will be available on Billboard‘s website on March 10. Follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on X and Instagram for chart updates.
Of The Romantic’s 186,000 equivalent album units, album sales accounted for 93,500 (debuting at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprised 90,500 (equaling 93.95 million on-demand official streams, Mars’ best streaming week for an album, also debuting at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), and TEA units made up 2,000.
The first-week sales of The Romantic were boosted by its availability across 10 vinyl variants, in addition to standard CD, cassette, and digital download formats. Vinyl sales accounted for 48,000 of the album’s first-week sales, marking Mars’ best week on vinyl ever. All versions of the album feature the same nine songs.
The album was preceded by the lead single, “I Just Might,” which became Mars’ 10th Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 (and first to debut at No. 1) on the Jan. 24-dated chart, holding the top spot for two weeks. The track has also been No. 1 for seven weeks on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs.
Following Mars on the Billboard 200 are three former No. 1 albums: Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS at No. 2 with 77,000 equivalent album units earned (down 10%), Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem rising from 5-3 (75,000, up 7%), and Don Toliver’s OCTANE climbing from 6-4 (66,000, down 3%). Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving rounds out the top five, moving from 7-5 (60,000, down 2%).
Last week’s No. 1, Megan Moroney’s Cloud 9, descends to No. 6 in its second week (55,000 equivalent album units earned, down 62%).
Gorillaz achieve their sixth top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with the No. 7 debut of The Mountain, earning 53,000 equivalent album units. Album sales comprise 38,000 (debuting at No. 3 on Top Album Sales), SEA units account for 15,000 (equaling 15.86 million on-demand official streams), and TEA units are negligible.
The album’s first-week sales were supported by its availability across nine vinyl variants, four CDs, five cassettes, a standard digital download, and an iTunes Store-exclusive download edition with one bonus track.
Gorillaz have previously reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with Cracker Island (No. 3, 2023), The Now Now (No. 4, 2018), Humanz (No. 2, 2017), Plastic Beach (No. 2, 2010), and Demon Days (No. 6, 2005).
The new album was preceded by "The Happy Dictator,” featuring Sparks (No. 43 peak last September), and “The Manifesto,” featuring Trueno and Proof (No. 49 peak last October) on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
BLACKPINK earns its third top 10 on the Billboard 200 with DEADLINE debuting at No. 8 with 52,000 equivalent album units earned. Album sales comprise 41,000 (debuting at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units account for 11,000 (equaling 11.46 million on-demand official streams), and TEA units are negligible.
DEADLINE marks the return of the pop quartet to the Billboard 200 after more than three years. The group’s last release was BORN PINK, which debuted at No. 1 on the Oct. 1, 2022-dated chart. Since then, members Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé have all released solo album projects, all of which have charted on a Billboard album ranking.
The new album’s first-week sales were boosted by its availability across 13 CD variants, all containing collectible items such as photocards and posters, with some items randomized. CD sales comprise 94% of the album’s first-week sales, with the remainder sold from digital downloads.
DEADLINE was preceded by the Hot 100-charting single “JUMP,” which peaked at No. 28 last July and spent 10 weeks on the list, the most weeks on the chart among the group’s 10 charted titles.
Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl remains steady at No. 9 on the latest Billboard 200 with just under 43,000 equivalent album units earned for the week (down 3%).
Closing out the top 10 of the Billboard 200 is Mitski’s Nothing’s About To Happen to Me, debuting at No. 10 with nearly 43,000 equivalent album units earned, marking the artist’s best week ever by units. Album sales comprise 31,000 (her best sales week ever, debuting at No. 4 on Top Album Sales), SEA units account for 12,000 (equaling 12.16 million on-demand official streams), and TEA units are negligible.
First-week sales of the album were aided by its availability across seven vinyl variants (including a signed edition), two CDs, two cassettes, and a standard digital download. Vinyl purchases accounted for 69% of the set’s overall opening-week sales.
Nothing’s About To Happen to Me is the second top 10 on the Billboard 200 for Mitski, following 2022’s Laurel Hell (No. 5).
The new album was preceded by the charting hit “Where’s My Phone?” which hit No. 11 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated March 7 and No. 38 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs in January.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
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