France best selling albums ever: Back To Black by Amy Winehouse (2006)
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Everything around Amy Winehouse has always been pretty special, her chart performances in France are no exception. Released in October 2006, Back To Black album needed 4 months to reach the Top 200, ultimately getting in at #172 in February 2007 – the lowest entry ever for a million selling album. It then took 22 more weeks before reaching the Top 10 before eventually climbing to #1 in its week 38.
Once the machine started, nothing seemed able to stop it. Each single from Rehab to You Know I’m No Good to Back To Black to Tears Dry On Their Own gained classic status. Only the 2-year presence chart limit dislodged the album that was still Top 10 in early 2009 a few weeks before exclusion. After being denied a maximum of 97 possible weeks, rules changed at the start of 2011, enabling older albums to chart. Since that date, the album rarely left charts becoming the very first record ever to reach 300 weeks charted in the last chart of 2015, without counting in the 21 weeks logged by Frank / Back To Black box.
After being a Top 10 album in each 2007, 2008 and 2009, the album notched a 4th calendar year with a Top 10 placing due to the tragic news of her death that saw Amy Winehouse join the as-sad-as-iconic 27 Club.
While Back To Black started its run by climbing slowly but surely higher and higher on weekly rankings, it is now climbing slowly but surely all time best sellers list thanks to its impressive catalog sales.
Yearly French retail sales stand as below:
- 2007: 443,000 CD + 15,000 DL
- 2008: 373,000 CD + 15,000 DL
- 2009: 73,000 CD + 4,000 DL
- 2010: 40,000
- 2011: 105,000
- 2012: 60,000
- 2013: 45,000
- 2014: 30,000
- 2015: 30,000
- 2CD boxes: 50,000
A grand total of 1,283,000 copies sold.
Net shipment as of the end of 2015 is estimated at 1,300,000 copies.
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