After we had waited nearly all of 2021 for Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak to release their collaborative album, they delivered magnificently on Nov. 12 with An Evening With Silk Sonic. Now, more than a week removed from the project, their sales numbers are in.
The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart selling 104,000 units and 42,000 pure album sales. Reaching six figures is an impressive feat, and speaks on how anticipated and fulfilling the project turned out to be.
The number one slot was rewarded to Taylor Swift, for her edited version of her 2012 album Red which dropped on the same night. Taylor re-recorded the songs from the album and added a handful of new tracks and features for her fans on Red (Taylor’s Version) (+ A Message From Taylor). Having the cult fanbase she has cultivated over several years, she sold a whopping 605,000 units with 369,000 pure album sales.
Having caught wind of the projections earlier this week, Anderson .Paak took the news like a champ, joking about partnering with the wrong pop star in hopes of landing a No. 1 album.
While reaching No. 2 may be a slight disappointment for Mars and .Paak, they still hope to achieve a No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, as their stellar hit “Smokin Out The Window” climbed three spots this week to No. 5 for a new peak.
The week of Nov. 12 was a huge week for pop music, and Silk Sonic’s album will surely continue to be appreciated for months and years to come.
Silk Sonic drops debut album ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’
More than eight months after Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak announced their long-awaited collaborative project, An Evening With Silk Sonic is just as delightful as expected.
Aided only by Thundercat and Bootsy Collins on the fourth track “After Last Night,” the pair’s debut album puts a modern revitalization of 70s soul, funk and R&B on full display. As both artists have roots in the LP’s underlying genres, their talent is evidently unquestioning.
“Me and Andy come from the school of performing and playing live instruments. This fear of ‘we’ll never be able to play live again’ comes into play. And to take that away from guys like us, that’s all we know. So we’re thinking, all right, let’s put an album together that sounds like a show.”
Bruno Mars to Ebro Darden, via Apple Music
Touting live instrumentals to back the album’s “real feel,” the 9-track LP is fresh yet nostalgic in every way — packed with sultry jams and syrupy layers of retro soul. Paired with their show-stopping performances, Silk Sonic sizzles with each passing track — putting on a show well worth the wait.
The album’s four promotional singles, “Leave The Door Open,” “Skate,” “Smokin Out The Window” and the intro have allowed the dynamic duo to achieve No. 1 Billboard status with just one song to their name at that time.
After delays, uncertainty and a longstanding No. 1 hit, stream ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’ below!
Silk Sonic drops new single, music video ‘Smokin Out The Window’
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are approaching maximum power.
On Nov. 5, the duo referred to as Silk Sonic dropped their fourth collaborative single titled “Smokin Out The Window,” one week before their long-awaited album is set to release.
“Smokin Out The Window” lasts three minutes and 20 seconds, as Mars and Paak make spite sound as enchanting as ever. The pair go back-and-forth throughout the track sharing anecdotes about respective women they love who have treated them wrong, essentially crafting a “she belongs to the streets” anthem.
I thought that girl belonged to only me
But I was wrong (I was wrong)
‘Cause she belong to everybody, everybody (She belong)
Yeah, she belong to everybody
“Smokin Out The Window” — Silk Sonic
Over the timely horns and infectious drums, Silk Sonic continues to immaculately replicate a captivating 1970s/80s jazz and R&B sound. The music video reflects this inspiration as Anderson and Bruno share the camera with their background singers to accentuate the rich melodies on the track.
With visuals for three of the promotional singles taken care of, the next and final step for Silk Sonic is to release An Evening With Silk Sonic, the album fans of both artists have been dying for, which is expected to arrive on Nov. 12.
As we await the project, stream Silk Sonic’s latest single “Smokin Out The Window” below!
Silk Sonic to drop single ‘Smokin Out The Window’ Friday ahead of new album
As anticipation continues to build toward An Evening With Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak decided to gift their fans one more treat before releasing their full-length debut project.
On Monday (Nov. 1), the duo announced their new song “Smoking Out The Window” will drop this upcoming Friday, Nov. 5.
The video attached to this announcement purposefully did not have sound, so it remains to be seen what type of vibe Mars and .Paak will look to achieve. This release will make it a total of four promotional singles that Silk Sonic has released since announcing their formation.
.Paak also had some news regarding his music away from Silk Sonic, announcing his new record label ApeShit Tuesday (Nov. 2) via a social media press conference. The label is in joint partnership with Universal Music Group, as Paak can be seen taking questions from the fictional press in its announcement video.
As ApeShit looks to bolster its appeal in the industry with Anderson’s eclectic taste and leadership, “APE” or “Anderson .Paak Empire” will be focusing on finding artists who can play instruments and have that “raw talent” he’s looking for. Paak’s empire will be based in Los Angeles, as details have yet to be shared on the label’s initial signings.
“I wanted to start a label that sets fire to a new generation of artists, who can play while performing. This label is going to be about passion, about feeling, about honesty. It’s about respect for the culture and art and it’s about heart. The label will look to raise the bar on music with its selection of artists, no gimmicks, no button-pushing, just raw talent.”
Anderson .Paak via press release
This story will be updated
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak to drop Silk Sonic album Nov. 12
The twists and turns of Silk Sonic have finally led to a light at the end of the tunnel. On Friday (Oct. 8), Bruno Mars‘ birthday, Anderson .Paak took to Twitter to wish his bandmate a happy birthday, and to unveil the release date for their highly-anticipated collab album.
Up until this point, Silk Sonic fans have endured the tough journey of a dragging rollout and a disappointing delay.
21st Century pop icon Bruno Mars and multi-faceted R&B genius Anderson .Paak united on Feb. 25 of this year to announce their new band Silk Sonic, and their upcoming collaborative album, An Evening with Silk Sonic.
The album was originally slated for this fall, and since the group formed they have released three promotional singles, with one just being the quaint album intro.
On March 5, they released their breakout single “Leave The Door Open,” a remarkable introduction to the star-power of Silk Sonic. The song soon peaked to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and took the country by storm as they seemingly performed it at every award show possible, including The Grammys, BET Awards and iHeart Radio Music Awards.
Silk Sonic would not release their following single “Skate” until July 30, after the momentum from their smash hit died down a bit. While the track is a groovy, glamorous romantic cut, fans already had their sights set on the full-length project.
In August, to the dismay of many, the band delayed their album to January 2022, so they could focus on honing their sound and not just being a fad.
But, it seems that Silk Sonic feels confident in their work, and we are now officially five weeks away from their debut album. It has been a long time coming, but the moment pop, R&B and generally all music fans have been waiting all year for is finally approaching.
INSTAGRAM IS DOWN BUT THE PRE SAVE IS UP! 👉🏾 https://t.co/jU3BKMAW2j pic.twitter.com/tH3w4UHCeC
— lil Hercules (@AndersonPaak) October 8, 2021
