Hamilton Cast Album Sells 1.46 Million Copies, Becomes 5th Largest Selling Cast Recording

The original cast album of Hamilton: An American Musical has sold over 1.46 million copies since its release in September 2015.

According to Nielsen Music, which has been tracking album sales in the United States since 1992, the album from the beloved musical has already surpassed Jersey Boys on top of the best-selling cast albums. In comparison, Jersey Boys, which came out in 2005, has sold 1.445 million copies.

Hamilton Fever

Hamilton: An American Musical is currently the fifth largest-selling cast album in history. Still, the best-selling cast album with 4.279 million copies sold is the recording of the original London cast of The Phantom of the Opera. Wicked (2.72 million), Mamma Mia (1.71 million), and Les Miserables (1.66 million) occupy the second, third, and fourth spot respectively.

Also, the album surpassed the sales of the original cast recording for the musical Rent.

On the Billboard 200 albums chart, the album jumped to the 24th spot this week and has been on the chart for 124 consecutive weeks. It peaked at the number 3 spot in July 2016.

In November 2015, the album clinched the top spot on Billboard's Rap chart.

Last year, the Grammy-winning cast album also achieved a Triple Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America or RIAA. It reached double platinum in December 2016.

Created by Lin Manuel-Miranda, Hamilton debuted on Broadway in 2015. It has, since then, become a cultural phenomenon, gaining fans from high-profile celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Julie Andrews, and former U.S. President Barack Obama

Mixing hip-hop and rap with history, it is not hard to see why the musical became a massive hit. In an interview, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler explained why, despite the fact that Hamilton is essentially about history, it resonates with the audience.

"All of a sudden you're hearing text that maybe you studied 10 years ago or 30 years ago, but you're hearing a beat that makes you realize that the street is happening right now," he said. "And so all of a sudden, everybody started seeing history not hundreds of years ago but history as in, 'Oh, I know that person, he lives on my block,' or 'That's a leader I would follow today.'"

Hamilton won 11 trophies at the 2016 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer for Drama in the same year.

Tags

Hamilton, Les Miserables