Neil Diamond’s latest full-length Wild at Heart brings him to Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart for the first time as it becomes a bestseller. Neil Diamond portrait, London, 21st June 1971. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
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Neil Diamond’s latest release, Wild at Heart, is new to his fans, but the music featured on the project was not recorded recently, as the singer-songwriter has all but retired from making new music. He revealed that he would no longer play live in early 2018 after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and Wild at Heart was recorded in 2007 during sessions for another full-length, though the set was only released earlier this month.
Diamond’s Wild at Heart launches on a pair of Billboard charts this week, and it earns the celebrated performer his first appearance on a tally he’s never reached before.
Neil Diamond Debuts Wild at Heart on the Americana List
Wild at Heart opens at No. 15 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart. That list is centered around the most-consumed projects in those styles, with both sales and streams playing a role in where a title settles. Diamond claims one of only a pair of new arrivals on the 25-space tally. Ashley McBryde’s Wild, which has nothing to do with Diamond’s release, kicks off its time at No. 21.
Neil Diamond Reaches the Top 10 Again
Wild at Heart performs even better on a more competitive ranking, the Top Album Sales chart. On that list, which is not focused on any one style and which ranks releases based on total purchases – be they on a physical format or from a digital platform – Diamond debuts at No. 10 with his new set. According to Luminate, Wild at Heart sold just under 8,800 copies in its debut tracking period.
Neil Diamond Charts His Seventh Career Top 10
While Diamond appears on the Americana/Folk Albums chart for the first time, he has racked up more than two dozen appearances on the Top Album Sales list. Wild at Heart marks his seventh trip to the top 10 and his first new placement within that region in more than a decade. The last time a Diamond collection opened inside the top 10 on the most competitive sales ranking in the country was in November 2014, when Melody Road launched at No. 3.
Here are all of Diamond’s top 10s on the Top Album Sales chart.
SAN FRANCISCO – MARCH 1: Neil Diamond performs at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, Ca. on March 1, 1979. (Photo by Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images)
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- No. 1 – Home Before Dark
- No. 2 – Hot August Night/NYC: Live from Madison Square Garden
- No. 3 – Melody Road
- No. 4 – 12 Songs
- No. 8 – The Christmas Album
- No. 8 – Dreams
- No. 10 – Wild at Heart
Neil Diamond Trails Cortis, Josh Groban and More
Half of all the spaces within the Top Album Sales chart’s top 10 this week are filled by debuts. The list is ruled by K-pop boy band Cortis, which launches the GreenGreen EP at No. 1. Landing ahead of Wild at Heart are Social Distortion’s Born to Kill (No. 3), Josh Groban’s Cinematic (No. 6) and Vindicate by Black Veil Brides (No. 9).