3121 is the thirty-first studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on March 21, 2006. 3121 was released by NPG Records and distributed, under a "1-Album Deal", by Universal Music. 3121 reinforced Prince's big comeback after the release of critical success of Musicology. It became the first Prince album ever to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, with over 180,000 copies sold in its first week. It knocked the soundtrack for High School Musical off the top spot, and became Prince's first number one album since Batman in 1989. Eventually it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Album information
The album's first single, "Te Amo Corazón", was released in the United States on December 13, 2005, and debuted at number 20 on the VH1 countdown; the second single, "Black Sweat", was released on February 2, 2006. The album title refers to Prince's rental home at 3121 Antelo Rd, Los Angeles. Even before it was formally rented, he had begun recording the title song with lyrics "3121, gonna be so much fun". Later homes rented by Prince were colloquially referred to as "3121", including the Carlos Boozer home, but this album was not recorded at Boozer's 1235 Sierra Alta Way address, which Prince did not move to until this album was completed. Album sessions started in November 2004 with the recording of the song "3121" at Paisley Park with Michael Bland and Sonny T. Ostensibly inspired by the 1964 children's novelCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, Prince included a limited number of "purple tickets" with the album. Lucky winners who found tickets were flown in from Europe, Asia, Mexico and the US to attend a semi-private performance at Prince's home in Los Angeles. 3121 reinforced Prince's big comeback after the release of 2004's Musicology. It became the first Prince album ever to debut at number 1, with 183,436 sold in its first week. It knocked the soundtrack for High School Musical off the top spot and became Prince's first number 1 album since 1989's Batman. Eventually it was certified Gold by the RIAA.
