Bo Burnham’s ‘Inside (The Songs)’ Breaks Record for Most Weeks Spent at No. 1 on Comedy Albums Chart

Xander Zellner
·3 min read
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Bo Burnham makes history on Billboard’s latest charts (dated Nov. 25) as the soundtrack album to his Netflix comedy special Bo Burnham: Inside spends a record-breaking 122nd nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Comedy Albums chart.

The album surpasses Lil Dicky’s Professional Rapper to become the longest leading No. 1 comedy album in the chart’s 19-year history.

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Inside (The Songs), released June 10, 2021, via Imperial/Mercury Records/Republic Records, holds at No. 1 with 3,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest Nov. 10-16 tracking week, according to Luminate.

Here’s an updated look at the longest-reigning comedy albums, dating to the chart’s launch in 2004:

Most Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Comedy Albums Chart
Total weeks at No. 1, Artist, Title (Year Reached No. 1)

  • 122, Bo Burnham, Inside (The Songs) (2021)

  • 121, Lil Dicky, Professional Rapper (2015)

  • 49, Dane Cook, Retaliation (2005)

  • 34, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Mandatory Fun (2014)

  • 34, The Lonely Island, Turtleneck & Chain (2011)

  • 23, Flight of the Conchords, Flight of the Conchords Soundtrack (2008)

  • 22, The Lonely Island, Incredibad (2009)

  • 22, Dane Cook, Rough Around the Edges: Live From Madison Square Garden (2007)

  • 22, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Straight Outta Lynwood (2006)

  • 20, The Bob’s Burgers Music Album Soundtrack (2017)

(The chart was based on pure album sales from its October 2004 inception through January 2020, when it switched to a consumption-based methodology that ranks titles by equivalent album units, mirroring the formula used for the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.)

Inside (The Songs) debuted at No. 1 on Comedy Albums on the June 19, 2021-dated chart after just one day of tracking. Since the album first debuted, it has led the chart for all but six weeks — four of those were claimed by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers’ 1962 set The Original Monster Mash album thanks to annual Halloween gains for “Monster Mash.” The other instances were Mouse Rat’s The Awesome Album, the band led by Chris Pratt’s character Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation (in which Burnham guest starred in 2014) in November 2021, and Steel Panther’s On the Prowl in March 2023.

The album became Burnham’s fourth No. 1 on the Comedy Albums chart, after his 2009 self-titled LP, 2010’s Words Words Words, and 2014’s What. He also reached No. 3 on the chart in 2008 with his debut EP Bo Fo Sho. The only other artists with four-or-more No. 1s: Larry the Cable Guy (seven), Steel Panther (seven), Jim Gaffigan (six), “Weird Al” Yankovic (five), Nephew Tommy (five), The Lonely Island (five), Dane Cook (four), Doug Stanhope (four), Flight of the Conchords (four) and Patton Oswalt (four).

Inside (The Songs) also peaked at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart in 2021. It became Burnham’s first top 10, and the highest charting comedy album since Professional Rapper also reached No. 7 in 2015. The vinyl release of the set also helped the album reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart last year, making it the highest charting comedy album (excluding soundtracks) in the chart’s 12-year history.

Burnham created Inside from his Los Angeles home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to starring in the special and recording the music, he also directed, wrote, edited and filmed the special himself.

Burnham took home three Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021 for his work on Inside (among six total nominations): outstanding directing for a variety special, outstanding writing for a variety special and outstanding music direction. The song “All Eyes on Me” also took home the 2022 Grammy Award for best song written for visual media, while the Inside (Deluxe Box Set) recently earned a nomination for best boxed or special limited edition package for the upcoming 2024 Grammys.

Inside (The Songs) also finished as Billboard’s No. 1 year-end Comedy Album in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

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