Album · 10 years old this year
★
Blackstar, stylised as ★, is David Bowie's twenty-sixth and final studio album, released on 8 January 2016, his 69th birthday. Following the more straightforward The Next Day (2013), it pushes further out. Bowie recorded it in secret in New York with longtime co-producer Tony Visconti and a band of local jazz players: Donny McCaslin on saxophone, Jason Lindner on piano, Tim Lefebvre on bass and Mark Guiliana on drums. It also includes "Lazarus", from the 2015 musical of the same name, and new versions of two 2014 songs.
What you hear is atmospheric art rock shot through with jazz, shaped in part by Bowie's listening to Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips. Many songs are voiced by the dead or dying. Bowie died two days after release, and the record was swiftly reread as a farewell. It topped charts in several countries, became his only US number one album, and won three Grammys and the Brit Award for British Album of the Year.
★: tracklist, credits and charts
7 tracks · 41:13Tracklist
- 1★David Bowie9:57
- 2’Tis a Pity She Was a WhoreDavid Bowie4:52
- 3LazarusDavid Bowie6:22
- 4Sue (or In a Season of Crime)Bateman, Bhamra, Bowie, Schneider4:40
- 5Girl Loves MeDavid Bowie4:51
- 6Dollar DaysDavid Bowie4:44
- 7I Can’t Give Everything AwayDavid Bowie5:47
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Tony Visconti
- Recorded at
- The Magic Shop (New York City), Human Worldwide (New York City), David Bowie's Home Studio
- Recorded
- January–May 2015
- Mixed by
- David Bowie, Tony Visconti
- Mixed at
- Electric Lady Studios
- Engineered by
- Kevin Killen, Tony Visconti
- Labels
- Columbia, ISO, Sony
- Length
- 41:13
Line-up
- Mark Guiliana · drums (drum set), sampler
- Tim Lefebvre · bass, guitar
- Jason Lindner · clavinet, Minimoog, Moog, organ, synthesizer
- Donny McCaslin · tenor saxophone, alto flute, concert flute, clarinet
- Ben Monder · guitar, acoustic guitar
- Tony Visconti · strings · guest
- David Bowie · background vocals, electric guitar, lead vocals, drum machine, harmonica
- Erin Tonkon · background vocals · guest
- James Murphy · percussion
Singles
- “Blackstar” · 19 November 2015
- “Lazarus” · 17 December 2015
- “I Can't Give Everything Away” · 6 April 2016
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2016 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2016 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2016 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) · 2016 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) · 2016 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) · 2016 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2016 | 1 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2016 | 1 |
| Czech Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 2016 | 1 |
All 33 charts
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) · 2016 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 2016 | 1 |
| German Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Irish Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 2016 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) · 2016 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) · 2016 | 1 |
| Polish Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 2016 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 2016 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 2016 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) · 2016 | 1 |
| US Alternative · 2016 | 1 |
| US Tastemaker · 2016 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI) · 2016 | 2 |
| Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) · 2016 | 2 |
| South Korean Albums International (Gaon) · 2016 | 2 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2016 | 4 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2016 | 5 |
| South Korean Albums (Gaon) · 2016 | 29 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2016 | Platinum |
| Austria · 2016 | Platinum |
| Belgium · 2016 | Platinum |
| Canada · 2016 | Platinum |
| Denmark · 2017 | Platinum |
| France · 2016 | 2× Platinum |
| Germany · 2023 | Platinum |
| Italy · 2016 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 2016 | Platinum |
| New Zealand · 2019 | Platinum |
| Poland · 2018 | Platinum |
| Portugal · 2018 | Gold |
| Spain · 2016 | Gold |
| Sweden · 2016 | Gold |
| Switzerland · 2018 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2016 | Platinum |
| United States · 2017 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
94.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
7.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
337k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
—
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 8 January
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David Bowie
1967
David Bowie
1969
The World of David Bowie
1970
The Man Who Sold the World
1970
Hunky Dory
1971
Do Anything You Say
1972
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
1972
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
1973
Images 1966–1967
1973
Aladdin Sane
1973
Pin Ups
1973
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1974
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1976
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1977
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1977
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1978
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1978
Lodger
1979
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1980
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
1980
The Best of Bowie
1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1981
ChangesTwoBowie
1981
In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal
1982
Rare
1982
Supergroups
1983
Serious Moonlight
1983
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1983
Let’s Dance
1983
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1983
Fame and Fashion (David Bowie’s All Time Greatest Hits)
1984
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1984
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1984
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1986
Never Let Me Down
1987
Glass Spider
1988
Sound + Vision
1989
Changesbowie
1990
Early On (1964–1966)
1991
Black Tie White Noise
1993
The Singles Collection
1993
The Buddha of Suburbia
1993
Live Santa Monica ’72
1994
RarestOneBowie
1995
1.Outside: The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle
1995
Earthling
1997
The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
1997
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1998
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1999
Liveandwell.com
2000
Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68–72
2000
All Saints (Collected Instrumentals 1977–1999)
2001
Heathen
2002
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2002
Reality
2003
Club Bowie: Rare and Unreleased 12″ Mixes
2003
Live EP (live at Fashion Rocks)
2005
The Collection
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Bowie 1965!
2006
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
2007
Outside / Earthling / Hours / Heathen / Reality
2007
iSELECT
2008
VH1 Storytellers
2009
Space Oddity
2009
A Reality Tour
2010
The Next Day
2013
Pin-Ups Radio Show
2013
The Next Day Extra EP
2013
Nothing has changed.
2014
Five Years 1969–1973
2015
Who Can I Be Now? 1974–1976
2016
Lazarus
2016
Legacy
2016
No Plan
2017
Live Nassau Coliseum ’76
2017
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74)
2017
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
2017
Welcome to the Blackout (live London ’78)
2018
Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
2018
Glastonbury 2000
2018
Conversation Piece
2019
Is It Any Wonder?
2020
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2020
I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
2020
The Width of a Circle
2021
Toy
2021
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
2021
Brilliant Adventure EP
2022
Toy E.P.
2022
Fun Mix
2022
Moonage Daydream: A Film by Brett Morgen
2022
Divine Symmetry
2022
Rock ’n’ Roll Star!
2024
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2025
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 8 January 2016 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 8 January 2016 | |
| Wikidata | 8 January 2016 | |
| US release | 8 January 2016 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 8 January 2016 | earliest UK or European date |
11 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2016 | XE | Columbia | 888751738713 | other |
| 8 January 2016 | JP | Sony Records International | 4547366257106 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | AU | Columbia | 0888751738621 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | XE | Columbia | 888751738621 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | CA | Columbia | 888751738621 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | HK | ISO Records | 888751738621 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | US | Columbia | 888751738621 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | US | Columbia | 888751888517 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | US | Columbia | 888751738713 | original |
| 8 January 2016 | JP | ISO Records | 4547366257106 | original |
| 24 March 2023 | XW | Rhino | 5054197573972 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |