Dolly Parton Scores the Biggest Album Debut Sales Week of Her Career With 'Rockstar'

Seven decades into her unmatched career, global superstar Dolly Parton lands her biggest album debut ever as the 30-track, star-studded Rockstar collection debuts at #1 on six different Billboard charts.

With 127,778 units sold in its inaugural week, Parton’s Rockstar debuts at #1 on Billboard Top Rock Albums, #1 on Billboard Top Rock & Alternative Albums, #1 on Billboard Top Country Albums, #1 on Billboard Top Album Sales, #1 on Billboard Top Current Album Sales, and #1 on Billboard Independent Albums charts.

The album also debuted at #2 on Billboard Vinyl Albums and #2 on Billboard Tastemaker Albums charts. Released on Parton’s own Butterfly Records with worldwide distribution via Big Machine Label Group, Rockstar joins Drake’s For All The Dogs – Scary Hours Edition and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in the overall top 3, marking Parton’s career-best rank on the all-genre list. 

Rockstar also becomes Parton’s biggest debut week ever and biggest sales week in 30 years, since 1993’s Platinum-selling Slow Dancing With The Moon logged 50,000 units in its second chart week. With its #1 debut on Billboard Country Albums, the album also becomes Parton’s 48th top 10 entry on Billboard Country Albums and eighth #1, extending the Rock & Roll and Country Music Hall of Famers’ record on that tally for most top 10 albums by a female artist.

The album extends Parton’s run of #1s on Billboard Country Albums to 46 years—from 1977’s Here You Come Again to present—a record she claimed in 2020 with the #1 debut of A Holly Dolly Christmas and now furthers with Rockstar.

“Wow, this is a big thrill!” exclaims Parton. “I owe a thank you to the fans who have always been there for me. Their support made this achievement possible. I’d also like to thank my producer Kent Wells, all the wonderful artists, musicians, and engineers who brought their talents to this project.”

Parton’s Rockstar first-week worldwide sales have topped 143,000 units, highlighted with a top 5 debut in the UK, Parton’s first top 10 debut in Germany, a #1 debut in Canada on both Country Albums and Current Digital Album Sales chart, a #2 debut in Canada on the Current Album Sales chart, a #2 debut on the Digital Albums chart in Australia, a #3 debut on the Country Albums chart in Australia, a #2 debut in Switzerland, and more ex-US debuts still to be announced.

Parton’s massive global campaign for Rockstar featured a halftime performance at the Dallas Cowboys Red Kettle Kickoff game on Thanksgiving Day, where in advance of the performance, Parton surprised Dallas Cowboys’ Charlotte Jones with a donation of $1 million dollars to the Salvation Army. Additionally, Parton’s appearance in the game helped it become the third most-viewed regular-season game in NFL history with a 44 million viewership peak.

“Words can’t describe how proud I am that Dolly trusted us to deliver her Rockstar vision,” says Danny Nozell, Parton’s longtime manager and CEO/CTK Enterprises & NOZ Entertainment Soundstages. “I want to thank my Butterfly Records global marketing team of Kyle McClain, Steve Ross, John Zarling, Kelly Ridgway, Olly Rowland, global publicist Marcel Pariseau, and the teams at Marbaloo and TDS. I also want to recognize my entire CTK Enterprises staff for the sleepless nights bringing this vision to life. Additionally, a thank you to the best partners in the world—Scott Borchetta, Mike Rittberg, Julian Raymond, and the Big Machine family for their hard work and team effort.”

Parton’s Rockstar project is available in multiple digital and physical versions. With ten options for retailers across the globe, Rockstar is available in black, gold, clear, red, Smoky, silver, purple, white, pink, and blue vinyl variants.

Additionally, a standard 2-disc CD, UT Vols 2-disc CD (featuring a live version of “Rocky Top”), Dallas Cowboys 2-disc CD, HSN exclusive 2-disc CD (featuring bonus tracks “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Mama Never Said,” and “Rockin’ It”), and a TalkShopLive exclusive double cassette offering are in the market. During the album’s release week, Parton surprised fans with an exclusive digital download of the Rockstar album featuring two additional bonus tracks (“Two Tickets To Paradise” and “Jolene” featuring Måneskin) via her website. Access digital and physical versions still available here.

Photo Courtesy of Butterfly Records. Photo by Vijat Mohindra.

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