Charlie Zaa has pulled a rare tropical double…
The 41-year-old Colombian tropical singer tops both Billboard’s Tropical Albums and Tropical Songs charts (dated Dec. 5), becoming only the second act to simultaneously top the charts this year.
Zaa’s new album, the Sergio George-produced Mi Mejor Regalo, soars 18-1 in its second week with 1,000 copies sold in the week ending Nov. 19, according to Nielsen Music.
The album debuted a week earlier after pre-street date sales pushed it onto the list early.
The 10-track set is a tropical tribute to Mexican singer-songwriter Joan Sebastian, who died earlier this year (July 13, 2015). The concept to record the songs, in Zaa’s typical bachata/bolero style, was already in the works prior to Sebastian’s death.
Mi Mejor Regalo gives Zaa his fourth chart-topping album, the first of which was earned in 1997 when Sentimientos spent 15 weeks at No. 1. It’s also his best-selling album in the U.S., with 326,000 sold. His most recent No. 1 was in 2011, when De Bohemia reached the peak and spent 61 weeks in the top 20.
Meanwhile, on the Tropical Songs airplay chart, Zaa’s “Un Idiota” rises 52 percent in spins during the tracking week ending Nov. 22, according to Nielsen Music, shooting the track 9-1 and earning Zaa his first No. 1 (of his seven total charted tracks – which includes three top 10s).
Other than Zaa, salsa singer Victor Manuelle is the only other artist to concurrently top both Tropical lists. In 2015, “Agua Bendita” and Que Suenen Los Tambores each held the highest rank on the charts dated May 9.
