Following the premiere of HBO’s Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the legendary artist sees a resurgence in chart success as fans rediscover classics like The Stranger and The Hits. Musician Billy Joel performs onstage during the first Farm Aid benefit concert at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois, September 22, 1985. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
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Ever since HBO began unveiling its docuseries Billy Joel: And So It Goes in July, the piano player and singer-songwriter’s catalog has been benefiting from the production. The two-part program caused millions of people around the world to turn to streaming platforms and digital download sites to listen to Billy Joel’s most famous tracks, the ones that made him a superstar decades ago, and which helped him continue one of the longest and most successful concert residencies of all time.
This week in America, Joel scores a pair of charting albums as one declines and the other surges back onto multiple tallies.
Billy Joel’s The Hits Returns
Joel’s compilation The Hits, which of course features many of his most famous singles, reappears on two Billboard rosters. The project reenters the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart at No. 44, and it’s back on the Billboard 200 — the ranking of the most consumed projects regardless of style — at No. 173.
The Hits Has Lived on the Billboard Charts for Months
The Hits has now spent 36 weeks on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, and it previously peaked at No. 30, back in 2018. The set has racked up 29 stays on the Billboard 200, climbing as high as No. 34.
The Stranger Hangs On
Joel fills two spaces on both rankings where The Hits returns, as his traditional studio album The Stranger is still present, though it does fall from where it landed just days ago. The Stranger drops 10 spaces to No. 41 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart and more than 20 on the Billboard 200, where it declines to No. 160.
The Stranger Reached its Peak Last Week
The Stranger reached its all-time peak of No. 31 just last week on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums list – one spot beneath where The Hits climbed to. The Stranger has only spent about half as many frames on the tally, however, as it’s up to just 17 stays on the roster.
The Stranger Vs. The Hits
On the Billboard 200, however, The Stranger is far more successful than the singles compilation. The album has racked up 143 turns on the competitive list and missed out on becoming a No. 1 by just one space.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/08/22/billy-joels-fan-favorite-album-returns-to-multiple-charts-at-once/
