3121

For other uses, see 3121 (disambiguation).

3121 (pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one") is the thirty-first studio album by American musician Prince. Released on March 21, 2006 (3/21) by NPG Records and distributed, under a "one-album deal", by Universal Music, the album reinforced Prince's big comeback after the critical success of Musicology (2004). The only Prince album ever to debut atop the Billboard 200 during his lifetime, with over 180,000 copies sold in its first week,^[13] it knocked the soundtrack for High School Musical off the top spot and became Prince's first number one album since Batman in 1989,^[14] eventually being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[15]

3121
Studio album by Prince
Released	March 21, 2006
Recorded	November 2004 – early 2006[1]
Studio	Paisley Park, Chanhassen 3121
Genre	R&B funk rock electronica
Length	53:42
Label	NPG, Universal
Producer	Prince
Prince chronology
Musicology (2004) 3121 (2006) Ultimate Prince (2006)
Singles from 3121
"Te Amo Corazón" Released: December 20, 2005 "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" Released: January 2006 "Black Sweat" Released: February 7, 2006 "Fury" Released: June 27, 2006

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
Newsday	A[7]
Pitchfork	6.0/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	B[10]
Stylus Magazine	A−[11]
The Village Voice	A−[12]

Album information

The album's first single, "Te Amo Corazón", was released in the United States on December 13, 2005; the second single, "Black Sweat", was released on February 2, 2006.^[16]

The album title refers to Prince's rental home at 3121 Antelo Rd, Los Angeles. ^[17] Later homes rented by Prince were colloquially referred to as "3121", including a home owned by professional basketball player Carlos Boozer.^[18]

Album sessions started in November 2004 with the recording of the song "3121" at Paisley Park with Michael Bland and Sonny T.^[19]

A limited number of albums included "purple tickets", whose finders were flown in from Europe, Asia, Mexico and the US to attend a semi-private performance (along with a long list of celebrities) at Prince's home in Los Angeles.^[20]

Tickets for the Earth tour in 2007 in London's O2 arena were priced at £31.21, echoing the title of this album.^[21]

Track listing

3121 track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"3121"	4:31
2.	"Lolita"	4:06
3.	"Te Amo Corazón"	3:35
4.	"Black Sweat"	3:12
5.	"Incense and Candles"	4:04
6.	"Love"	5:45
7.	"Satisfied"	2:50
8.	"Fury"	4:02
9.	"The Word"	4:11
10.	"Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" (featuring Támar)	5:43
11.	"The Dance"	5:20
12.	"Get On the Boat"	6:18

All tracks are written by Prince

Personnel

• Michael Bland (on "3121"), Cora Coleman Dunham (on "Te Amo Corazón," "Get On the Boat") – drums
• Sonny T (on "3121"), Joshua Dunham (on "Te Amo Corazón," "Get On the Boat") – bass
• Maceo Parker, Candy Dulfer, Greg Boyer and Ray – horn section
• Herbert Urena, Ricky Salas (on "Te Amo Corazón"), Sheila E. (on "Get On the Boat") – percussion
• Clare Fischer – string arrangements
• The New Power Generation (shouts), Támar (and co-lead on "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed") – additional and backing vocals
• Prince – all other instruments and voices

Technical

• Produced by Prince
• Photo: Afshin Shahidi
• Designer: Sam Jennings
• Recorded at Paisley Park Studios and 3121
• Engineered by Ian Boxill, L. Stu Young
• Assisted by Lisa Chamblee Hampton
• Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for 3121 Chart (2006) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 18 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 15 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 15 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 24 French Albums (SNEP)[29] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 4 Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[32] 5 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[33] 13 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[34] 40 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 18 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[37] 9 US Billboard 200[38] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[39] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for 3121 Chart (2006) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 75 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[41] 53 French Albums (SNEP)[42] 193 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 97 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 60 US Billboard 200[45] 134 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[46] 46

Certifications

Certifications for 3121

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47]	Gold	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[48]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)[49]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Album: 3121 - Prince Vault".
2. "3121 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: 3121 > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
4. Catucci, Nick (March 21, 2006). "The purple sex machine comes to reclaim pop prominence". Blender. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
5. Fiore, Raymond (March 20, 2006). "3121 (2006): Prince". Entertainment Weekly. Time. ISSN 1049-0434. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
6. Cromelin, Richard (March 19, 2006). "The doves can stop crying now". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
7. Gamboa, Glenn (March 20, 2006). "Backstage Pass: Prince, "3121"". Newsday. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
8. Tangari, Joe (March 20, 2006). "Prince: 3121". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
9. Christgau, Robert (April 6, 2006). "Prince's New Sensation". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
10. Hermes, Will (May 2, 2006). "Prince: 3121". Spin. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
11. Inskeep, Thomas (March 31, 2006). "Prince: 3121". Stylus. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
12. Christgau, Robert (May 2, 2006). "Consumer Guide: Dear Mr. President". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 2, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
13. Jason Draper (November 2016). Prince: Life and Times: Revised and Updated Edition. Book Sales. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-0-7858-3497-7.
14. Orloff, Brian (March 29, 2006). "Prince's "3121" Tops the Chart". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
15. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
16. "3121". Prince Vault. August 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
17. Matt Thorne (October 2, 2012). Prince. Faber & Faber. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-0-571-27326-3.
18. Richardson, Brenda. "For $30 Million, The Los Angeles Mansion That Prince Painted Purple Could Be Yours". Forbes.
19. Amendola, Billy (August 2008). "Michael Bland Interview". Modern Drummer.
20. Jason Draper (November 2016). Prince: Life and Times: Revised and Updated Edition. Book Sales. pp. 171–. ISBN 978-0-7858-3497-7.
21. "Prince 21 Nights at the O2 in London - 10 years on from the greatest show on Planet Earth". August 3, 2017.
22. "Australiancharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
23. "Austriancharts.at – Prince – 3121" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
24. "Ultratop.be – Prince – 3121" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
25. "Ultratop.be – Prince – 3121" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
26. "Danishcharts.dk – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
27. "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – 3121" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
28. "Prince: 3121" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
29. "Lescharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – 3121" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
31. "Italiancharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
32. "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
33. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 3, 2006.
34. "Spanishcharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
35. "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
36. "Swisscharts.com – Prince – 3121". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
37. "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
38. "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
39. "Prince Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
40. "Jaaroverzichten 2006". Ultratop. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
41. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2006". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
42. "Top de l'année Top Albums 2006" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
43. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
44. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2006". hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
45. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
46. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('3121')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
48. "British album certifications – Prince – 3121". British Phonographic Industry.
49. "American album certifications – Prince – 3121". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• 3121 countdown and contest details
• 3121 at Metacritic