Hits/The Hits

Lore & Background

Discs one and two were released separately under the titles The Hits 1 and The Hits 2, but the B-Sides disc could only be obtained by purchasing the full set. All were released on the same day. Most songs are in edited single form, with exceptions including 'Alphabet St.', '7', 'Little Red Corvette', 'Sexy MF', 'Let's Go Crazy', and 'Purple Rain'. The compilation marks the first time the single version of 'Kiss' was made available on CD.

The third disc of B-sides featured 7-inch edits, with exceptions such as '200 Balloons', '17 Days', and others which were original full-length recordings. Among previously unreleased material was a rare live version of '4 the Tears in Your Eyes' from the 1985 Live Aid broadcast, and a live version of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' recorded January 27, 1992, at Paisley Park with the New Power Generation. Other new tracks were outtakes: 'Power Fantastic' (considered for the Dream Factory project of 1986), 'Pink Cashmere' (dating to 1988 for the abandoned Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic project), 'Peach' (played on the Act I Tour in 1993), and 'Pope' (played live during some 1993 after shows and part of the ballet Glam Slam Ulysses).

Reader's Guide

The album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 the week of October 2, 1993, with more than 87,000 copies sold combining the two abbreviated versions, Hits 1 and Hits 2. The next week it dropped to number 32 and was on the chart for 18 weeks. Following Prince's death, the album sold 40,000 equivalent copies (24,000 in pure album sales) and re-entered at number 6, then sold 106,000 units and hit a new peak of number 4. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on September 14, 1993, for shipments of one million. As of April 2016, Hits 1 sold 1,451,000 copies and Hits 2 sold 1,738,000 units in the US. In the UK, the album debuted and peaked at number 4 the week of September 25, 1993, and was certified gold by the BPI on July 22, 2013, denoting shipments of 100,000 units.