- It debuted #1 on the Billboard album chart, was #1 for 12 weeks, and stayed in the Top 10 for 51 total weeks. It was also #1 on the Billboard Year End album chart for 1988.
- It also topped the album charts in the UK, Canada, Europe, The Netherlands, Spain, and Zimbabwe, and reached the Top 10 on the album charts in nine other countries.
- It was the first album by a white solo artist to reach #1 on the Billboard R&B Album chart.
- Michael had four #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 from the album: the title track, "Father Figure," "Monkey," and "One More Try." This made him the first (and still the only) British male solo artist to have four #1s from the same album. The two other singles released in the U.S. from the album, "I Want Your Sex" and "Kissing a Fool," merely went to #2 and #5. If you're counting, that's 6 Top 5 songs from the same album.
- The album eventually went diamond in the U.S. and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, putting it among approximately the Top 50 best-selling albums ever.
- It won various Grammys and AMAs.
- The album was ranked #151 on Rolling Stone's most recent 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list.
My first concert ever was George Michael at Alpine Valley in September 1988. I won tickets on the radio, swearing on air in excitement in the process. My mom took me to the show. I had to have the awkward conversation on the drive up there to let her know there was a song called "I Want Your Sex." Good times.
I'm going with the video to "Faith," which was the second single release from the album and was a worldwide smash. The video is also iconic with Michael in his aviators and leather jacket, shaking his ass while he's pretending to play a guitar. In retrospect, I don't know how none of us knew he was gay until years later. Anyway, it's a great pop song with some '50s rock and rockabilly influences.
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