Ultimate is a greatest hits album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on August 22, 2006, by Warner Bros. Records. The two-disc set contains a disc of some previously released hits (some in single edit form; only "My Name Is Prince" had not been on a previous hits collection), and another of extended remixes of hits and a B-side, most of which had only been previously released as 12-inch singles.
The album was originally slated to be released in North America on March 14, 2006, but was canceled just days before its release. This is likely due to Prince not wanting competition with his new 3121, scheduled to be released only one week later. However, promo copies of the album had already been sent to some retailers and were sold before the album's recall. A second release date of May 22 was proposed, but was again canceled and the album's future was unknown for a time. Three months later, it was officially released on August 22, 2006, to generally positive reviews.[3]
The album debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 the week of September 9, 2006; the next week it dropped to number one hundred twenty-three.[4][5] It remained on the chart for sixteen weeks.[6]
The week following Prince's death the album sold 40,000 units and hit a new peak of four on the Billboard 200 during the week of May 14, 2016; it was the first time that Ultimate rose into the top 10 of the chart.[7]
In the United Kingdom the album opened at number 24 on September 2, 2006; the next week, it fell to number 29 and left the chart three weeks later.[8] Almost one year later, it re-entered at number 6 during the week of August 11, 2007.[8] The week following Prince's death, the album re-entered on the chart at number 10 and the next week; on May 5, 2016, it reached and peaked at number three.[8]Ultimate remained on the UK Albums Chart for twenty seven weeks.[8] It was certified platinum by the BPI on January 24, 2014, denoting shipments of 300,000 units.[9]
A two disc promo version of Ultimate was sent to radio stations and record stores in Spring 2006. This version has a different track listing from the official release. The promo features a few songs not on the official release, though it excludes the "Let's Work" remix. The promo also presents the songs in rough chronological order as opposed to separating out the remixes. The two disc version is speculated to be the first track listing; Prince later changed the track listing to remove some of the explicit language.
