when The Lion King The soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 album chart in 1994, not only the first No. 1 for Walt Disney Records, but the first soundtrack from a fully animated film to ever reach the top spot.
The album – with songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and scored by Hans Zimmer – topped the Billboard 200 on July 16, 1994 in just its fourth week on the chart. It racked up 10 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and remained in the weekly top 40 for more than a year.
During The Lion KingThe album charted on the Billboard 200, the album spawned hits “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (No. 4 peak on the Billboard Hot 100) and John's “Circle of Life” (No. 18). The former marked John's highest unaccompanied Hot 100 hit since 1988, when “I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That” peaked at No. 2.
The Lion King it proved so popular that it ended 1994 as the year's best-selling album in the US, according to Luminate, with 4.9 million copies sold that year. The success of the soundtrack coincided with the film's impressive position at the box office. The Lion King closed 1994 as the highest-grossing film at the US and Canadian box office, with $295.7 million earned that year.
In March 1995, John and Rice won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, marking the first nomination and win for John and the second win for Rice. The two were largely competing against themselves, as were three of the five candidates The Lion King The songs they wrote – “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata” also made the cut. Zimmer also won his first Oscar, for best original score.
On the Billboard 200 dated April 29, 1995, a few weeks after the Oscars and the film's home video release, The Lion King returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for its 10th and final week at the top, more than seven months after it last topped the chart.
In the years since then The Lion KingSince its release, Walt Disney Records has produced 10 more No. 1 soundtracks on the Billboard 200, including chart-toppers from Pocahontas, High School Musical, Frosted and Encanto.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/the-lion-king-number-1-billboard-200-chart-rewind-1994-1235731818/
