‘Bluey’ Bounds Onto Kid Albums Chart With Orchestral Release ‘Up Here’

Bluey: Up Here (The Orchestral Album) debuts at No. 3 on Billboard’s Kid Albums chart (dated May 2), scoring the animated series and pop culture phenomenon its fourth charting project on the ranking. Credited to series composer Joff Bush and The Bluey Music Team, the album also jumps 11-2 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart, notching a third week at its No. 2 peak.

Kid Albums ranks the week’s most popular kid albums in the United States, by equivalent album units, according to Luminate. The latest chart reflects the tracking week ending April 23.

The chart surge is owed to Bluey: Up Here’s release on zoetrope vinyl picture disc via independent record stores for Record Store Day on April 18. The set was initially released March 27 via streaming services, and for purchase on download, CD and vinyl.

Bluey: Up Here is the fourth Bluey album to reach the Kid Albums chart, following a trio of chart-toppers since 2021: Bluey: Rug Island, Bluey: Dance Mode! and Bluey: The Album, each spending a week at No. 1.

“This was our most ambitious album to date,” Bush says of Bluey: Up Here in a press statement, “so we wanted something extra special — something we’ve wanted to make for a long time. Orchestral music can be emotionally powerful and to be introducing kids and families to this music is an opportunity I treasure. Hearing the music from episodes like ‘Sleepytime’ and ‘The Sign’ in all its orchestra splendour meant tissues needed to be on hand throughout the mixing process.”

“Fittingly, the theme of this album is ‘growing up’. Much of this music, like the episodes they derive from, explore what it means when kids start to discover their independence and venture out on their own. Whether that’s learning to sleep in their own bed or taking a spaceship to Mars. I hope you enjoy Up Here, as the opportunity I had to make this album is thanks to YOU! Your wonderful support of the music in Bluey has allowed us to take it to new heights.”

Bluey, which follows Bluey (a lovable and tireless blue heeler dog who lives with her mom, dad and little sister Bingo), is produced by Ludo Studio for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and BBC Studios Kids & Family. In the United States, Bluey airs and streams across Disney Channel, Disney Jr. and Disney+ through a global broadcasting deal between BBC Studios & Family and Disney Branded Television.

The success of Bluey has continued to expand into new arenas thanks to its Disney partnership, with the TV special Bluey’s Big Play – The Stage Show (premiered March 16 on Disney+), a live stage show Bluey’s Best Day Ever! at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California (premiered March 22), Disney Cruise Line experiences with Bluey and Bingo, and Bluey activities and encounters at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Bluey: Up Here isn’t the only debut in the top five on the latest Kid Albums chart: The beloved Peanuts gang notches another chart entry with the No. 4 arrival of Vince Guaraldi’s It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown / Charlie Brown’s All Stars.

The soundtrack project bows thanks to its double vinyl release for Record Store Day, with a baseball-shaped disc containing the Arbor Day music, and a baseball glove-shaped disc containing the All Stars tracks. The set commemorates the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the CBS-TV specials Charlie Brown’s All Stars (premiered June 8, 1966) and It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (premiered March 17, 1976). The latter was the 15th and final Peanuts special jazz great Guaraldi composed and performed before his death on Feb. 6, 1976.

A trio of familiar favorites round out the week’s top five on the Kid Albums chart. The Moana soundtrack is steady at No. 1, the Encanto (Highlights) soundtrack is a non-mover at No. 3 and the Frozen II soundtrack falls 3-5.