Romain Virgo grabs his first number one

Romain Virgo grabs his first number one
Associated Press / Mark Humphrey, File

Reggae artist Romain Virgo scored a number one on Billboard’s reggae charts last week with his album “Lovesick.” It is not the first time the artist’s project has charted, but this was his highest rank yet. The thrilled singer said his latest album is his best yet, and the outcome of this achievement is a huge win, especially since his earlier shots at the chart never went beyond that, he said.

“It’s a blessing and something that I’m very happy and excited about,” said Romain Virgo. “I’ve tried a few times and some of them went to number 15 or seven, but none have to gone to number one. This is my first album to reach that and I’m happy about it because I feel like it’s my best to date, and the one I felt most confident about.”

He credits more dedication towards his music, and a clearer creative sense for the album’s reception and success. Previous albums combined several of his singles into one. But Virgo and his creative team went a different route, and it paid off.

“In terms of the work we put into this one album, we had a lot of direction and the songs were doing well put together — in my other projects they felt more like compilations,” he said. “This time around we didn’t look at the album to create each song as a single — our whole aim was to see if we could produce something with nothing but big songs.”

And fan reaction has been quite supportive. Songs such as “Still” and “Now” are a few of the tracks many love, and particularly “Trouble,” he added.

“My song ‘Trouble’ really stands out and it gets a lot of feedback — people truly support it,” said Virgo. “It’s a song that when you hear it, you naturally just feel like vibing to it and it’s been taking off.”

Virgo will be in the city this weekend making promotional stops and appearances on several local radio stations. And this June, he will make his debut at the annual Groovin’ in the Park concert at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens.

“I’m excited about doing ‘Groovin’ in the Park’ — it’s going to be my first time performing on that stage, and I’m hoping we carry that “Lovesick” vibe there too,” he said.

Reach reporter Alexandra Simon at (718) 260–8310 or e-mail her at asimon@cnglocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @AS1mon.