Songwriter, iconic pop star, and record producer, David Bowie, released his final album, “Blackstar,” Jan. 8. With only seven songs including “Blackstar” and “Lazarus,” the album was an immediate hit with fans.

With a clever use of sounds and styles including jazz and electronic, “Blackstar” takes on a different side of the artist; slightly darker and more personal.

While he suspected only a month or two to live after an eighteen month battle with cancer, Bowie and his producer, Toni Visconti, cranked out his “goodbye” album. The album’s dark tones and lyrics hint toward Bowie’s illness and how it had taken over his family life and career.

“I know something’s very wrong. The pulse returns to prodigal.”  Bowie said in his song, “I Can’t Give Everything Away.”

This new side of the well-loved artist hits hard on an emotional level and leaves listeners pondering what it was like for Bowie to make this album; was it a sense of closure, or was it bitter?

The quality of overall sound at first sounds a little messy compared to Bowie’s early albums that contributed to his rise to fame, such as “The Man Who Sold the World,” but once Bowie starts singing, it comes together and shows Bowie’s true colors.

Since the beginning of Bowie’s career, bold has been his staple. Bowie has never failed to produce music for himself and for his fans. In 1972, the iconic “Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” was released as his fifth studio album. In the album, Bowie creates, Ziggy Stardust, a fictional rock star. “Blackstar” has definitely kept this theme of originality and created a legacy that no one could ever follow.

Bowie’s 28th album was an immediate #1 on iTunes, and finished his career with success. Nearly creating a whole new disposition, David Bowie’s “Blackstar” will be a classic and a favorite for years to come.