With 76.14%, Madonna has taken the lead. The musical icon who got her start in the 80s and who many predicted was a flash in the pan is still going strong decades later. Madonna has her dedicated fans and her pre-orders were reported to be in the 60K range two months prior to release. If Madonna manages to hold the lead, this will be her 9th number one album. The only woman with more number one albums than that is Barbara Streisand.
But, Madonna is not a lock. If she is upset, it will likely be by the cast recording from the new series phenom, Empire. Empire has set industry pundits a-talking by its almost constant increase in viewers and in the demo. This is virtually unheard of these days where your pilot tends to get your best numbers and TV ratings aren’t what they used to be. Cookie is a break-out character and FOX finally has another hit on its hands. And the music is pretty commercial. Unlike many other recent shows with a musical theme, Empire is actually getting tracks played on the radio. So, it’s not surprising that Empire is trying to log the first number one album from a television show since 2010 (guess which television show last managed that – Glee! Back when it was a phenom and before it became a train wreck where the writers became convinced that chasing away viewers was their job). The combined chart will sort out the winner.
Luke Bryan represents the Country crowd with his latest Spring Break album. Man, has that guy found a successful lane to work. Every year, another hit. That means debuts are holding down the top tree spots. Never to be one to stray far from the top, Taylor is 4th, Fifty Shades of Grey shows staying power a month later at 5th, Drake has legs at 6th, Sam & Ed are too British Buddies that can always be found together on the chart (this week Sam is one spot above Ed) and Now 53 (featuring a track from X-Factor’s One Direction) is 9th. Last week’s number one and Idol’s first winner, Kelly Clarkson, slides to 10th.
Olly Murs, to my surprise, has a new album he released last week and the X-factor alum is set to finish in the top 29. Not bad considering his singles haven’t gotten a lot of traction on the US market recently. Carrie Underwood from Idol is at 41 and Maroon 5 represents the judges at 15th.
Chart Date: 02/17/2015
Last Updated: 03/16/2015 15:57:31
Status: Building 76.14%
LW TW Artist / Album Label Sales Index
— 1 MADONNA REBEL HEART INTERSCOPE 93,884
— 2 EMPIRE CAST SOUNDTRACK, SEASON 1 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX/COLUMBIA 82,839
— 3 LUKE BRYAN SPRING BREAK… CHECKIN’ OUT CAPITOL NASHVILLE 77,291
3 4 TAYLOR SWIFT 1989 BIG MACHINE 31,838
2 5 FIFTY SHADES OF GREY SOUNDTRACK REPUBLIC 30,156
4 6 DRAKE IF YOU’RE READING THIS, IT’S TOO LATE YMCMB/REPUBLIC 24,826
9 7 SAM SMITH IN THE LONELY HOUR CAPITOL 22,605
7 8 ED SHEERAN X ATLANTIC 22,195
10 9 NOW 53 VARIOUS ARTISTS NOW/LEGACY 20,693
1 10 KELLY CLARKSON PIECE BY PIECE RCA 20,327
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16 15 MAROON 5 V 222/INTERSCOPE 13,922
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— 29 OLLY MURS NEVER BEEN BETTER EPIC 6,213
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48 41 CARRIE UNDERWOOD GREATEST HITS: DECADE #1 19/ARISTA NASHVILLE 4,057
Hits Daily Double
