Charts: Madonna Misses Number 1 For First Time Since 1998, As “Empire” Scores a Victory
Madonna’s “Rebel Heart” might have been number 1 if it weren’t for the soundtrack to the TV series “Empire.” When the numbers come in this afternoon at hitsdailydouble, “Rebel Heart” will be number 1 on the total chart, which counts streaming and all digital downloads. “Empire” will be number 1. “Empire” will also finish at number 1 on Billboard’s chart, as they now count everything, too.
Who could have guessed that “Empire” would come out of nowhere and steal all the attention in the culture? It’s out of left field, an ambush of sorts.
Madonna’s one consolation: she’ll be number 1 on the hitsdailydouble “regular” chart which is just CDs and digital downloads, but no counts from places like Spotify or Pandora. Some of Madonna’s sales will come from digital copies of “Rebel Heart” that came with concert tickets. But I’m told by various sources that those copies are not a big factor, not anything like they were two years ago for “MDNA.”
The rough numbers stack up like this: “Rebel Heart” will have a total of about 115,00 copies. “Empire” will have around 130,000 copies. Around 25,000 “Empire” sales come from streaming, however. But they count into that total, so in the end, Madonna does not debut at number 1 for the first time since 1998.
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