Beyonce coasting toward No. 1 on the Billboard charts
A day after stealthily dropping her latest album, Beyoncé has risen to the top spot on iTunes in the U.S. -- and pretty much everywhere else.
As much of the country was tucking into bed Thursday night, the singer suddenly announced that her new album was suddenly available for purchase on Apple’s storefront.
The album, currently available as an iTunes exclusive, features 14 new tracks and 17 accompanying music videos that saw a staggering 80,000 downloads in just three hours after its release.
By Saturday, the album topped the iTunes chart in 100 countries and is soaring toward a No. 1 debut atop next week’s Billboard 200.
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On Nielsen SoundScan’s Building chart, the singer nabbed the top slot on Friday with just a few hours of sales under her belt. The Building chart, which tracks the first four days of SoundScan’s tracking week, is an indicator of what the final Billboard 200 chart will look like.
“The fact that the album is able to do this kind of early number, and without any set up or notice, speaks not only to her incredibly active fan base, but also to the immediacy of information and consumption,” Nielsen Senior Vice President David Bakula told Pop & Hiss.
Sales figures, through Sunday, will be reflected in Wednesday’s Soundscan data.
Next week, two of the album’s tracks will be simultaneously serviced as the album’s lead singles, according to a Billboard report.
The Pharrell Williams-produced disco-soul dazzler, “Blow,” is headed to Top 40 radio and the woozy, Jay Z assisted “Drunk in Love” for R&B/hip-hop stations. Bakula added that a number of songs from the album are already affecting the Mainstream R&B/Hip Hop and Adult R&B Building Charts.
The “visual” album is currently a digital-only release. A double disc CD/DVD will be available Dec. 21, and individual tracks will become available for download Dec. 20.
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