Grammys Push Adele & Beyonce Back to Top 10 on Billboard 200, Plus More Grammys Chart Impact
The 59th Annual Grammy Awards shine brightly on Billboard's newest charts (dated March 4), following the first tracking week of impact after the Feb. 12 show, which aired live on CBS TV. The latest…
The 59th Annual Grammy Awards shine brightly on Billboard’s newest charts (dated March 4), following the first tracking week of impact after the Feb. 12 show, which aired live on CBS TV. The latest charts reflect the sales and streaming tracking week ending Feb. 16 and boast big increases for performers and winners on the broadcast, including Adele, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Chance the Rapper, Keith Urban, Maren Morris and more. (Billboard’s March 4-dated charts will refresh to our websites on Feb. 22.)
Let’s take a look at some of the notable movers and shakers that were showcased on this year’s Grammys:
– Digital sales of the songs performed on the show (or the original versions of the songs that were covered on the show) increased by 140 percent to 547,000 downloads (up from 228,000) in the week ending Feb. 16. (Not included in those sums are Katy Perry’s “Chained to the Rhythm,” featuring Skip Marley, which was released two days before the Grammy Awards, so there is no previous-week comparison.)
– The biggest-selling song of the week also happens to be one that was performed on the show: Ed Sheeran’s recent release “Shape of You.” The track (atop the Billboard Hot 100 for a fourth week) tops the Digital Song Sales chart and sold 200,000 downloads — up 74 percent compared to the previous week (115,000).
– On-demand streams (audio and video combined) of songs performed on the show (or the original versions of the songs that were covered on the show) rose by 30 percent to 91.8 million (up from 70.8 million). (Not added into those figures: Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” which was covered by Bruno Mars on the show. Prince’s catalog of music released through Warner Bros. Records — which includes “Let’s Go Crazy” — only reached all streaming services on Feb. 12.)
– Adele’s 25, which won the album of the year award, returns to the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart, rising 21-6 with 47,000 equivalent album units earned for the week (up 137 percent). The former No. 1 album sold another 30,000 copies during the week (up 238 percent). It is the highest rank for the album in more than 10 months. It last was higher on the chart dated April 16, 2016, when it was No. 5.
– The 30,000 copies sold of 25 in the latest tracking week mark the album’s largest sales week since the week ending May 12, 2016, when it sold 34,000. 25 was the top-selling Grammy-winning album of the week (among all titles that won an album award in 2017). 25’s total sales in the U.S. now stand at 9.24 million.
– The 25 album generated 14.1 million on-demand audio streams of its songs during the new tracking week (up 39 percent).
– Adele also opened the show with a performance of 25’s lead single, the Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Hello.” The tune — which also won the awards for record and song of the year — garnered a 175 percent sales increase in the latest tracking frame (selling 21,000 downloads), while its on-demand streams rose by 53 percent (to 4.4 million).
– For the week, Adele’s catalog of albums sold 39,000 copies (up 198 percent), while her songs sold 82,000 downloads (up 68 percent) and generated 32.9 million on-demand streams (up 37 percent).
– Adele’s 25 was nominated for album of the year alongside Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Justin Bieber’s Purpose, Drake’s Views and Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. The five albums all gained in equivalent album units earned during the week ending Feb. 16, with a collective 136,000 units — a rise of 91 percent (up from 71,000). Combined, they sold 79,000 in traditional album sales — up 103 percent (from 39,000 sold).
– Adele’s tribute to George Michael on the Grammy Awards helped spur gains for Michael’s catalog of music. Adele performed Michael’s “Fastlove” in honor of the singer, who died on Dec. 25. Michael’s solo albums, along with those of his duo Wham!, earned 18,000 equivalent album units for the week (up 22 percent). Further, they sold 13,000 copies (up 12 percent). Michael and Wham!’s songs sold 29,000 downloads (up 117 percent) while also generating 7.4 million on-demand streams (up 28 percent).
– Beyoncé, who won two Grammy Awards at the ceremony and performed two songs from her Lemonade album, also garnered a big boost in sales and streams. Her catalog of albums earned a 75 percent gain in equivalent album units earned for the week (rising to 59,000), while in terms of traditional album sales, they grew 196 percent (to 32,000). Beyoncé’s digital song sales jumped 26 percent (to 105,000), while her on-demand streams grew 14 percent (to 47.1 million).
– The Lemonade album itself returns to the Billboard 200’s top 10, climbing 33-9 with 38,000 units earned (up 190 percent). Of that sum, 29,000 were in traditional album sales (up 241 percent). Lemonade generated 1.4 million in on-demand audio streams for its tracks during the week (up 69 percent). Lemonade’s streaming number seems small (say, compared to Adele’s 25, with 14.1 million streams for its tracks) because Lemonade’s original album tracks are only available via the Tidal streaming service. (One of Lemonade’s tracks, however, is available to stream outside of Tidal – but only in a rerecorded form: “Daddy Lessons,” with Dixie Chicks.)
Other acts that benefit from a performance on the Grammy Awards include:
– Best new artist winner Chance the Rapper rises from No. 40 to No. 22 on the Billboard 200 with his streaming-exclusive album Coloring Book (which also won the trophy for best rap album). The set earned 22,000 equivalent album units for the week (up 87 percent), generating 33.3 million on-demand audio streams for its tracks (up 88 percent). On the Grammy Awards, Chance the Rapper performed two Coloring Book cuts: “How Great” and “All We Got.”
– Keith Urban sang his new single “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood, and the track drew a 574 percent sales gain (selling 45,000 downloads) and was up 372 percent in on-demand streams (to 1.7 million).
– Maren Morris – a best new artist nominee, performer, and winner for best country solo performance (“My Church”) – collected 19,000 equivalent album units for the week (up 165 percent), all for her major-label debut album Hero. Further, she also sold 49,000 song downloads (up 237 percent) and generated 6.4 million on-demand streams (up 57 percent). A sizable portion of her song downloads and streams were driven by the song “Once,” which she performed with Alicia Keys on the Grammy Awards. The tune, from Hero, sold 12,000 downloads (up from a negligible figure in the previous week), and drew 931,000 on-demand streams (up from just 86,000).
– Bruno Mars turned in two performances on the Grammy Awards: one of his current single “That’s What I Like,” and a cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” in tribute to the late icon. “That’s What I Like” was up 308 percent in downloads (to 85,000) and 99 percent in on-demand streams (to 9.5 million). Meanwhile, the parent album of “Like,” 24K Magic, rises from No. 7 to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 66,000 equivalent album units earned (up 108 percent).
– The Time performed its hits “Jungle Love” and “The Bird” — as part of a tribute to Prince, who co-wrote and produced both tracks — and earned a 129 percent gain in on-demand streams for its catalog of songs. In total, the band collected 320,000 streams for the week (up from 140,000 in the week before).
– A Tribe Called Quest nabbed a 32 percent gain in on-demand streams for the week (rising to 6.1 million) after the group performed a medley of “Award Tour,” “Movin’ Backwards” and “We the People.” The act’s most recent album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, rebounds 179-83 on the Billboard 200 chart, with 8,000 units (up 81 percent). The former No. 1 album features both “Movin’ Backwards” and “We the People.”