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Chart Watch Extra: Gaga's Nice Round Number

Posted Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:08pm PDT by Paul Grein in Chart Watch

The Fame Monster, the expanded version of Lady Gaga's blockbuster debut album The Fame, reached a milestone this week. The digital tracks from the album have sold a combined total of more than 25 million units. No other album has rung up such a hefty total in sales of its digital tracks.

I dug into the Nielsen/SoundScan site and found the 20 albums whose tracks have sold the most digital copies. (Again, this is not a ranking of album sales, but of the tracks from those albums.) Pop and dance music dominates the list, with Gaga joined by the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Fergie, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Timbaland, P!nk, Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson.

Rap holds down four of the 20 slots, thanks to T.I., Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Flo Rida. Contemporary R&B; accounts for three: Beyonce, Chris Brown and Akon. Country has two, both by Taylor Swift. Rock, surprisingly, has just one: Nickelback.

Expanded or deluxe editions have been released on most of these albums. In two cases, a song that was added to the deluxe edition of the album wound up as the best-selling song on the album. Rihanna's "Disturbia," which was added to Good Girl Gone Bad, has outsold even "Umbrella," her 2007 smash with Jay-Z. Likewise, Chris Brown's "Forever," which was added to Exclusive, has outsold "Kiss, Kiss," his 2007 hit with T-Pain.

("Bad Romance," which was added to The Fame, hasn't outsold Gaga's monster hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face," but it has sold more than 4 million copies, which is good even for Gaga.)

Taylor Swift has two of the top 20 titles. (So does Fergie, if you combine her solo album The Dutchess with the latest album by the Black Eyed Peas.)

The oldest album on the list is Michael Jackson's Thriller, which was released in December 1982. All of the other albums were released within the last five years, which makes sense because this is in the period in which digital song sales have exploded.

Here are the 20 albums whose tracks have sold the most combined copies. I show the month of release of the original version of the album. I also show all the tracks from the album that are included on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the 200 best-selling songs in digital history, along with their sales tallies as of this week. I hope some of your favorites made the list.

1. Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster, 25,054,000. Gaga's debut album was released in October 2008. It was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year for 2009. "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" were added to the deluxe edition. Top songs: "Just Dance" (featuring Colby O'Donis) (5,583,000), "Poker Face" (5,409,000), "Bad Romance" (4,111,000), "Paparazzi" (2,616,000), "Telephone" (featuring Beyonce) (2,384,000) and "Lovegame" (2,199,000).

2. The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D., 18,112,000. This was the Peas' fifth album; their third featuring their current line-up. It's the album by a group that has spurred the most digital track sales. It was released in June 2009 and was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year. Top songs: "I Gotta Feeling" (5,990,000), "Boom Boom Pow" (5,491,000), "Imma Be" (2,999,000), "Meet Me Halfway" (2,267,000).

3. Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, 17,081,000. This album, Rihanna's third, was released in June 2007. "Disturbia" and "Take A Bow" were added to the deluxe edition. Top songs: "Disturbia" (3,949,000), "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) (3,612,000), "Don't Stop The Music" (3,017,000), "Take A Bow" (2,369,000).

4. Taylor Swift, Fearless: Platinum Edition, 14,762,000. Swift's second studio album, released in November 2008, won the Grammy for Album of the Year for 2009. It's the country album that has spurred the most digital track sales. Top songs: "Love Story" (4,638,000), "You Belong With Me (3,335,000).

5. Fergie, The Dutchess: Deluxe, 13,214,000. Five songs from Fergie's solo debut album have sold more than 2 million digital copies each. Is, to this day, the only album that, in its originally released form, spawned five 2-million digital sellers. The album was released in September 2006. Top songs: "Big Girls Don't Cry" (3,549,000), "Fergalicious" (featuring will.i.am) (2,883,000), "Glamorous" (featuring Ludacris) (2,802,000), "Clumsy" (2,138,000) and "London Bridge" (2,115,000).

6. Nickelback, All The Right Reasons, 12,634,000. The Canadian pop/rock band's fifth album is the rock album that has spurred the most digital track sales. It was released in October 2005. Top songs: "Rockstar" (3,454,000), "Photograph" (2,427,000), "Far Away" (2,069,000).

7. Beyonce, I Am...Sasha Fierce: Deluxe Edition, 12,305,000. Beyonce's third solo studio album, released in November 2008, was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year for 2009. It's the contemporary R&B; album that has spurred the most digital track sales. Top songs: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" (4,142,000), "Halo" (2,518,000), "If I Were A Boy" (2,393,000).

8. T.I., Paper Trail, 11,936,000. The rapper's sixth album was released in September 2008. It's the rap album that has spurred the most digital track sales. It's also the album by a male solo artist that has spurred the most track sales. Top songs: "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna) (3,900,000), "Whatever You Like" (3,716,000), "Dead And Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake) (2,833,000).

9. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III, 11,674,000. The rapper's sixth solo album, released in June 2008, was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year. Top songs: "Lollipop" (featuring Static Major) (3,928,000), "A Milli" (1,847,000).

10. Katy Perry, One Of The Boys, 11,487,000. Perry's breakthrough album was released in June 2008. Top songs: "Hot N Cold" (4,440,000), "I Kissed A Girl" (3,828,000).

11. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, 10,591,000. Swift's debut album was released in October 2006. Top songs: "Our Song" (2,635,000), "Teardrops On My Guitar" (2,495,000).

12. Ke$ha, Animal, 10,340,000. Ke$ha's debut album was released in January 2010, making it the newest album on this list. Top songs: "TiK ToK" (5,028,000), "Your Love Is My Drug" (2,157,000), "Blah Blah Blah" (featuring 3OH!3) (1,870,000).

13. Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3, 9,865,000. This album, Jay-Z's 11th regular solo studio set, was released in September 2009. Top songs: "Empire State Of Mind" (with Alicia Keys) (3,832,000), "Run This Town" (with Rihanna and Kanye West) (2,500,000), "Young Forever" (with Mr. Hudson) (2,047,000).

14. Chris Brown, Exclusive-The Forever Edition, 9,820,000. Brown's sophomore album was released in November 2007. "Forever" was added to the deluxe edition. Top songs: "Forever" (3,077,000), "Kiss Kiss" (featuring T-Pain) (2,702,000), "With You" (2,250,000).

15. Timbaland, Timbaland Presents Shock Value, 9,146,000. Timbaland's second solo album was released in April 2007. Top songs: "Apologize" (featuring OneRepublic) (4,735,000), "The Way I Are (featuring Keri Hilson) (2,804,000), "Give It To Me" (featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake) (1,880,000).

16. Akon, Konvicted: Platinum Edition, 8,975,000. Akon's second album was released in November 2006. Top songs: "Smack That" (featuring Eminem) (2,987,000), "Don't Matter" (2,298,000), "I Wanna Love You" (featuring Snoop Dogg) (2,119,000).

17. Flo Rida, Mail On Sunday, 8,842,000. Flo Rida's debut album was released in March 2008. Top songs: "Low" (featuring T-Pain) (5,627,000), "In The Ayer" (featuring will.i.am) (1,894,000).

18. P!nk, Funhouse, 8,640,000. P!nk's fifth album was released in October 2008. Top songs: "So What" (3,937,000), "Sober" (1,860,000).

19. Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds: Deluxe Edition, 8,576,000. Timberlake's second solo album, released in September 2006, was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year. Top songs: "Sexyback" (featuring Timbaland) (3,468,000), "What Goes Around...Comes Around" (1,992,000), "My Love" (featuring T.I.) (1,935,000).

20. Michael Jackson, Thriller 25, 8,525,000. Jackson's classic album, released in December 1982, won the Grammy for Album of the Year for 1983. It was the former child star's second solo album as an adult. Top songs: "Thriller" (2,391,000), "Billie Jean" (1,925,000).

 

What albums just missed the cut? Here are the top five runners-up: Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster EP (8,470,000), Kanye West's Graduation (8,195,000), West's 808s & Heartbreak (7,886,000), Jason Mraz's We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (7,736,000), and Britney Spears' Circus (7,721,000).

I didn't include greatest hits albums because they'd have an unfair advantage. Here are two high-profile examples. The tracks on the double-disk The Essential Michael Jackson have sold 15,842,000 copies. The tracks on Eminem's Curtain Call: The Hits have sold 12,383,000 copies.

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289 comments

  • 0 users liked this comment Please sign in to rate this comment up. Please sign in to rate this comment down. 0 users disliked this comment
    User Jamos Fri Jul 23, 2010 08:02 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Paul, love the column and especially love the Chart Watch Extras. I'm wondering which individual songs have sold more than 5 million.

    From this list, we've seen "I Gotta Feeling," "Low," "Just Dance," "Boom Boom Bow," "Poker Face," and "Tik Tok." But I seem to remember at least one more song from another column that you've written. Which song am I missing?
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    User c0ldasfire Fri Jul 23, 2010 08:26 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Paul,

    Can you please tell me each songs sales on Britney's "Circus" album?
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    User Mark Fri Jul 23, 2010 09:15 pm PDT Report Abuse
    I think it's unfair to count Bad Romance, Telephone, and Alejandro towards The Fame sales. How can they count for both The Fame and The Fame Monster?
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    User iggi Fri Jul 23, 2010 09:20 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Jamos-

    The seventh song was I'm Yours, Jason Mraz.

    Hi Paul-

    I noticed that some songs that have crossed the 4 million mark were not part of this list (including I'm Yours, Crank That, Hot N Cold, Right Round, Bleeding Love, Hey, Soul Sister, and Party in the USA). What are their numbers?

    Thanks!

    iggi
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    User Mark Fri Jul 23, 2010 09:23 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Jamos, the other song is "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.
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    User Mark Fri Jul 23, 2010 09:32 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Iggi, it says in the article that "Hot N' Cold" belongs on the number 22 album and "I'm Yours" belongs on the number 23 album. The other songs that you mentioned aren't on the list because they are the only hit song on the album they are from.
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    User Rick Fri Jul 23, 2010 09:39 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Paul, I know its been 20 years after its release, but im curious to know how many copies has the " Immaculate Collection " sold. Id like to know the same for " Celebration and the Sticky and Sweet album.

    Also, how many sales has the Fame and the Fame Monster EP by lady gaga sold.

    Thanks
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    User iggi Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:03 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Hi Mark-

    I did understand. But I wanted individual numbers on those songs since they were not part of albums in the top 20.

    iggi
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    User S D Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:18 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Hey Paul,

    What are the number for Mariah Carey's "Emancipation of Mimi"? I'm curious where it would fall on the list. She had huge hits with We Belong Together and Shake It Off, but also the Platnium Edition which featured "Don't Forget About Us".

    Although it was released at the start of the digital era, I'm curious!

    THANKS!
    Steven
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    User Rodrigo Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:01 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Paul,

    Is there, perhaps, something wrong with Katy Perry's OOTB's totals?

    What I have (not a SoundScan subscriber, only numbers I find here or other places):

    Hot n' Cold - 4,381,000
    I Kissed a Girl - 3,789,000
    Waking Up in Vegas - 1,768,000
    --------------------------------------
    Total - 9,938,000

    And that's not including the other single "Thinking of You" and the rest of the album tracks.

    Thanks.
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    User Paul Grein Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:18 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Greetings, everybody.

    Coldasfire: The tally I provided for Britney Spears' Circus album is the total sales of all the tracks on the album. The key ones (which are listed on N/SS's running list of the top 200 digital songs of all time) are Womanizer (3,045,000) and Circus (2,684,000).

    Mark: I see your point that it seems unfair to give both The Fame Monster album and EP "credit" for the songs that are on both. But they are, in fact, on both. What are you going to do? N/SS includes them in the tallies for both titles, in the same way that Michael Jackson's key hits are on both The Essential Michael Jackson and Number Ones. (I gave the sales total for the tracks on The Essential MJ at the end of the column. The tracks on Number Ones have sold a combined total of 7,458,000.) So I see your point, but it is what it is.

    Iggi: At some point, I'll probably do the songs that have topped 4M, as readers are clamoring for it. But not here, not now and not now! (I have some good digital-themed Extras coming up.)

    Rick Arevaldo. Here are your Madonna and Gaga numbers. Bear in mind that The Immaculate Collection was released in November 1990 and SoundScan didn't begin tracking sales until early 1991. So its first couple of months of sales (at least 1 million, maybe more )aren't counted in the tally I'm about to give you.

    The Immaculate Collection: 5,785,000
    Celebration: 249K
    Sticky & Sweet Tour: 58K (why on earth did they put that out?)
    The Fame: 3,595,000 (This includes The Fame Monster album)
    The Fame Monster EP: 1,203,000

    SD: The tracks on The Emancipation Of Mimi have sold 3,021,000 copies. You're right, if that album came out now, it would be in Peas/Gaga territory in its digital track total. Same story with Usher's Confessions (tracks have sold a combined total of 5,802,000) and Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway (tracks have sold a combined total of 7,434,000). But they paved the way for the digital scene as we know it today.

    Have a good weekend, everybody.
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    User Paul Grein Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:07 am PDT Report Abuse
    Rodrigo, Thank you for writing in about Katy Perry. I went back and added her song totals for all the songs on the album and her album makes the list at #10. So I put her in her rightful spot.

    Rick Arevalo: The RIAA certifications are based on shipments to retailers, not sales to customers. Their numbers are almost always higher than the Nielsen/SoundScan numbers, which are scans of actual sales. Some critics of N/SS say that it "misses" sales in unconventional locations (car washes, say). So the truth may be somewhere between the two numbers, though I'm comfortable with the N/SS numbers. Bear in mind that the album came out in November 1990 and N/SS's numbers don't kick in until sometime in the first half of 1991. So the N/SS number is missing the crucial holiday sales period. Look what Josh Groban's Noel, Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream and Taylor Swift's Fearless sold in just weeks or months at the end of those years.
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    User Guillaume Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:31 am PDT Report Abuse
    Hi Paul,

    Thanks a lot for this great list - excellent job as usual.

    You fairly exclude hits collections from your breakdown, good move I would say. However, I think you missed one Catalog album.

    Indeed, not only "The Essential Michael Jackson" would have made the list, "Thriller" added enough sales to be at least among runner-ups. I have the following Soundscan figures about its tracks:

    Michael Jackson - THRILLER : 2343000 (04/06/2010)
    Michael Jackson - BILLIE JEAN : 1882000 (04/06/2010)
    Michael Jackson - BEAT IT : 1575000 (04/06/2010)
    Michael Jackson - P.Y.T. (PRETTY YOUNG THING) : 1002000 (04/06/2010)
    Michael Jackson - WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN' : 588723 (04/11/2009)
    Michael Jackson - HUMAN NATURE : 403397 (04/11/2009)
    Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney - GIRL IS MINE : 121393 (25/07/2009)
    Michael Jackson - LADY IN MY LIFE : 69397 (25/07/2009)

    btw parenthesis is the date of last update. They add for 7,984,910 copies sold. Updating those figures, adding the missing track ('Baby Be Mine') and possibly too remixes from 25th Anniversary Edition (after all, tracks from re-issues have been considered in this list), and possibly tracks from this album top 8,47 million.

    That being said, it is very likely the only catalog album eligible, since I can't think at others adding such a massive among of digital sales. Others (Bad by Michael Jackson, Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses, Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi, Escape by Journey and maybe more) cumulate 4-5 million digital sales from their tracks yet.

    Regards.
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    User JT Sat Jul 24, 2010 01:35 am PDT Report Abuse
    Paul, great info, as usual. Thanks for the time you spend in getting this info out to charts fans.

    The 58K figure for Sticky & Sweet does not include the Blu-Ray-only sales, correct? I think that's sold an additional 13K or so. RE The Immaculate Collection- whether N/SS started tracking sales in January 1991 or a couple of months later, it's safe to say that around 1m-1.5m would be added to The Immaculate Collection's hard sales total- it was a top record club seller, so that makes up the difference with its RIAA cert.

    Mariah Carey's digital sales for the Emancipation album were not quite as impressive as the album's sales. "We Belong Together," for instance, spent 14 weeks atop the Hot 100, but was not one of 2005's top 10 digital sellers. And, the other singles did not enjoy the sales longevity of those enjoyed by Gaga, BEP, etc. So, I don't think she'd be selling quite as much as the top-selling acts.
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    User tho Sat Jul 24, 2010 02:26 am PDT Report Abuse
    Hey paul!

    I, for one is always looking forward for your chart blog. and I am really enjoying every bit of your information...
    But, this time, much like Madonna's other fans, can we request from you to pls post the latest soundscan totals for all madonnas albums and what is her rank among all..?plssssssss.

    and by the way, I am also a bit confused about Immaculate Conception, coz there have been reports that it really sold over 10 million in America..I have now idea on how to verify that..
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    User AliA Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:05 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Hello Paul. I love your articles, I always check out what you have in store, Please keep them coming! I would like to see an updated list of the Best Selling Digital songs of all time.
    "I Gotta Feeling" is on course to be the first song to sell more than 6 million copies. WOW
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    User jezreel Sat Jul 24, 2010 07:06 am PDT Report Abuse
    hi paul!!! just wanna ask leona's album sales for spirit and echo

    as well as her track sales for both albums

    thanks a lot and more power

    love from philippines
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    User Daniel C Sat Jul 24, 2010 02:42 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Another enjoyable read, thanks Paul. Great to see Pink's Funhouse on the list - the album is great and had a lot of longevity on both radio and sales charts. I know So What and Sober were the biggest hits by far - just curious how the other singles and promoted songs stacked up "Please Don't Leave Me", "Funhouse" "I Don't Believe You" & especially "Glitter In The Air" that put the album back in the spotlight after her Grammys stint.
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    User JT Sat Jul 24, 2010 04:00 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Thanks for the followup, Paul. Madonna's 26.716m albums does not include the Evita soundtrack, which N/SS lists under soundtracks. Billboard and the RIAA do credit it to her (much like Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard soundtrack and The Preacher's Wife- but not Waiting to Exhale), so her total would be bumped up to 29.716m or so. Out of curiosity, with the additional 2m, where would that place her on the SoundScan-era sellers list, compared to the 27.716m figure?

    tho, The Immaculate Collection sold pretty well in record clubs, which N/SS has never included in its sales/sales estimates. When N/SS began, it covered roughly 55% or so of the market, and would estimate the remaining sales to present a complete sales figure. Its market coverage grew through the years, so there was less estimating involved as time went by.
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    User JT Sat Jul 24, 2010 04:37 pm PDT Report Abuse
    Oops- I meant to write 28.716m.

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