Following last weekend’s death of Whitney Houston, her fans sought comfort in her music, enough so that she’s back on the US charts.
Billboard reports the diva's "Whitney: The Greatest Hits" album re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at #6, after it sold 64,000 copies in the U.S. (according to Nielsen SoundScan) in the tracking week that ended on February 12 - reflecting only one full day of sales after her passing.
"Greatest Hits" posted a 10,419% gain over its previous week's sales, when it sold just under 1,000 copies.
Houston also returns to the list with her 1986 debut "Whitney Houston" (No. 72 with 8,000; up 3,901%), "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (No. 80 with 8,000; up 5,213%), her last studio album "I Look To You" (No. 118 with 5,000; up 3,901%), 1987's "Whitney" (No. 122 with 5,000; up 2,274%) and "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack (No. 183 with 4,000; up 3,913%).
There were more Houston albums purchased in the last week (101,000 - up 5,994% from 2,000 the week previous) than had been sold in all of 2011 and 2012 combined until her death (97,000).
The vast majority of the 101,000 albums sold last week were downloads - 91,000. That hefty digital sum isn't surprising, since there would be a relative few physical CD copies of Houston's albums on the shelves at brick-and-mortar stores. (Most retailers don't carry a wide selection of an artist's back catalog.)
Read more at Billboard here.
Houston’s funeral is set for this Saturday in her hometown of Newark, NJ.
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You
See also:
Whitney Houston funeral confirmed for Saturday
Whitney Houston’s body taken to New Jersey funeral home
Whitney Houston’s music sales surge following death
Whitney Houston dead at 48
