Oct 08 2009
Worldwide “Celebration” For Madonna’s Greatest Hits
The Queen of Pop rules the world yet again, as Celebration- a collection of 27 years’ worth of iconic tracks- ranks as the No. 1 album on Media Traffic’s Global Albums chart.
Madonna is leaving Warner Bros. Records after a fruitful 27-year relationship on the highest of notes possible.
Celebration, a compilation of the pop icon’s illustrious era-defining hits, moves to No. 1 on the Media Traffic’s Global Albums chart, with 323,000 units (more than 208,000 copies come from the United States, UK, Canada and Japan alone). Media Traffic gather sales information from more than 30 countries
Her Madgesty’s album, which comes in double-disc and single-disc editions, debuted at No. 1 in the UK last week, with more than 77,000 units sold (it slipped a notch to No. 2 this past week, with sales in excess of 52,000). In addition, the album lodges a second week atop Billboard’s Top European Albums chart. The title track- one of two new recordings on the double-disc edition- was a top three UK single, and peaked at No. 2 on the Euro Singles chart.
No such luck in the USA, where the “Celebration” single peaked at No. 71 on the Hot 100. The carefree dance track failed to interest mainstream and rhythmic top 40 radio formats, but managed a mediocre No. 34 peak on Adult Top 40 radio. Nonetheless, the hits album sold more than 72,000 copies to enter the Billboard 200 at No. 7, becoming Madonna’s 18th top 10 album. Only Barbra Streisand, with 30, has more among female acts. (Incidentally, Babs landed her ninth No. 1 album this week, making her the only act to score No. 1 albums in five consecutive decades). Further adding to the celebration is the companion DVD of 47 videos, which debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Music Videos chart.
Prior to Celebration’s release, fans speculated about the tracks that would appear on the double-disc album. In addition to the two new tracks, the album houses 34 “songs that changed the world,” as Madonna’s official Web site touted. There’s no denying that a great number of those tracks in fact did have a huge impact, both commercially and culturally. However, not all of them would fall under the category of “songs that changed the world,” and in a future column, the tracklist will face dissection, in efforts to separate those world-changing tracks from the mere hits.
In the meantime, for Madonna and her Warner Bros. swan song, it indeed is a worldwide celebration- and one that probably will continue through the year-end holidays.
