Chart Watch: The Cranberries' sales spike in wake of Dolores O’Riordan’s death

The Cranberries’ music is surging in sales and streams following the unexpected death yesterday (Jan. 15) of the group’s lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan, at age 46.
The Cranberries have four of the top 10 digital albums at Amazon.com and five of the top 10 on Amazon’s Best-Selling CDs/Vinyl chart. On both of these charts, the group’s compilation album, Stars: The Best of the Cranberries 1992-2002, is second only to the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman, which has been the nation’s best-selling album for the past two weeks. Another greatest-hits package, Dreams: The Collection, has experienced a 344,742 percent surge in sales.

The group’s most recent studio album, Something Else, shot up an impressive 913,350 percent on the Amazon chart (a spike of 627,400 in 24 hours), to No. 4; before O’Riordan’s death, the 2017 release was in the No. 36,538 spot.

The Cranberries’ vinyl sales have also surged, with their No Need to Argue LP spiking 138,384 percent and Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? spiking 111,325 percent. O’Riordan’s solo catalog has also experienced an Amazon boost, with her album No Baggage jumping 166,662 percent in sales and Are You Listening jumping 164,448 percent.

The Cranberries’ music has climbed on the iTunes chart as well. The group has three of the top five albums at iTunes and one of the top five songs. Stars is No. 2 at iTunes, followed by No Need to Argue at No. 4 and Something Else at No. 5.

In terms of songs, “Linger” is No. 4 on iTunes. (The impact won’t be felt on the Billboard charts until next week. The newly released charts are based on sales for the week ending Jan. 11.) “Linger” was the Irish alt-rock band’s biggest hit, reaching No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in February 1994. The Cranberries had three other top 30 hits on the Hot 100 or Hot 100 Airplay Chart: “Zombie” (No. 22), “Salvation” (No. 21), and “When You’re Gone” (No. 22). The Cranberries ranked even better on Billboard’s Alternative Songs. They topped that chart with “Zombie” and “Salvation” and also reached the top five with “Linger.” O’Riordan wrote or co-wrote all of the group’s hits.

The Cranberries have sold 10.6 million albums in the United States, according to Nielsen Music. Each of their first three albums made the top 20 on the Billboard 200. The group’s debut, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, reached No. 18 in November 1993. No Need to Argue rose to No. 5 in February 1995. To the Faithful Departed debuted and peaked at No. 4 in May 1996.

Fans often check out music by favorite artists in the wake of their deaths. Just in the last two years, we’ve seen that with albums by David Bowie, Prince, the Latin star Juan Gabriel, rock pioneer Chuck Berry, Soundgarden (following frontman Chris Cornell’s death), and Linkin Park (after singer Chester Bennington’s death), all of which topped Billboard’s Top Catalog Albums chart.

Top Songs

Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” holds at No. 1 for the sixth week, in its 20th week on the Hot 100. As of this week, Billboard is no longer listing Beyoncé as a collab partner on this record on the Hot 100. Billboard‘s Gary Trust explains: “After its first week of release, [the duet] version was the most dominant in sales and streams, while also receiving significant airplay, as it was being promoted to radio. After multiple weeks of the duet no longer contributing the bulk of its sales [or streams or airplay], only Sheeran is now credited.”

“Perfect” sold 98K digital copies this week, which allows it to hold at No. 1 on Top Digital Songs for the seventh week.

“Perfect” also holds at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart for the sixth week. It’s Sheeran’s second transatlantic No. 1, following “Shape of You.”

Camila Cabello’s “Havana” (featuring Young Thug) holds at No. 2 in its 22nd week. This is its seventh week at No. 2. That’s the longest run for a No. 2-peaking song since DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller), which spent seven weeks at No. 2 last summer. It’s the longest run for a No. 2-peaking song by a female lead artist since Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which spent seven weeks at No. 2 in 2009-10.

Bruno Mars took a page from Ed Sheeran’s playbook and enlisted a top female artist to give his latest single a boost. The strategy worked. “Finesse,” Mars’s collabo with Cardi B, leaps from No. 35 to No. 3 in its second week on the Hot 100. The move echoes Sheeran’s adding Beyoncé to “Perfect,” which helped it shoot to No. 1. Both songs first appeared as solo tracks on the artists’ latest studio albums.

“Finesse” is Mars’s 15th top 10 hit; Cardi B’s fourth. Surprisingly, this is the first time that Mars has hit the top 10 (or even the top 40) with a collaboration that included a female artist. Mars has cracked the top 10 with five collabos with male artists over the years — “Nothin’ on You” (B.o.B), “Billionaire” (Travie McCoy), “Lighters” (Bad Meets Evil), “Young, Wild & Free” (Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa), and “Uptown Funk!” (Mark Ronson).

Cardi B was added to “Finesse” to give it some hip-hop flavor and a little extra heat. “Versace on the Floor,” the third single from Mars’s current album, had peaked at a disappointing No. 33.

“Finesse” is the third top five hit from Mars’s third studio album, 24K Magic, following the title song and “That’s What I Like.” Mars’s first two albums also each spawned three top five hits. Doo Wops & Hooligans yielded “Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade,” and “The Lazy Song.” Unorthodox Jukebox gave us “Locked Out of Heaven,” “When I Was Your Man” and “Treasure.” Mars is just the third artist who has pulled three or more top five hits from each of his or her first three studio albums. He follows Mariah Carey and Beyoncé.

This is the third week in a row that Cardi B has had three songs in the top 10. G-Eazy’s “No Limit” (on which she is featured and which also features A$AP Rocky) holds at No. 5 in its 18th week. (It peaked at No. 4). “Motorsport,” a co-equal collabo with Migos and Nicki Minaj, drops from No. 8 to No. 10 in its 11th week. (It peaked at No. 6.)

“Finesse” vaults from No. 16 to No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, displacing Post Malone’s “Rockstar” (featuring 21 Savage). This is the second No. 1 on that chart for both Mars and Cardi B, following “That’s What I Like” and “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” respectively.

Post Malone’s “Rockstar” (featuring 21 Savage) dips from No. 3 to No. 4 in its 17th week. The song spent eight weeks at No. 1.

Imagine Dragons’ “Thunder” drops from its No. 4 peak to No. 6 in its 37th week. “Thunder” logs its 11th week at No. 1 on Top Rock Songs.

Halsey’s “Bad at Love” dips from its No. 6 peak to No. 7 in its 19th week.

Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes” dips from No. 7 to No. 8 in its 18th week. The song peaked at No. 4.

Justin Timberlake lands his 24th career top 10 hit — his 18th as a solo artist — as “Filthy” debuts at No. 9. It’s the first single from his upcoming fifth studio album, Man of the Woods. This marks the third time that the lead single from a Timberlake solo album has cracked the top 10. “SexyBack” (featuring Timbaland), the lead single from FutureSex/LoveSounds, logged seven weeks at No. 1. “Suit & Tie” (featuring Jay-Z), the first single from The 20/20 Experience, spent a couple of weeks at No. 3.

“Filthy” is Timberlake’s first Hot 100 hit since “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” debuted at No. 1 in May 2016. With its sexy lyric and rougher, more aggressive sound, “Filthy” is a big departure from the peppy, poppy sound of “Can’t Stop.”

Lil Pump’s “Gucci Gang” and Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” drop out of the top 10 this week.

Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” logged its sixth week at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs at No. 1 last week.

Top Albums

The Greatest Showman tops the Billboard 200 for the second straight week, in its fifth week on the chart. It’s the first soundtrack to log two weeks at No. 1 since Suicide Squad: The Album in August 2016. It’s the first soundtrack from a live action, theatrically released musical to spent two weeks at No. 1 since Dreamgirls in January 2007. (Later that same year, the soundtrack from a live-action TV film, High School Musical 2, spent four weeks at No. 1. It starred Zac Efron, who is Hugh Jackson’s sidekick in The Greatest Showman.)

This is the fifth time in the Nielsen era (which began in 1991) that a film soundtrack has been No. 1 during the first two sales tracking weeks of the new year. This was also true of Frozen in 2014, Dreamgirls in 2007, Waiting to Exhale in 1996, and The Bodyguard in 1993. This reflects the fact that people often check out films over the holiday break.

The Greatest Showman soundtrack has climbed higher on the Billboard 200 than the film has on the box-office charts. The film has ranked No. 4 or No. 5 at the box-office in its first four weekends, according to Box Office Mojo.

The Greatest Showman moves up to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. It’s the first soundtrack to reach No. 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. since Les Misérables five years ago.

Ed Sheeran’s ÷ holds at No. 2 in its 45th week. The album spent its first two weeks at No. 1.

G-Eazy’s The Beautiful & Damned rebounds from No. 4 to No. 3 in its fourth week. This is its highest ranking to date.

Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic rebounds from No. 15 to No. 4 in its 60th week on the Billboard 200. This is the album’s highest ranking since April 22. The album has now appeared in the top five in three calendar years. It debuted at No. 2 in 2016 and returned to its No. 2 peak in 2017.

Post Malone’s Stoney rebounds from No. 8 to No. 5 in its 57th week. The album peaked at No. 4.

Taylor Swift’s Reputation drops from No. 3 to No. 6 in its ninth week. The album spent its first eight weeks in the top five. How does that compare to Swift’s last four albums? Fearless spent its first 18 weeks in the top five. Speak Now spent its first three weeks in the top five. Red spent its first 13 weeks in the top five. 1989 spent its first 24 weeks in the top five. Note: All of these albums returned to the top five after first falling out. Reputation may, too.

Eminem’s Revival dips from No. 6 to No. 7 in its fourth week. The album debuted at No. 1.

Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. drops from No. 5 to No. 8 in its 39th week. The album spent four weeks at No. 1.

Huncho Jack’s Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho holds at No. 9 in its third week. The album, which debuted and peaked at No. 3, is a collaboration by Travis Scott and Quavo.

Sam Smith’s The Thrill of It All rebounds from No. 12 to No. 10 in its 10th week. The album debuted at No. 1.

Two albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Imagine Dragons’ Evolve drops from No. 7 to No. 12. Khalid’s American Teen drops from No. 10 to No. 13.

Kane Brown’s Kane Brown inches up from No. 28 to No. 27 in its 58th week. The album peaked at No. 5. The album holds at No. 1 on Top Country Albums. This is its fourth week on top.

Ed Sheeran’s X rebounds from No. 47 to No. 43 in its 186th week. The album debuted at No. 1. It holds at No. 1 on Top Catalog Albums for an eighth nonconsecutive week.

Coming Attractions: Look for Camila Cabello’s solo debut album, Camila, to battle with The Greatest Showman for No. 1 next week.