 How
does the US singles chart work?
Why are so few singles released
commercially in the US?
How has Madonna been affected by the
decline in US single releases?
What is Madonna's biggest hit single in
the US?
How does the UK singles chart work?
What is Madonna's biggest hit single in
the UK?
What is Madonna's biggest international
hit (outside of the US) and worldwide hit (including the
US)?
What is Madonna's most successful
album?
Are of any of Madonna's albums or
singles under-certified in the US?
What records does Madonna hold?
How does the US singles chart work?
The short answer: The Hot 100 is based on a combination
of airplay and sales, with airplay making up the vast
majority of that equation.
The Hot 100 has always used a combination of sales and
airplay to determine chart rankings for hit singles, with
points assigned to airplay based on audience impressions
and the number of singles sold in a week. Airplay is
measured in "audience impressions," which
represents the number of times anyone has heard a song.
For example, if a song is played 10 times in a week in a
city, and 100,000 people are listening every time that
song is played, the song receives 1,000,000 audience
impressions from that city. Airplay and sales are each
assigned point values. Every 10,000 audience impressions
= 1 point. Sales of 10 copies of a single = 1 point.
Generally, a song which is #1 on airplay has around
100-120 million audience impressions or higher
(10,000-12,000 points). Singles sales, however, have
declined rapidly in the past few years and a single can
now top the sales chart with as little as 5,000 copies
sold (500 points). To make the top ten on the airplay
chart, generally a song needs at least 60-70 million
audience impressions (6,000-7,000 points). In sales, a
single needs only around a thousand copies sold to make
the top ten most weeks (~100 points). Virtually every
song on the Hot 100 earns most of its points from
airplay. To show how minimal sales are now, Elvis Presley
vs. JXL's "A Little Less Conversation" debuted
at #1 on the singles sales chart in July 2002, yet only
debuted at #50 on the Hot 100.
Prior to 1998, songs could only chart on the Hot 100 if a
single was in stores. Due to the increasing number of
airplay-only releases, the Hot 100 began allowing songs
with strong airplay but no sales to chart. The first song
to top the chart based on airplay-only was Aaliyah's
"Try Again" in 2000. Since then several other
songs have followed in its footsteps.
top
Why are so few singles released
commercially in the US?
Record companies believe that if they offer a single,
fewer people will buy the (more expensive album), thus
depriving them of potential profit. Whether or not that
is true is subjective. Madonna holds the distinction of
having the last single ever released in the US to sell
over a million copies ("Music").
top
How has Madonna been affected by the
decline in US singles?
The short answer: Neither Beautiful Stranger nor American
Pie was released commercially, denying them both a chance
at hitting the top ten.
Two major Madonna songs, Beautiful Stranger and American
Pie (both from soundtracks released on Maverick Records),
were never released commercially in the United States.
Beautiful Stranger peaked at #19 and American Pie hit #29
both based on airplay-only. Both would have had higher
peaks if they had been released commercially. Beautiful
Stranger probably would have sold very well, perhaps as
high as 750,000-1,000,000 copies total, and could have
peaked in the top 5 if a single had been released.
American Pie would not have fared as well, and probably
would have sold under 500,000 copies, likely peaking
somewhere between #9 and #15.
Also, What It Feels Like For A Girl was released as both
a DVD and maxi-single, however no "regular"
2-track single (which generally make up the majority of a
single's sales) was ever released. If a regular single
had been released, its sales likely could have doubled to
reach 250,000 and the song would likely have peaked in
the lower portion of the top 20. A similar circumstance
occurred with 1997's Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Although
DCFMA hit #5 in airplay (her biggest airplay hit in the
six years between Take A Bow and Music), a single was
delayed for months and when finally released was only
available as a maxi-single. The song peaked at #8, but
many believe that had a timely 2-track single (featuring
the album version and the dance remix) been released,
DCFMA would have had a strong chance at #1, or at the
very least, the top 3.
Note that two older singles were promoted to radio but
never released in the US as well -- most notably, Into
the Groove was robbed of a chance at hitting #1 as it was
released only as the B-side to the less memorable Angel.
Spotlight, from the You Can Dance album, managed to reach
the top 40 of the airplay chart. However, both instances
were more than 10 years before airplay-only songs were
allowed to chart.
top
What is Madonna's biggest hit single
in the US?
The short answer:
According to Billboard: Take A Bow
My opinion: Like A Virgin
However, this is a difficult question to answer because
you can use different standards to determine how big a
hit a song is. People who strictly follow the US charts
will answer "Take A Bow," as it spent longer at
#1 than any other Madonna single (7 weeks). However, it
is not one of Madonna's highest selling singles -- its
strength was from airplay, while sales peaked at #4. Here
are Madonna's biggest hits in various categories:
Hot 100 Weeks at #1
1 Take A Bow (7)
2 Like A Virgin (6)
3 Music (4)
4 Vogue (3)
5 Like A Prayer (3)
Airplay Weeks at #1
1 Take A Bow (9)
2 Like A Virgin (5)
3 Vogue (3)
4 Like A Prayer (3)
5 Live To Tell (3)
Sales Weeks at #1
1 Justify My Love (5)
2 Like A Virgin (4)
3 Music (4)
4 Like A Prayer (3)
5 Papa Don't Preach (3)
Further confusing the issue, the single with the highest
actual sales is "Vogue," Madonna's only double
platinum single (it sold over 2 million copies). Another
five singles have sold one million copies: Like A Virgin,
Crazy For You, Like A Prayer, Justify My Love, and most
recently Music. (Like A Virgin and Crazy For You were
certified gold at a time when gold represented 1 million
copies. They are eligible to be certified platinum but
have not been.)
So Madonna's biggest airplay hit is "Take A
Bow," and her biggest sales hit is
"Vogue," but the only single to be in the top
portion of every chart is "Like A Virgin," and
for that reason, I would say that "Like A
Virgin" is Madonna's biggest US hit. However, the
record books will say "Take A Bow." Ultimately
the answer is subjective.
top
How does the UK singles chart work?
The short answer: The UK singles chart is based solely on
sales.
Unlike the US, the UK singles chart is based solely on
sales, where the single format is still thriving. Singles
can be released in up to three different configurations
(which is why you will often see 2 and 3-part single
releases), and each single can hold only three tracks
totalling no more than 20 minutes. This rule was created
in the late '90s, previously a single could have up to
four different songs or an unlimited number of remixes.
Charts vary widely from week to week, but 70,000-100,000
copies is a fairly typical total for a #1 single in any
given week. Singles almost always debut at their peak
position and drop quickly.
top
What is Madonna's biggest hit single
in the UK?
The short answer: Into the Groove
According to the sales data I have received, which may or
may not be accurate, Crazy For You has actually sold the
most in the UK with sales of 800,000 copies. However,
that was over the course of two different chart runs in
1985 and 1990, and in both cases the single stalled at
#2. Into the Groove, however, sold 770,000 copies in one
chart run and also stands as Madonna's longest running #1
in the UK at 4 weeks (it is tied with Vogue, but Vogue
sold only 520,000 copies).
top
What is Madonna's biggest
international hit (outside of the US) and worldwide hit
(including the US)?
The short answer:
International: American Pie
Worldwide: Like A Prayer (essentially tied with Music,
Vogue, and American Pie)
This is very difficult and there is no consensus answer
to this question. GO.TO/MADONNA does not track singles
outside of the US and UK, however Zheng Wang's excellent
page has single peaks for 7 of the eight largest music
markets in the world, accounting for roughly
three-fourths of all music sales worldwide (US, Japan,
Germany, UK, France, Canada, and Australia -- he does not
include Brazil, which would rank 6th and accounts for
just over 3% of total music sales worldwide). According
to his list, four singles have topped the charts in five
countries. Breaking this tie by looking at their peaks in
the countries where they missed the top spot, the list is
as follows: Like A Prayer, Music, Vogue, and (believe it
or not) American Pie. The latter ironically missed the
top of the charts in the US (the world's biggest music
market). Since the term "international" is
often used as "outside of the US," that means
that American Pie is Madonna's biggest international hit,
topping the charts in 5 out of 6 major music markets.
top
What is Madonna's most successful
album?
The short answer: The Immaculate Collection
Not surprisingly, Madonna's landmark greatest hits
compilation "The Immaculate Collection" is her
most successful album worldwide. Estimates vary, but my
best guess is that the album has sold roughly 23 million
copies worldwide, a phenomenal number. The album still
frequently makes the top 20 list of catalog albums in the
US, where it has been certified Diamond for sales of 10
million copies in this country alone.
Among Madonna's studio albums, at least five have sold
more than 10 million copies worldwide. True Blue is the
most successful (~20 million), followed by Like A Virgin
(~19m), Ray of Light (~15m), Like A Prayer (~13m) and
Music (~12m).
In the US, The Immaculate Collection and Like A Virgin
have both sold 10 million copies, followed by True Blue
(7m), Madonna (5m), and Ray of Light and Like A Virgin
(4m each).
In the UK, The Immaculate Collection is also the most
successful with sales of 3.3 million copies, followed by
True Blue (2.1m), Like A Virgin (1.8m) and Ray of Light
and Music (1.5m each).
top
Are of any of Madonna's albums or
singles under-certified in the US?
The short answer: Yes, quite a few actually.
In the United States, you will often hear the terms
"gold" or "platinum" used in
reference to albums and singles. Gold signifies 500,000
copies sold, while platinum signifies 1 million copies
sold (for each additional million, platinum is referred
to as "double" (2 million), "triple"
(3 million), etc...). There is also a recently coined
"Diamond" award for albums with sales of 10
million copies (Madonna is one of a handful of artists to
have two such albums, see previous question). Note that
up until the late 1980s, platinum actually meant 2
million copies and gold meant 1 million copies. Since
then, record companies have been free to re-apply for
appropriate certifications under the newer rules.
Among Madonna's singles, currently 24 of them are
certified gold or platinum. This ties her for second
place for the most gold singles by any artist ever.
However, there is speculation that there are still some
hits from the 80s that deserve to be certified gold. The
likeliest candidates include #1 hits "Live To
Tell," "Open Your Heart," and "Who's
That Girl." Other possibilities include such top 5
hits as "Lucky Star," "Material
Girl," "La Isla Bonita," "Causing A
Commotion," and "Cherish." However, it is
also quite possible that these singles simply did not
sell 500,000 copies and would not qualify anyway.
Among the singles that are certified, at least two could
be certified higher. "Like A Virgin" was
certified gold when that meant sales of 1 million copies,
and is thus due for a platinum certificate (some believe
it could even be eligible for a double platinum
certification). It's not clear why this has never been
fixed. "Crazy For You" was also certified gold
under the old standard, however it is unlikely it will
ever be certified platinum since it was released under a
different record label which has no other affiliation
with Madonna and thus little motivation to spend the time
and money to re-certify the single.
Among Madonna's albums, there are some notable
under-certifications. First and foremost is Music. This
album has sold over 3 million copies yet remains
certified as only double platinum. Since album sales
continue to trickle in slowly over the years, a few other
albums may also be re-certified soon. Most likely is
"The Immaculate Collection," which is by far
Madonna's best selling catalog album, selling anywhere
from 200,000-500,000 albums a year. It should be
certified 11 million soon. Ray of Light could also be
well on its way to a 5x platinum certificate. No other
album seems as ripe for re-certification as these three,
but the likeliest candidates somewhere down the line
include Bedtime Stories, Who's That Girl, and GHV2.
top
What records does Madonna hold?
The short answer: A lot.
It can't be proven due to incomplete sales reports and
the subjective nature of "success," but many
reports state that Madonna is the most successful female
artist in the world. There are some records which she can
claim with a little more authority however. Since I have
little data outside of the US, I will stick solely to
this country for this answer.
Madonna has the most top 40 singles of any female artist
ever (43), currently tied with Aretha Franklin (whom she
will undoubtedly surpass with "Die Another
Day"). She is also tied with Franklin for sixth
place among all artists for most top 40 singles. Elvis
Presley blows the competition away with 104, followed by
Elton John (57), The Beatles (51), Stevie Wonder (46),
and James Brown (44). Within the next few years Madonna
will probably climb to #4 on that list, and by the end of
her career may be able to pass Elton John to hold the #2
position.
Madonna easily has the most top 10 singles of any female
artist ever with 34, and is only two singles behind Elvis
Presley for most top ten singles by any artist ever.
Within a few years Madonna will likely hold the record
for most top ten singles all by herself.
Madonna is in second place for most #1 singles by a
female artist (12), behind Mariah Carey's 15. This is one
female record Madonna might not surpass, as Carey
continues to churn out hit singles, while Madonna has
only had two #1 singles in the past 10 years. Among all
artists, Madonna is tied for fifth with The Supremes for
most #1's, behind Michael Jackson (13), Mariah Carey
(15), Elvis Presley (18), and the top slot goes to The
Beatles with 20 #1 hits.
In terms of albums, Madonna is in second place among
women for total album sales with 59 million, behind
Barbara Streisand's 67.5 million. Considering that
Streisand is no longer a top-selling artist while Madonna
still is, it is likely Madonna will eventually surpass
her. Madonna is 12th overall for total album sales. The
Beatles are #1 with sales of an astonishing 164.5 million
copies. Madonna will likely end her career in the overall
top ten.
top
|