Last week we wept and gnashed our teeth at the long-running lack of diversity on the Digital Downloads charts and the music gods responded to our prayers. There were huge shifts of direction in this week's Top 10.
Much of the shifting was thanks to the emergence of two new tracks on the list. First, as reported yesterday, Ariana Grande finally broke Pharrell Williams iron grip on the top spot. Williams and "Happy" had held the top spot for 11 straight weeks, but Grande came on strong with "Problem," which had the biggest debut week for a single since Katy Perry's "Roar" last year. The track moved 438,000 downloads. Now she needs to see if she can stay relevant as long as "Happy" did. Coldplay also added some disruption with new single "A Sky Full of Stars." The track debuted at no. 5 with 139,000 downloads sold. The last track from the band, "Magic," debuted at no. 7 but immediately fell out of the Top 10.
It was a surprise to finally see "Happy" fall, but the song didn't land at no. 2. That honor goes to Iggy Azalea and "Fancy." The performer is featured on Grande's entry, and her own track probably benefitted from that as well as continued sales from her new album The New Classic. "Fancy" received a 104 percent jump in sales, to 222,000 copies sold.
Finally, Williams settled at no. 3 with "Happy," which sold 174,000 downloads (a 16 percent decrease). Accordingly, John Legend and "All of Me" fell to no. 4 with 161,000 downloads moved. However, Jason Derulo and Idina Menzel didn't keep their long-standing places in the order. Derulo's "Talk Dirty" fell to no. 8 with 99,000 downloads, and "Let It Go" landed at no. 9 with 91,000 downloads.
Lil Jon and DJ Snake saw their first drop in sales since landing in the Top 10, as "Turn Down For What" gathered 126,000 downloads. Rixton saw a 99 percent sales increase for its "Me and My Broken Heart" thanks to a series of talk show appearances. It's the band's first appearance in the Top 10.
Ed Sheeran managed to stick around for at least one more week, as "Sing" stuck at no. 10 with 86,000 downloads (a slight increase).
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