iTunes Pushes "Glee" Cast Past The Beatles
October 14, 2010
Thanks to iTunes, the 1960s group, The Beatles are no longer kings of the Billboard music charts. Between 1964 and 1996, the group from Liverpool, England ruled the Billboard Top 100 by putting 71 songs on the chart.
However, Fox’s “Glee” cast has now passed The Beatles. Last week, it recorded its 75th Top 100 hit. Since its debut in 2009, “Glee” has regularly put between four and six new songs onto iTunes ahead of that week’s new episode. Most of these songs are then promptly downloaded and added to the Top 100 chart. In addition to passing The Beatles, the “Glee” cast passed both Aretha Franklin (73) and Ray Charles (74).
Keep in mind the Billboard 100 tracks sales of songs purchased, whether or not they are purchased digitally or not. As we know, The Beatles catalog is not available through iTunes.
Despite its success, the “Glee” cast is only No. 3 on the Top 100 list. Both Elvis Presley (108) and James Brown (91) best the cast, at least for the time being.
According to Billboard:
The "Glee" cast has sold 11.5 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its remake of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," from the series' pilot episode, is its best-seller (992,000 downloads). The song has tallied the highest Hot 100 peak (No. 4) and spent the most weeks (seven) of any "Glee" cast charted title.Will the "Glee" cast pass Presley and Brown? Surely they will if iTunes has anything to do with it. In addition to the songs available for download, there are currently no less than six "Glee" inspired apps in the App Store. The most popular is Glee Karaoke by the folks at Smule.
