January
2-8: Rihanna: The Top Selling Digital Artist Of All Time
By Billy Johnson, Jr. | That's Really Week – Sat,
Jan 7, 2012 5:53 AM EST
Rihanna,
WireImage, Carlos R. Alvarez
Rihanna's New Year just got better. The "We Found Love" pop
star was named this week as the top ranking artist on
Nielsen SoundScan's Top Ten Selling Digital Artists list.
WATCH Rihanna's music videos "You Are The
One," "We Found More" and more
On the chart that tracks digital sales from July 4, 2004 to
January 1, 2012, Rihanna is credited with selling 47.5
million units. A part of Rihanna's success can be
attributed to her volume of works. She has released six
albums, beginning with 2005's "Music of the Sun," over the
course of the tracking period.
Rihanna is more than 5 million sold digital tracks ahead of
her closest contenders, the Black Eyed Peas, Eminem and
Lady Gaga, who have each sold in the 42 million range.
Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, Beyonce, Kanye West,
and Britney Spears round out the top 10 list.
Despite Rihanna's overall ranking, she did not place,
however, on the Top Ten Selling Digital Songs or Top Ten
Selling Digital Albums lists. The Black Eyed Peas and Lady
Gaga have two songs each on the digital songs ranking.
Get info on Rihanna's movie debut,
"Battleship"
The Black Eyed Peas's "I Got A Feeling" is the top selling
digital song with 7.6 million sales, and "Boom Boom Pow" is
No. 4 with 6.2 million sales. Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and
"Just Dance" hold the No. 2 and No. 3 slots with 6.5 and
6.4 million sales, respectively.
Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift earned double entries on the Top
Ten Selling Digital Albums chart. Gaga's "Fame" is the
fourth top selling digital album with 1 million units sold,
and "Born This Way" is fifth with 877,000. Swift's
"Fearless" is No. 7, having amassed digital sales of
785,000, and her most recent effort, "Speak Now," is No. 10
with 681,000.
Aside from the chart record announcements, the week was
filled with couples news. Justin Timberlake's private
December proposal to girlfriend Jessica Biel was revealed.
Aretha Franklin opened up about her plans to wed boyfriend
Willie Wilkerson, and Steven Tyler, 63, confirmed his
engagement to Erin Brady, 38. Even Sinead O'Connor
reconsidered ending her new marriage to Barry Herridge.
WATCH Boyz II Men discuss receiving a
star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
The week also saw Van Halen perform a VIP show in New York
that offered a preview of what fans will see when they kick
off their national tour in February. And Mariah Carey, Nick
Cannon, and their infant twins's Aspen vacation was
interrupted when Cannon was hospitalized for kidney
problems.
Check the links below for more info on this week's topics.
Be sure to check back for another roundup.
THIS WEEK'S TOP 5 MUSIC NEWS STORIES
1) Greatest Of All Time -- Rihanna sets
digital sales record.
2) Put A Ring On It -- Justin Timberlake, Steven Tyler and Aretha Franklin get engaged.
3) Reunited -- Reformed Van Halen
performs intimate NYC gig.
4) Urgent Care -- Nick Cannon suffers "mild
kidney failure."
5) The Power Of Love -- Sinead O'Connor calls off
divorce.