Lady Gaga has scored the year’s biggest weekly sales so far with her sixth album, Chromatica (Polydor/Interscope).
Chromatica opened at No.1 with sales of 52,907, according to the Official Charts Company. The sales tally is more than the next 10 albums combined.
Gaga’s album moved 31,709 physical copies in its first week, as well as 6,305 downloads. Streaming-equivalent sales of 14,893 would have been enough to secure Chromatica No.1, ahead of KSI. The previous 2020 record sale was set by BTS, who moved 37,978 copies.
Chromatica is also the fastest-selling vinyl record of the year to date, with 8,500 copies sold in the first week. Gaga also claims the biggest opening week for a female artist album since Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next in February 2019.
Gaga’s LP was delayed in April as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Three songs from Chromatica finished inside the OCC Top 40: Rain On Me feat. Ariana Grande at No.2, Sour Candy with Blackpink at No. 17 and Alice at No. 29. Rain On Me (126,753 sales to date) was bidding to be No.1 for a second week, but was knocked off the summit by Rockstar by DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch.
Nevertheless, the Chromatica album marks a sales revival for Gaga. The critically lauded long-player has beaten the first week tallies of her 2014 Tony Bennett duets album Cheek To Cheek, 2016’s Joanne and the soundtrack of A Star Is Born from 2018.
Gaga’s previous studio album, Joanne, opened at No.3 in October 2016 with sales of 26,694. It has career sales of 168,564. A Star Is Born, which ultimately peaked at No.1, has sales to date of 544,913.
The 2009 debut The Fame is by far the biggest seller with 3,074,496 sales, followed by 2011’s Born This Way (1,031,795).
Polydor are nominated in the Record Company Of The Year category at the Music Week Awards.
* To make sure you can access Music Week wherever you are, subscribe to our digital issue by clicking here.
FOLLOW 
