Features
Elite 100: Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott Peak; Aretha Franklin Surges
John Davisson – Travis Scott
Travis Scott brings it on for the crowd at Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Florida March 3.
Nicki Minaj is at the No. 1 spot for the BuzzAngle Elite 100 Artists chart for the week ending Aug. 16 and consumption of Aretha Franklin’s music rose dramatically after her death.
With the Aug. 10 release of Queen, Minaj’s first album since 2014, she sits back at the No. 1 spot, thanks to 56,300 album sales; 99,000 song sales and 97.6 million streams for a grand total of 131,300 album units.
There was a big to-do about whether albums Travis Scott bundled with merchandise and tickets to his upcoming “Astroworld: Wish You Were Here” tour should be counted on other music consumption charts. The current figures do not incorporate most of those album sales, though that doesn’t mean they won’t be included at a future date. Travis Scott, thus, was counted with 119,900 total album units, with his most dominant metric by far being his 168.8 million streams.
When it comes to touring, though, fans will have to wait to get more of Nicki Minaj, because she just pushed the North American leg of her tour into the spring. Co-headliner Future will join her for the European leg, starting in February, but he will not be part of the new North American dates.
By contrast, Scott is poised to start a headline run in North America Nov. 8 and tickets go on sale to the general public Aug. 24.
Displaying that absence really does make the heart grow fonder, the music of Aretha Franklin saw a huge spike in the days following the announcement of her illness and death. The Queen Of Soul is at No. 6 for the week, with 26,300 album sales; 153,600 song sales; and 20.6 million streams. That all translates to 55,500 album units.
There was a huge outpouring of appreciation from Aretha’s friends and fans all around the world after her death, one of whom was former U.S. President Barack Obama, who wrote: “Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade – our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.”
Trippie Redd also made it to No. 5 this week, largely thanks to the 74.4 million streams he garnered on the week. He released the Life’s A Trip project Aug. 10.
Next week’s chart will include the Aug, 17 releases of Harverd Dropout by Lil Pump; Slime Language by Young Thug; Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie; and Sweetener by Ariana Grande.
Also, be on the lookout for the Aug. 24 release of Milky Way by Bas; MihTy by Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign; Rainer Fog by Alice In Chains; Negro Swan by Blood Orange; Marauder by Interpol; Woman Worldwide by Justice; Parallel Universe by Plain White T’s; and Go To School by The Lemon Twigs.