Juan Gabriel’s death continues to impact the music charts…
The Mexican singer’s death on August 28 has caused a spike in sales and streams of the his repertoire.
JuanGa’s U.S. album sales jumped to 37,000 in the week ending September 1, up 846 percent from the previous week.
Five of his albums dot Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart (dated September 17), with four in the tally’s top 10. His Los Duo 2 ranks the highest, hopping 5-2 (up 1,412 percent to 9,000 copies). The last album he released in his lifetime (on Aug. 5), Vestido de Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallenes, slides 1-3 (despite a 192 percent jump in sales, to 5,000 copies) after crowning the September 3 and September 10-dated charts.
Gabriel becomes only the third act to have five simultaneous top 10s. He joins two other acts who achieved the distinction in death: Selena (who died in 1995) and Joan Sebastian (2015) each had five albums in the top 10 in the weeks following their deaths.
Gabriel, who began his career in the early 1970s, has placed a total of 32 albums on the chart (since it began in 1993).
He concurrently holds the top nine spots on the Latin Catalog Albums chart (led by his former Top Latin Albums No. 1, Mis Numero 1 … 40 Aniversario, 9,000 copies — up 1,370 percent). At No. 2, his 2014 set Los Duo, which finished as the top Latin album of the year on Billboard’s 2015 year-end charts.
Latin Catalog Albums Chart Rank (dated Sept. 17):
Rank, Title
No. 1, Mis Numero 1…40 Aniversario
No. 2, Los Duo
No. 3, Mis 40 En Bellas Artes (Parte 1)
No. 4, Mis 40 En Bellas Artes
No. 5, Los Gabriel…Cantan A Mexico (with Ana Gabriel)
No. 6, La Historia Del Divo
No. 7, Frente a Frente (with Ana Gabriel)
No. 8, Mis 40 En Bellas Artes (Parte 2)
No. 9, Los Gabriel…Para Ti (with Ana Gabriel)
On the Hot Latin Songs chart, which blends airplay, sales and streaming, 10 Gabriel tracks make the list. Only Sebastian has placed more songs on the chart at the same time, when he held 11 spots after his death (Aug. 1, 2015 chart).
Gabriel’s classic 1984 track “Querida” leads the entries at No. 4. It’s his highest charting song since 2001’s “Abrazame Muy Fuerte” reached No. 1. The Hot Latin Songs chart launched 30 years ago, and Gabriel’s “Yo No Se Que Me Paso” was the first No. 1 on the inaugural chart (Oct. 4, 1986). The posthumous entries give Gabriel a total of 36 career-charting songs on the list, with 20 having reached the top 10 (and seven No. 1s).
All of Gabriel’s tracks that debut or re-enter on Hot Latin Songs are powered primarily by streams. “Querida” leads with 2.4 million domestic plays during the week, while “Asi Fue” and “Hasta Que Te Conoci” follow with nearly 2 million streams each. Gabriel’s total on-demand audio and video streams increase 1,099 percent, to 52.9 million weekly U.S. plays.
Increased digital sales spur 21 Gabriel songs onto the 50-position Latin Digital Songs chart, the second-most simultaneous songs on the chart after Jenni Rivera placed 24 charting titles following her death in 2012.
“Querida” fronts the debuts, arriving at No. 4 (4,000 downloads). Overall digital song sales for Gabriel increased 3,045 percent, to 54,000 downloads, in the most recent week.
