Gotye & Kimbra's US Hit Makes Download Sales History
Not only is Gotye the first Australian to top US charts since Savage Garden but his hit has also made the download sales history books.
As Gotye and Kimbra celebrate cracking the top spot in the US this week, it has been revealed that its sales figures for the week have catapulted Somebody... into the all-time top five weekly download sales.
Biillboard chart analyst Gary Trust wrote that the track sold 542,000 downloads in the April 9-15 tracking period, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
That total is the fourth-best since SoundScan began tracking digital sales in 2003. It puts Somebody That I used To Know behind Flo Rida's Right Round (636,000 - Feb 28, 2009); Ke$ha's Tik Tok (610,000 - Jan 9, 2010) and Bruno Mars' Grenade (559,000 - Jan 8, 2011).
The sales surge for the Gotye single has been credited to the Glee Cast having performed its version of the song on the Fox series' April 10 episode and Gotye and Kimbra having sung Somebody... on Saturday Night Live on April 14.
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The Glee Cast cover of the song also became their 200th US chart hit. While Gotye's version remains number one in Canada and France as well.
His Making Mirrors album has also moved to number seven in the US, its highest position so far in 15 weeks of charting.
Trust also pointed out that Gotye is the first Australian-raised act to have a top US single since Savage Garden held there for four weeks in 2000 with I Knew I Loved You. Plus, Gotye's the first solo Australian artist to top the Hot 100 since Olivia Newton-John racked up 10 weeks at number one beginning in November 1981 with Physical and he's the first male solo artist from Australia to rise up to the top spot since Rick Springfield did so with Jessie's Girl in August also in 1981.
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