Leona Lewis tops UK charts with fastest-selling digital track
X-Factor alumnus Leona Lewis is sitting pretty at number one in the UK singles chart this week, having sold 133,591 copies of her cover of Snow Patrol’’s Run.
The twist? Every copy was digital. It’s the fastest-selling digital-only single in UK chart history, apparently. It rounds off the digital year nicely for Leona, with her Bleeding Love single recently being named the biggest seller on iTunes for 2008.
Her new chart-topper wasn’t meant to be released as a single (so it’s said), but it went down a storm when performed on Radio 1 and ITV show The X Factor, so the Great British Public demanded its release. Although the fact that it’s been appended to a deluxe version of Leona’s debut album makes us smell a fish in that story.
Tags: leona lewis, run, x factor
December 8th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
There’s nothing fishy there. She originally did it as a track for Radio 1 Live Lounge (brilliant performance). Leona said herself it was only ever meant to be a one off (apparently it’s traditional to do cover song as part of the live lounge visit)
It became the most demanded Live Lounge performance ever but there was no version that fans could legally buy. So it was added to Spirit along with the tracks that were on the US version of the album.
For those that didn’t want to pay for the Deluxe version of the album it is purchasable as a single off the likes of itunes.
Note in Germany it is available as a physical single.
December 9th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
then why dont we in UK get a physical single???
December 9th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hey Martin,
Sorry, didn’t mean to suggest fishy as in ripping fans off – more that we assumed it was in the back of someone’s mind (at least) that the song would be popular before it was performed on Live Lounge / X-Factor, rather than it being a case of ‘oh, alright, we’ll release it if you all insist…’
You can’t argue with 133,591 punters though – it’s very positive news for digital as a whole, and something we’re covering in the Music Ally Report this week in that context.
March 12th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
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