Queen have topped a mid-year sales report on the US rock charts.
According to Billboard, the companion soundtrack to the UK band’s 2018 biopic, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, earned 705,000 equivalent album units in the country, while their 1981 “Greatest Hits” collection sold 385,000 units during the Nielsen Music tracking period of January 4 through June 20.
Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album, or 1,250 paid subscription on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher, the biopic – which follows Queen from their formation in 1970 through to their legendary 1985 Live Aid appearance – won four Academy Awards in February, including Best Actor to Rami Malek for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, and technical production honors in the fields of Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Film Editing.
Elsewhere on the mid-year sales report, Panic! At The Disco’s “Pray For The Wicked” landed in third behind the Queen sets, while Elton John’s “Diamonds” collection came in at No. 4, with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Journey also represented in the Top Ten.
The Queen sales news arrives a week before the band and Adam Lambert begin the 2019 Rhapsody tour in Vancouver, BC on July 10 as the official video for “Bohemian Rhapsody” is quickly closing in on 1 billion views on YouTube.
Billboard / Nielsen Music
2019’s Mid-Year Top 10 Rock Albums
(Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units)
01. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Soundtrack) (705,000)
02. Queen - Greatest Hits (385,000)
03. Panic! At The Disco - Pray For The Wicked (354,000)
04. Elton John - Diamonds (334,000)
05. Imagine Dragons - Evolve (289,000)
06. Imagine Dragons - Origins (280,000)
07. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Best Of Everything (258,000)
08. Hozier - Wasteland, Baby! (243,000)
09. Journey - Greatest Hits (238,000)
10. Vampire Weekend - Father Of The Bride (227,000)
See also:
VIDEO: Unreleased version of 1986 Freddie Mercury song surfaces
VIDEO: Adam Lambert duets on Bohemian Rhapsody during American Idol season finale
Queen and Adam Lambert announce Rhapsody tour of Japan
Adam Lambert to mentor Queen Night episode of American Idol
Search Queen at hennemusic
