 |
| A woman writes a message on a memorial for pop singer Whitney Houston in Newark, New Jersey |
Whitney Houston’s songs were rocketing up the pop charts on Tuesday, in some cases a quarter-century after their initial release, as fans sought to recapture the magic of the diva’s iconic voice in the wake of her death.
Amazon.com said on its website that seven of the top 10 bestselling music collections were recordings from Houston, while her “Greatest Hits” album was the top seller on iTunes.
The company said in a statement that topping the sales was Houston’s smash hit I Will Always Love You, her cover of a classic tune by country star Dolly Parton. Houston’s version of the ballad spent 10 weeks at number one 20 years ago this year.
Meanwhile, British music tracker Official Charts said that sales from Sunday through to midnight on Monday were so brisk that seven of Houston’s recordings were “heading for the Top 40.”
Since midnight on Saturday, 82,000 Houston singles and more than 37,000 albums had been sold in Britain as of yesterday afternoon, when the mid-week charts are announced.
Dramatic sales boosts were also seen in recent years following the deaths of Michael Jackson in Los Angeles and Amy Winehouse in London.
According to music publication Billboard, more than 35mn Jackson albums were sold worldwide after he died. Houston was with the Sony Music record label, the same as Jackson.
Following is the list of Houston songs in Britain’s Top 40 music chart as of yesterday:
10. I Will Always Love You
14. I Wanna Dance With Somebody
29. One Moment In Time
30. My Love Is Your Love
34. I Have Nothing.
Houston was found dead on Saturday, at age 48, in her bathtub in a luxury suite of the Beverly Hilton hotel.