Madonna didn’t beat herself this week. Her “Rebel Heart” dropped 80% in its second week on the charts, falling from number 2 to number 16. “Rebel Heart” sold 22,800 copies the week after its debut. When it launched, it sold around 120,00 copies. Her last album, “MDNA” had an 86% drop in its second week. So it’s a win-lose situation. This is the second biggest chart drop. On this week’s hitsdailydouble chart, Luke Bryan’s latest album dropped 63%
“Rebel Heart” suffers from the same problem as its recent predecessors– no hit single. The songs are good, and well produced. But no one’s looking for a hit. Madonna was once queen of the pop singles. But that’s when she had real tunesmiths writing for her. I heard her tell Howard Stern that she didn’t go back to songwriters like Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who wrote “Like a Virgin” because she didn’t like their other songs. How utterly ridiculous. They had a dozen other hits without Madonna.
But gone gone gone are Patrick Leonard, Steven Bray, William Orbit, and all the people who made hits for Madonna. In their place now are production teams who come and go, and have no vested interest in her success. They are also not radio friendly. After Daft Punk did so well with Nile Rodgers, who produced “Like a Virgin,” she should have asked him to come back. “Rebel Heart” has interesting lyrics, but you can’t sing along or dance to them.
Madonna’s total sales this week were 24,761. On the total chart, including all streaming etc, she finished at number 19.
