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Britney selling more than Christina despite having less airplay in 1999-2000 only proves further that Brit was bigger. I don't know why you think this is in Christina's favor. It's not. You're literally admitting that Christina was selling less despite having more exposure through radio. It only makes Britney's sales look more impressive. People hearing Christina frequently on the radio and not buying her music proves that people weren't as interested in her music.
Hi Teen Pop,
Airplay is segregated into various music categories. To be or not to be #1 fully depends on crossing over those categories. Teen Pop never had that cross over skill being too deeply axed around a specific target audience. That's why even a song like Wannabe which was 4 weeks #1 and 14 weeks Top 3 in sales peaked at #6 in the US Airplay Chart.
Christina Aguilera may be regarded as teen pop now, but she hadn't that flag at the time - which is in part why other countries haven't jump into buying her debut album. In fact, Genie in a Bottle was #1 in Adult Top 40 Airplay list. What A Girl Wants topped the Rhythmic ranking.
One other reasons why Christina Aguilera did so well in Airplay ranking is the availability of Spanish versions of her hits. All her songs crossed over Latin lists thanks to them. Come on Over Baby went #1 in the Latin ranking, I Turn to You #2.
Thus, those better peaks were down to technicalities more than revealing a higher popularity. It's precisely because Britney was bigger that she got more cleaving, impacting negatively her Airplay results.
Hi MJD! Great work with this website! Very impressive and interesting to follow your analysis. I do have a question regarding the overall streaming figures, however. Under Christina's analysis you have the total streams for Moves Like Jagger at 409.5m while under the analysis for Maroon 5 this was listed as 605.6m streams. I understand this is to do with the reported increase in Spotify's market share, but I wonder if it makes sense to apply this market share retroactively? If the song accrued the bulk of those streams in years when Spotify held a lower market share, does it make sense to suddenly apply the recent ~61% figure to all its streams? Does this also not create some incongruity when the song translates into a larger number of "equivalent albums" under Maroon 5's calculated total as compared to Christina's total?
Hello Geoffrey!
You are fully correct on your figures! The current formula is temporary, I'm waiting for the IFPI Global 2016 Report to define the new one. The new formula will not only adjust the current ratio, it will also take into account historical evolution, factor in free and paid users as well as introducing video streams.
I'm pending that formula to see how much of an impact (high or low) it makes on previously posted artists. While it is not a definitive decision, I'm tempted to update retrospectively all artists who have at least 10% of their CSPC total coming from streams with this new formula once it is available!
Hi MJD,
Can you please give us ALL of Christina's updated album sales in the USA? Thanks again 🙂
Some of these figures seem awfully underestimated. Would you mind explaining the process behind your guesstimates? Are they based on certifications? Because if that's the case, then there are a couple that make no sense. With some, you only used the figure equivalent to the certification, assuming than in many, many years they haven't sold one single extra copy. Yet with others you didn't do such a thing, so how do you decide?
I don't know what to think about the fact that you claim you, and only you, are the one that owns the absolute truth, and that anyone else that disagrees is wrong, even if it is an organization with official nature and access to the actual data of sales, like OCC. Do you have more access to that kind of information?
You claimed that BTB was certified as a double album in Canada, despite the fact that it is not even eligible as one because of its length. Would you mind sharing the link where Music Canada states so? While you're at it, would you be kind enough to provide the link where Billboard claims that her debut only sold 12.5 million? This one intrigues me the most, since Billboard rarerly talks about worldwide sales. In fact, the only time I remember them doing so was when they claimed BTW'd sold 8 million yet in your analysis about her, you didn't go with it. You actually used a way lower figure. So, how do you decide when Billboard's figures are legit or not? Someone else already pointed out the discrepancy regarding MLJ's streams. So, I won't talk about that more.
All these discrepancies and lack of actual evidence are highly suspicious. Also, the constant mention of Spears throughout the whole article is distasteful. It's pretty obvious that Spears was always the bigger one, commercially wise. Why do you have to mention her if the article is not about her? What's the point other than purposely instigating drama?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to see the evidence. Thanks in advance.
Hi Selig,
I see a lot of delusional ranting with very few figures / evidences or whatever contesting the article on your comment. You appear to be scratching the surface, which is fine since we all get there first, but then ask rather than accusing on the back of your own ignorance.
You argue Back To Basics isn't eligible to be certified as a double album in Canada due to its running time... a rule in place in the US. The album run and its Soundscan sales - may I remind it started there with 24,000 units sold, way less in proportion than the 346,000 units sold in the US, and a pretty similar run afterwards - makes the situation very obvious, even more with the album absence from 2006 Top 10 sellers in spite of the low figure required to feature on it.
The figure for the debut was stated on 2006, July 29 edition available on Google Books, 2,2m is also claimed for Mi Reflejo on it. In fact, i don't take every Billboard for granted quite simply because they are NOT "Billboard figures" as you say but instead figures of different sources. When they display the top sellers from the IFPI, their figures are accurate, when they report a direct label figure, they are in general accurate - although depends on how the label made up that specific fiugre, as they often count all discs, including singles - and when they report a claim from an artist manager, the figure has no reason to be more accurate than anything you may read on Wikipedia. The point is that Billboard has no responsability on those figures, they are barely reporters, so again they are not "Billboard figures" as you claim but instead industry-owned / label-owned / manager-claimed figures which is very different. Billboard always carefully mention the source of the figures they report precisely to let us gauge the accuracy or not of it.
Then again you do the same mistake about the OCC. They do NOT scan all sales, their figures are based on calculations. It is not "me" that contradicts Stripped OCC figure, it is the BPI and Aguilera own label. The fact they audited and certified the album for 1,5 million copies shipped while OCC was claiming over 1,8 million copies sold at retail prove their calculations were purely wrong.
The "discrepancies" are fully yours. You argue that I put "certification figures" as to date totals and that I do it only for Aguilera. This is plain wrong. There is tons of albums, especially those released during the holiday season, that never got additional shipments after the initial release. Over all articles we can see such examples - including in the new one coming today - so you are the one being biased and doing different interpretations of the same facts depending on what you would like to be true.
Born This Way is actually one such example. Billboard indeed reported 8 million copies shipped as of October 2011. By the end of the year, on Universal Vivendi 2011 Report, it appears the album was only on 6,8 million. Then on Universal Vivendi 2012 Report, 2011 sales were reported at 5,9 million. You can see that not only "Billboard figures" is not the bible, as 8 million were obviously not sold to consumers, which on such a case makes a huge difference, but also that album sales do not go necessarily up - when initial shipments are not sold, copies are returned. BTW got tons of certifications upon release that it took months / years to reach, if ever.
If your point is to go by the first thing you read, I agree with you that Chartmasters.org is pointless - Wikipedia perfectly fills the job already.
No one is actually ranting. Anyway, that's quite ironic, considering you don't bring evidence to the table either, just guesstimates. However, this is not an attack. It's sad and disappointing that you took it that way. I'm just trying to understand how you work, because everyone here seems to take your word as the factual truth without questioning anything. Which would be ok if you actually delivered factual proof of each and everyone of your claims, but you don't.
Music Canada states the certification for double albums as "double platinum/diamond album", yet BTB's certification is tagged as "platinum album". It's obvious that it's not awarded as a double album, otherwise they'd have simply tagged it as such, like they did with the rest. I asked for proof to back up your assumption, yet you failed to deliver it. It's that simple.
About her debut, I find extremely interesting how you chose to use that figure yet didn't use Mi Reflejo's, instead you went with 1.5m, 700K less. Stripped's sales are also stated as 9.5m in that very same article, yet in your analysis you claim it's only sold additional 50K copies in the 195 existing countries around the world, ever since that article was written, that's more than a decade ago. When in fact, it has sold more than that in the last 5 years in the US alone.
So, then what happens when an album is undercertified? Christina's label claimed 46 million albums sold back in 2010, a figure that's most likely mirroring shipments. And just to be clear, I'm not claiming she has sold that much, but she has definitely sold a little more than what you claim. By the way, Clive Davis, who was the head of RCA back then, claimed BTB had sold 5 million copies, also claimed 3 million copies for Mi Reflejo. Those are label figures.
I suggest you read my comment again, and this time do it carefully, because I never claimed you do such a thing only with Christina, if so then please point out where I did. I guess you're talking about the 1st paragraph, I was talking about your guesstimates for each country, which show no consistency regarding its methodology.
If that was the case then I'd go by what her labels says (46m), which, for most people, might be more credible than what a guy says on a blog. But, my point is to understand how you came up with these numbers. If you can't handle being questioned then why open your articles for discussion then? Again, this is not an attack. If you feel it is, then I apologize. But I still think, that you underestimated some figures. I already explained my reasoning behind that conclusion, it'd be nice if you took them into consideration but given that you are now predisposed to react negatively to anything coming from me, I doubt you will.
Have a very nice day!
Hi Selig,
What is even the point of your comment ? Again, if you think the truth is in invented label claims, fine, you will enjoy reading Wikipedia.
Your comment about Canada makes no sense at all. An album goes "Double Platinum" when it sells enough to be 2xPlat, this has nothing to do with it having one or two discs. Why do you ignore all evidences rather than sticking to your wishful thinking ? How has it ship 300k in 2006 if it sold nowhere near that amount ? If you don't care about sales, what do you stick with wished certified amounts - which is this case is NOT the certified amount - and then add sales ? This is terribly inconsistent.
I never "decided to use" Billboard figure, you keep on being delusional. I do not stupidly repeat figures I found here and there, one more time, Wikipedia does the job for that. You even say that it sold more than I added in the US alone, pointing this out as a contradiction, while it simply proves your view of me using as an amateur whatever claim I read is wrong. Breakdowns are completed in full without targeting a wished total. Then figures are compared with real official data, that is labels annual reports and IFPI figures, not unverified and wished interview claims from whoever working for the label.
Rather than plenty of bad litterature, if you want to point an error, then do. Putting tons of paragraph of text with 0 figure and 0 evidence to tell us you wish figures to be higher is irrelevant.
I've already stated that in each one of my comments, you're free to go back and read again if you missed it. Well, labels have direct access to sales reports and any kind of information related to them, you don't. It's a no-brainer.
You're right about the "double" tag, I confused it, my bad. However, you still haven't provided factual evidence of BTB being certified as a double album by CM. And it's not wishful thinking, the album is certified as 3x platinum by 2007, which equates to 300K according to their system. I'm just asking for factual evidence about it being certified as a double album, can you or can you not provide it? It's that simple.
When questioned for your guesstimate about her debut album's figure, you used Billboard's report (which is actually a label report) as evidence to back up your own figures. Yet in that very same article, Mi Reflejo's sales are stated at 2.2m and Stripped's at 9.5m. You either consider the whole article credible, or you don't. You can't cherrypick which figures fits your agenda and which doesn't when they all come from the exact same source, that's just simply ridiculous and extremely biased.
Where's the evidence of that "real official data"? If you have it then I don't see why you wouldn't be willing to share it. And it's funny you say this, yet when being questioned about CA's figure you cited Billboard as your evidence, when it would have been better to cite these IFPI/label reports that you claim to have, no?
I already pointed them out but your ego is too massive to handle it, it seems.
Hi Selig,
I see exactly the same as previously - a lot of bad literature, 0 figure. You just completely ignore all facts I posted, like Canadian Soundscan sales of BTB, then throw away your same moans. Who's being ridiculous and extremely biased?
As for the Billboard article, it is easy to say my comments aren't consistent when you spend your time misquoting me. I used the figure as the roof figure, since if even on inflated claims they tell the debut album sold 12,5m units, so it can't be higher. And one more time, I have NOT use that figure, else way I would have got it higher with catalog sales.
You are the one claiming BTB certification was an exception to the multi-sets rule in Canada, which is plain ridiculous given Soundscan sales are in line with the 150k figure. If you wanna contradict both standard CRIA rules and Soundscan, you may wanna provide sources, it's that simple.
Now, no need to go in circles with the same bad literature as you don't even seem to point out a single figure that is not correct. Your "from a Britney Spears fan" just tells how dumb you are acting as everyone know I'm very, very far from being a Britney Spears fan. Unlike you, when I study charts and sales, I can't care less about the artist music, I just care about the facts. Thus, I won't be losing time again to answer this kind of childish messages. If you have one specific erroneous country figure to point out just do, I'll answer and explain or fix as I always do, if you just wan't to whine because you don't like the actual sales of your fave artist, it isn't my issue.
Sorry but IFPI had some wrong figures in the past so the 3.9 million and 3.5 million figures of stripped could be wrong too
Hi Nurturer,
IFPI is the most accurate source out of all. They can do typos as everyone, it is definitely not the case of Stripped as both the ranking / the figures / major reports fit perfectly together.
Hi! Moves Like Jagger's digital sales are really 20M or does it include streaming? Because if not then wow.
Thank you!
Hi Aitor!
It sold 20 million downloads, indeed without streams!
God, Christina Aguilera has sold more records than this website tells us. Anyone knows that and there is real confirmation about it.
Christina Aguilera= 18 m
Mi Reflejo= 4m
My Kind of Christimas= 1,8m
Just Be Free= 0,250
Stripped= 13,5 m
Back to Basics=5,5m
Keeps Gettin' Better= 2,5m
Bionic= 1,8m
Lotus=1,0m
Hi Sophie,
Those Wikipedia-like figures are pure wishful thinking, anyone with a shadow of knowledge on charts and sales will tell you how ludicrous they are. Do not believe everything you read.
Christina may not have succeeded well sakes-wise but for me, she is the best in running melismas. Mariah is only second to her. Mariah's melismas are easy to imitate and don't really run in multiple notes. But Mariah is the best on using and controlling whistles though Georgia Brown can hit higher notes and more difficult to imitate.
