The Greatest Showman is 2018 biggest seller

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has tabulated last year’s record sales and found The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, on top with 3.5 million physical and digital copies sold.

The figures are in. The highly-reputable International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has spoken. The sounds of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa and all those other purportedly big selling stars all pale in comparison to last year’s motion picture soundtracks. There is no question about it anymore. When big screen drama is coupled with moving music, the result is magic that sweeps everything aside, sells like mad and lasts for years on end.

News from Billboard says that the original motion picture soundtrack of The Greatest Showman is the biggest-selling album of 2018 as per the IFPI. This is the worldwide association of the recording industry, which means that it knows what is happening in music sales everywhere. The IFPI has tabulated last year’s record sales and found The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman on top with 3.5 million physical and digital copies sold.

A lot of factors brought about that result. One is the music by the award-winning tandem of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Their City of Stars from La La Land won the Academy Award, plus a few others for Best Song. They also wrote great ones for Showman that are performed by the enchanting cast against fabulous visuals. The Greatest Show and From Now On by Jackman, Rewrite The Stars by Zendaya and Zac Efron, This Is Me by Keala Settle, Never Enough by Loren Allred and others that have become modern classics.

Then, there is the fact that The Greatest Showman is a movie soundtrack and motion pictures and music have never been as closely intertwined in the hit charts as they are today. Take a look at the IFPI Top 10 for 2018. Four of the albums are movie soundtracks.

The other big sellers as per the IFPI report are Love Yourself, Answer by the South Korean pop group BTS with 2.7 million; Love Yourself, Tear, also by BTS; A Star Is Born, motion picture soundtrack by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, 1.9 million; Mon Pays C’est L’amour by the legendary French singing star Johnny Hallyday, who passed away late in 2017, 1.7 million; Divide ÷ by Ed Sheeran, 1.3 million; Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie soundtrack by Queen, 1.2 million; Beautiful Trauma by Pink, 1.2 million; Kamikaze by Eminem, 1 million; and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again by the cast of the motion picture led by Amanda Seinfried, Cher and Meryl Streep, 900,000.

And just to inform or to help collectors complete their treasured stash, here is the list of the biggest-selling soundtrack albums of all time as of December 2018 from Mentalfloss:

The Bodyguard, 1992, starring Whitney Houston, I’ll Always Love You, 18 million; Saturday Night Fever, 1977, starring the music of the Bee Gees, How Deep Is Your Love, 16 million; Purple Rain, 1984 by Prince 13 million; Forrest Gump, 1994, a jukebox of American hits through the years and a haunting theme song, 12 million; Dirty Dancing, 1987, I Had The Time Of My Life, 11 million; Titanic, 1997, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, 11 million; The Lion King with the music of Elton John, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, 10 million; Footloose, 1984, Let’s Hear It For The Boy by Deniece Williams, nine million; Top Gun, 1986, nine million; O Brother Where Art Thou?, 2000, eight million.

Grease, 1978, John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, Summer Loving, Hopelessly Devoted To You, eight million; Waiting To Exhale, 1995, Whitney again singing Exhale (Shoop Shoop), seven million; The Little Mermaid, 1989, Part Of Your World, Under The Sea, six million; Pure Country, 1992, a country music collection, six million; Flashdance, 1983, Maniac, six million; Space Jam, 1996, I Believe I Can Fly by R. Kelly, six million; The Big Chill, 1983, I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye, six million; City Of Angels, 1998, The Uninvited by Alanis Morrisette, five million; The Jazz Singer, 1980, by Neil Diamond, five million; Evita, 1996, Madonna and Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, five million.

And included as an honorable mention although it is not a movie soundtrack but because of its massive success and cultural impact, is the Broadway show Hamilton by the original cast which has already sold five million copies. Can you just imagine how much this one will sell once it becomes a movie?