Whitney Houston fans buy over 200000 singles and albums in remembrance

Whitney Houston fans around the UK have been buying up a vast array of the pop legend’s records since the tragic news of her death broke last weekend. 

Since 00:01 on Sunday, February 12, through to midnight last night, Saturday, February 18, Whitney Houston fans have been purchasing over 200,000 units (127,000 singles and over 73,000 albums) of the singer’s recorded music products from online and high street retail outlets around the UK.

23 individual Whitney tracks pepper today’s Official Singles Chart Top 200, three of which feature in the Top 40, and a whole 13% of tracks in the Top 100 feature the late singer.  Perhaps predictably led by Whitney’s smash hit cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, which spent 10 weeks at Number 1 upon its release 20 years ago this year, and went on to become the biggest selling single of 1992.  The track has led the way all throughout the week, landing at Number 14 in today’s final tally. 

I Wanna Dance With Somebody which spent two weeks in the Number 1 spot upon its release in 1987, re-enters the chart at Number 20, with One Moment In Time (40) completing the Top 40.

With two albums re-entering the Official Albums Chart Top 40 today, the late singer’s Greatest Hits album breaks all the way into the Official Albums Chart Top 10, taking up position at Number 7, with The Essential Whitney Houston also making an appearance at Number 40.

Official Charts Company managing director, Martin Talbot, comments, “The tragic death of Whitney Houston came as a shock to her friends, colleagues and music fans across the world. Again, the British public is demonstrating its love of Whitney, just as it did for Amy Winehouse last year and Michael Jackson in 2009.”

Not only have sales of Whitney’s singles and albums rocketed, her 1992 film The Bodyguard makes a re-entry today on the Official Video Chart.  According to today’s Official Charts Company sales data, The Bodyguard is at Number 9 in the Official Video Chart – the industry chart which compiles UK sales data of all video products including DVD, Blu Ray, HD DVD among a range of other formats.

Several of Whitney Houston’s songs which feature on The Bodyguard Original Soundtrack have also re-entered the Official Singles Chart Top 100 this weekend. According to today’s sales data, in addition to the film’s lead single I Will Always Love You as previously mentioned is Top 20, I Have Nothing is at Number 44, while Run To You is at 67.

Whitney Houston’s family, friends and fans said their goodbyes to the singer yesterday as she was laid to rest yesterday at a service at the New Hope Baptist Church in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey.

The Official Singles Chart Top 100 will be published here at 7PM.

Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You on MUZU.