Whitney Houston's posthumous sales bump: By the numbers

Grieving fans go on a spending spree, boosting 41 of the late superstar's songs into the iTunes Top 200. A look at how the soaring sales break down

After news of her death broke, Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Hits" sold an estimated 50,000 copies in a day and a half.
(Image credit: barnesandnoble.com)

Days after Whitney Houston's sudden death on Saturday, the singer is still dominating the news — and the music charts. The legendary diva currently has 27 singles in the Top 100 on iTunes, and is topping the chart with her iconic ballad "I Will Always Love You." Houston's album sales are also soaring. As fans grieve, here's numerical look at how they're also boosting the sales of Houston's music catalog after her death:

27

Whitney Houston songs in the iTunes Top 100 on Tuesday morning

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41

Houston songs in the iTunes Top 200 on Tuesday morning

3

Houston songs in the Top 10: "I Will Always Love You" (#1), "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (#9), and "Greatest Love of All" (#10)

9

Houston albums in the iTunes Top 100 albums chart on Tuesday morning, including the soundtracks to The Bodyguard, The Preacher's Wife, and Waiting to Exhale

2

Rank of Houston's Greatest Hits album, trailing only Adele's 21

50,000

Estimated copies of Houston's Greatest Hits sold "in the day-and-a-half window between when news of her death was first reported and the close of Nielsen SoundScan's business week," reports MTV

7

Houston albums in the Top 10 of Amazon's best sellers on Tuesday morning

39.9 million

Viewers who tuned in to Sunday night's Grammy Awards, the second-most-watched Grammy telecast of all time. Intrigue over how the ceremony would salute Houston likely contributed to the surge in audience, reports Deadline.

50

Percent increase in Grammy viewership over last year

60

Percent that Sony Music increased the price of Houston's Ultimate Collection greatest hits album on iTunes in the U.K. following her death

30

Minutes after Houston's death that Sony Music reportedly instituted the increase, according to Sean Ludwig at Venture Beat, who calls the price hike "shameful." At some point over the weekend, the price fell back down to its original figure.

1

Houston songs that will be performed on Tuesday night's episode of Glee. "In a bit of amazingly coincidental timing," says Patrick Kevin Day at the Los Angeles Times, Amber Riley's Mercedes will sing "I Will Always Love You." Considering the "intense interest in everything related to Houston this week," expect Glee to see a ratings bump with its episode Tuesday.

200 million

Albums and singles Houston sold before she died

Several million

Dollars that Dolly Parton stands to earn as Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You," a song Parton originally penned in 1973 and still collects royalties from, climbs to the top of the charts again, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reports

Sources: Amazon, Apple, Billboard, E!, Daily Mail, Deadline, LA Times, MTV, Venture Beat

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