Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Could Sell 1 Million In A Week

The results are in and Billboard reports that Lady Gaga‘s pop juggernaut ‘Born This Way’ has sold 1,108,000 million copies its first week in stores, landing at the lofty No. 1 post on the Top 200 sales chart. Given the amount of promotion that Lady Gaga put into the album — countless TV appearances on both costs in the span of hours, constant interaction with fans, a Google Chrome commercial, and much, much more — it’s fitting first week for a fabulous album.

Here’s a break down of the numbers: ‘Born This Way’ is only the 17th album to sell a million in a week since SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991, and it’s the highest sales week since 2005. Her labelmate, rapper 50 Cent, sold 1,141,000 copies of ‘The Massacre’ in 2005. The last album to sell a million in a week was Taylor Swift‘s ‘Speak Now,’ which moved 1,047,000 copies in November of last year.
And the hits just keep on coming with ‘Born This Way,’ as Gaga is only the fifth woman in history to sell 1 million-plus copies in a week. She joins Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Norah Jones and the aforementioned Swift in that illustrious category.
While most industry insiders believed that ‘Born This Way’ would bow at No. 1 its first week, the amount of records it would move was the variable. Just a month ago, Interscope execs predicted that ‘Born This Way’ would move only 400,000 copies. It was a low estimate, and some felt Gaga had overpromoted the album. Even Katy Perry‘s ‘Teenage Dream,’ which was on the radio ad naseum last summer, had a disappointing first week, barely moving 200,000 copies while debuting at No. 1 with loads of ubiquitous airplay behind it.
Last Monday, Gaga’s label changed their tune and their estimate ballooned to 650,000-700,000 expected sales. By Wednesday, the million-plus figure began to seem plausible. By Thursday, it was possible and probable. Today, it’s actual.
The album was bolstered by Amazon.com selling a download of the album for 99 cents; it is estimated to have sold north of 440,000 copies. The album also sold 662,000 digital copies, which is the biggest week for a digital album in the SoundScan era.
We hope Lady Gaga is tossing back a glass of whiskey in celebration. It is her very first No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200.