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Dolly Parton poses for a portrait with her guitar at Dollywood circa 1993 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Chart Beat
Dolly Parton Had the Second-Most Streams of Any Artist on the Day of Her Death
From Billboard's Trending Up column, a look at listeners flocking to the timeless catalogue of the late legend.
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From Billboard Pro's Trending Up newsletter, the legendary late Dolly Parton’s catalogue experiences a truly jaw-dropping spike from a nation in mourning.
Dolly Parton’s Streams Skyrocket by 2,056% on the Day of Her Death
It’s been two days, and the music world is still just beginning to process the death of country music and pop culture icon Dolly Parton, who passed away on Tuesday (Aug. 25) at the age of 80. Parton’s death inspired tributes and homages from all across the entertainment realm — and of course from both pop peers and followers too numerous to count — and inspired an explosion of appreciation of her songs, both in the words of those trying to capture her musical impact, and in the streams of those simply hoping to relive it (or experience it new).
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Consequently, Parton’s catalog experienced an absolutely gigantic surge on Tuesday following the news of her passing. After drawing a little over 1.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams the previous Tuesday (Aug. 18), her streaming totals were all the way up to 26.3 million on the 25th, according to early data provided by Luminate — an eye-popping gain of 2,056%. Leading the way in her catalog were the classics “Jolene” (2.7 million streams), “9 to 5” (2.3 million) and the Kenny Rogers duet “Islands in the Stream” (1.8 million) — all three of which appeared on the Billboard staff’s list of the 100 Best Country Songs of All Time (with “Jolene” topping the entire ranking).
To put that 26.3 million number in perspective, that’s the second-highest daily official on-demand U.S. streaming count registered in Luminate of any artist for the date of Aug. 25 — higher even than modern-day streaming super-duperstars like Morgan Wallen (24.2 million), Taylor Swift (22.9 million) and Bad Bunny (14.5 million). The only artist to outpace Parton in streams on Tuesday was Drake, he of the three new albums from a couple months back, with 36.6 million. (Drake’s most-streamed song on the day, however — the former Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Janice STFU,” with 1.3 million — would have only ranked as Dolly’s fifth-most.)
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And the really crazy thing: Those numbers were all with her news of Parton’s death spreading more than halfway into the tracking day — meaning those numbers could be much, much bigger for Wednesday with a full day’s impact, and that Parton may very likely posthumously become the most-listened-to artist in all of America.
This article was originally published as part of Billboard Pro's Trending Up column. Read the whole thing here.
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