The reign of Empire has now invaded the music charts.
The soundtrack for the breakout Fox hit debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200, beating Madonna’s Rebel Heart. Both albums were released March 10.
Empire, which was released through Columbia Records, sold 130,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 15. Rebel Heart earned 121,000 units. Empire was the first TV soundtrack to debut in the top spot since another Fox series, Glee, in 2010. It should be noted, however, that Empire features original music produced by Timbaland while the Glee soundtrack consisted of covers of popular songs.
The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, including traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).
Empire airs its two-hour finale, which is sure to surpass the lofty ratings the Fox show has already garnered, on Wednesday.
