Keith Caulfield, Billboard
The late Jenni Rivera\'s presence is felt strongly on many of Billboard\'s music charts this week, following her death on Dec. 9.
With the most recent Nielsen SoundScan tracking week ending on Sunday, Dec. 16, the new Billboard charts reflect the first full week since her passing. (SoundScan provides data to Billboard for its music sales chart rankings.)
On the Top Latin Albums chart, Rivera monopolizes the top three rungs, with her new hits compilation "La Misma Gran Senora" debuting at No. 1 with 27,000 -- the best sales week of the year for any Latin album. It surpasses the 23,000 racked by the bow of Prince Royce\'s "Phase II" in April. It\'s also Rivera\'s best sales frame for an album, beating the 16,000 racked by "Jenni" in its debut week in 2008.
At Nos. 2 and 3 on Latin Albums this week, Rivera\'s two 2011 releases "Joyas Prestadas: Pop" and "Joyas Prestadas: Banda" sell 14,000 (up 532%) and 13,000 (up 578%), respectively. The albums were Nos. 2 and 4 last week.
"La Misma Gran Senora" is Rivera\'s second No. 1 on the Latin Albums chart, following "Jenni."
Rivera is only the third act to control the entire top three on the Latin Albums chart since it became a weekly, SoundScan-driven tally in 1993. She joins two other leading ladies, who also achieved the feat only in death: Celia Cruz and Selena. The last time it happened was on the Latin Albums chart dated Aug. 23, 2003, when Cruz\'s "Regalo Del Ama," "Exitos Eternos" and "Hits Mix" were Nos. 1-3, respectively, following her death on July 16. Cruz controlled the top three in two separate weeks, while Selena did it in five frames in April and May of 1995.
On the Billboard 200 this week, "La Misma Gran Senora" bows at No. 38 -- Rivera\'s second-highest charting set. Only "Jenni" went higher, when it launched at No. 31.
All of Billboard\'s charts will be refreshed on our web sites on Thursday, Dec. 20.
Rivera\'s overall catalog of albums sold 64,000 last week -- up 1,014% from 6,000 the week previous.
On the Latin Digital Songs chart, Rivera looms large, tallying 23 titles on the 50-position chart. The highest-ranked tune is "Basta Ya" (featuring Marco Antonio Solis), which jumps from No. 19 to No. 3 with 6,000 sold (up 337%). Rivera\'s next-highest sellers are "Ya Lo Se" (rising 26-4 with 5,000; up 381%), "La Gran Senora" (a debut at No. 6 with 4,000) and "Como Tu Mujer" (featuring Solis) (39-7 with 3,000; up 258%).
The regional Mexican star naturally overwhelms the Regional Mexican Digital Songs chart, where all but one of the 25 titles on the chart are hers. Only No. 21 -- Voz de Mando\'s "Y Ahora Resulta" -- is a non-Rivera song.
In total, Rivera sold 85,000 songs last week -- up 639% from the 12,000 sold the week previous.
ON THE RADIO
Jenni Rivera\'s voice was heard loud and clear on the radio last week. According to Nielsen BDS, her singles earned 14,691 spins in the week ending Dec. 15 across all monitored U.S. terrestrial radio stations. That\'s up 390% from the previous week, when her songs accumulated 2,997 detections.
Her two most popular songs on the radio last week, in terms of overall audience impressions, were "La Misma Gran Senora" and "Detras De Mi Ventana." They earned 5.7 million and 5.2 million in audience, respectively, gaining by 103% and 130%. The songs jump 13-13 and 47-16 on the Latin Airplay.
"La Misma Gran Senora" also makes waves on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, climbing 15-6. It marks the diva\'s 11th top 10 single on the tally.
In Mexico, the airplay story is the same, where her songs racked up 876 spins in the Dec. 15 week -- up 86% compared to the 470 detections a week earlier.