Though news of Jenni Rivera‘s fatal plane crash broke on Dec. 9, the last day of the SoundScan tracking week, her passing still rocked the charts.
In that single day, even before Rivera was officially declared dead, her album sales rose 334% to 6,000 copies. Among those, sales of Joyas Prestadas: Pop (Fonovisa/UMLE), almost quadrupled, going 28-2 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart while sales of Joyas Prestadas: Banda went 39-4 on the chart. Each album sold around 2,000 copies.
The singer’s downloads also increased 1,096% to 12,000, with 11 debuts or re-entries on the Regional Mexican Digital Songs chart.
The big sales impact of Rivera’s death, however, is expected next week, compounded with the release of her new album, La Misma Gran Señora (Fonovisa/UMLE) which coincidentally had been slated for Dec. 11 and for which re-orders have been coming in, as well as wall-to-wall coverage of Rivera in all major Latin media, including Univision and Telemundo.
As is the case with most regional Mexican acts, Rivera had traditionally seen her sales come from albums versus singles. Even now, the trend continues. On Hot Latin Songs, Rivera’s “Detrás de mi Ventana” entered the chart at No. 31.
On the Latin Digital Songs chart, her highest ranking tune is her collaboration with Marco Antonio Solis on “Basta Ya,” with 1,000 sold (up 1,268%). It re-entered at No. 19 and is one of three Rivera titles on the 50-position list. Joining “Basta Ya” are “Ya Lo Se” (re-entry at No. 26 with 1,000; up 1,058%) and “Como Tu Mujer” (a debut at No. 39 with 1,000; up 2,835%). Those three songs are also found on the Regional Mexican Digital Songs chart, where Rivera’s catalog swarms the 25-position tally. Eleven of her hits crowd the chart, led by the three aforementioned titles at Nos. 1, 2 and 5, respectively.
Sales, of course catapult after deaths, particularly tragic and unexpected deaths such as Rivera’s, which has led many to compare it to the death of Selena in 1995. The slain Tejano singer’s first English-language album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart three months after her death. In addition, her label, EMI, reissued her catalog through the years in multiple ways, including an album of new duets released last spring.
