R City [RCA]
Benefiting from a stellar weekly sales total — and the impact of a chart rule — R. City’s “Locked Away (featuring Adam Levine)” grabs the #1 spot on this week’s Billboard Digital Songs chart.
According to Nielsen Music, “Locked Away” tops the chart on the strength of 91,000 weekly sales (August 21-27 tracking week). The impressive sales figure contributes to the song’s eight-place jump to #8 on the all-encompassing Hot 100.
While “Locked Away” claims the #1 spot on the Digital Songs chart, it was not technically the best-selling single during the August 21-27 tracking week. The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” and The Weeknd’s “The Hills,” per sources, both sold more weekly copies.
Unfortunately for The Weeknd’s tunes, a chart rule requires Nielsen/Billboard to subtract single sales when a previous buyers opts to “complete the album.” The action, from a Nielsen tracking standpoint, is considered synonymous with returning the single (thus canceling the initial sale) and then buying the album.
Since many “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills” owners opted to “complete the album” and order The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness,” both endured significant sales subtractions this week.
From a Nielsen tracking standpoint, “Can’t Feel My Face” is credited with a net of 77,000 weekly sales. Nielsen lists a net weekly total of 62,000 for “The Hills.”