Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty ImagesAfter hearing the sad news that Kenny Rogers had passed away on Saturday, fans turned to streaming and other music outlets in huge numbers to remember the country icon.
According to Nielsen Music/MRC initial reports, Billboard explains, streams of Kenny’s music jumped 1,687% from the previous two days on March 21 and 22. The singer’s death was first announced on March 21. The surge amounts to a total of 18 million streams on those days, as opposed to one million on the two days before the news broke.
Kenny’s mega-hit “The Gambler” was among the highest-gaining songs of his catalogue. Digital sales of the track leapt 12,671%, and on-demand U.S. streams of the tune jumped from 253,000 to 3.7 million, up 1,377%.
Overall, digital sales of the star’s catalogue surged, too. Sales of his albums jumped 7,709% with a total of 15,000 copies sold on the three days after his death was announced, according to initial reports.
Billboard reports that Kenny’s surge in popularity likely won’t stop there, explaining that industry forecasters predict that his 2018 greatest hits album, The Best of Kenny Rogers: Through the Years, might even notch 25,000 equivalent album units for the week of March 26. That could place his project at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. It would be the singer’s first time hitting the top spot on that list since 1985, when he debuted at No. 1 with The Heart of the Matter.
Kenny passed away of natural causes on March 20 while in hospice care and surrounded by his family. He was 81.
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