Friday, November 2, 2007

"Leona helps smash UK download record "

from news.bbc.co.uk
Leona helps smash download record

Singer Leona Lewis helped boost online music downloads to a record 1.7 million last week, making it the biggest week ever for download sales.


The previous weekly record of 1.5 million was set when Sugababes' "About You Now" topped the singles chart earlier this month.

Lewis, 22, who went straight to number one on Sunday, sold more than 106,000 downloads of her track "Bleeding Love".

The X Factor winner also managed to shift 112,000 CD singles.

'Vibrant and exciting'

The single - the first from her debut album - outsold the rest of the top five put together.

She beat Take That's "Rule The World" into second place and McFly's "The Heart Never Lies" into third.

The Sugababes' "About You Now" was fourth with Mark Ronson'/Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" reaching fifth place.

Since January, when the charts started taking digital downloads into account, music experts have been forecasting the demise of the single because of illegal downloading.

However Martin Talbot, the managing director of the Official Charts Company, thinks there is room for both digital and physical sales.

"After growing steadily for five years, the digital market now appears truly maturing, with singles reaping the most significant benefit," he said.

"And this continuing digital growth is combining with sterling sales of physical pop singles to make the singles chart more vibrant and exciting than it has been for years," he added.

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