It was a huge week on the Digital Downloads chart, starting with a monumental new single release plus all of the sales that come along with the MTV Video Music Awards.
Let's start at the top, where Taylor Swift and "Shake It Off" took the prize. It didn't take a music industry analyst to predict where the pop star's first single off of 1989 would land, and indeed the track sold 554,000 downloads, easily the highest total for a track during 2014 thus far and also the fourth highest debut ever on the Digital Downloads chart. Alas it's not even Swift's biggest moment, as her "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" sold 623,000 during its debut in 2012.
That isn't the end of strong download sales however. Nearly every other track in the Top 10 saw an increase in purchases this week.
Meghan Trainor held the top spot for the previous two weeks with "All About That Bass" and she was one of the few performers who didn't need a VMAs performance to boost her sales. She saw an additional 18 percent rise to 283,000 downloads despite dropping to no. 2 overall.
Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj accordingly fell to no. 3 with "Bang Bang" in the wake of Swift, but the track still saw a 21 percent increase in sales, good for 159,000 downloads. Grande lost two singles from last week's Top 10 but Minaj regained traction for her single "Anaconda," which saw the biggest rise of the week. The track fell all the way to no. 24 after debuting at no. 1, but it returned to no. 6 this week with a 132 percent increase to 120,000 downloads.
Iggy Azalea continues the trend of losing one spot to Swift as "Black Widow" fell to no. 4. Still, she and Rita Ora rose to 142,000 in downloads for the week. Sam Smith was one of the more restrained performances at the VMAs but his "Stay With Me" rose to 122,000 in downloads, good for another no. 5 finish on the charts.
Clean Bandit is another group that doesn't need MTV's help selling singles, as "Rather Be" rose one spot during its second week on the charts with 104,000 downloads. Charlie XCX wasn't featured in the actual ceremony, but her "Boom Clap" did make a splash at the pre-VMAs party, good enough to reenter the Top 10 at no. 8 with 97,000 downloads. "Chandelier" by Sia wasn't performed at the show but it did have a number of nominations. One way or another it rose to no. 9 with a slight sales percent worth 96,000 downloads.
We mentioned that nearly every track on the Top 10 saw an increase in sales. The one dropper was MAGIC! and "Rude," which dropped 15 percent and settled at no. 10 with 88,000 downloads.
