‘Barbie’ Is Still Dominating the Summer. So Is the Soundtrack.

livemint.com:

The jury’s still out on the song of the summer. But the season’s unofficial soundtrack is obvious. “Barbie the Album" made its debut at No.

2 on the Billboard 200 in August and has stayed high on the chart for several weeks. It also arrived as the No. 1 album on Spotify’s U.S.

and Global charts and the No. 1 global album on iTunes. Its success could be chalked up to the runaway hit that is “Barbie." With a worldwide box-office gross of more than $1.3 billion since its July release, the movie is expected to keep drawing theatrical audiences until at least late September, when it is slated for IMAX screens.

But even before the film had fans, the soundtrack was winning over listeners. Singles including Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night" and “Barbie World" from Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (featuring Aqua) were already gaining fans in early summer. In a marketing push by Atlantic Records, more than 140 indie-record retailers across the U.S.

held early-listening events for fans a few days before the movie’s theatrical release. It was something the label had never done before, says Kevin Weaver, Atlantic Records’ West Coast president, who helped produce the album. “The same way people were getting in costume to go experience the movie, people were getting out with their friends to experience the soundtrack for the first time," says Brandon Davis, executive vice president and co-head of pop A&R at Atlantic Records, also a producer on the album.

When it came out in July, “Barbie the Album" had the best sales week for a theatrical film vinyl release since 1991, when Luminate began electronically tracking record sales. The album features pop artists like Billie Eilish, Sam Smith and Charli XCX. But the movie’s most scene-stealing number is