Following the Sept. 3 tribute concert in honor of late drummer Taylor Hawkins at London’s Wembley Stadium, streams and sales of Foo Fighters‘ music ballooned both domestically and globally.
According to preliminary sales and streaming data from Luminate, Foo Fighters’ catalog garnered 2.4 million on-demand U.S. streams on Sept. 4, the day after the concert. That’s a 28% jump from Sept. 3, when the band’s catalog earned 1.9 million streams.
On Sept. 5, streams held steady at 2.4 million, giving the group a two-day (Sept. 4-5) sum of 4.8 million streams, a 24% jump from the previous two days (Sept. 2-3).
Foo Fighters’ digital song sales also leapt throughout the weekend, first from a negligible sum on Sept. 2 to 1,000 on Sept. 3 (up 354%), followed by another 184% increase to 3,000 on Sept. 4. On Sept. 5, though down 23%, the band still managed another 3,000 downloads.
1998’s “My Hero,” seemingly the breakout performance of the concert, drew 515,000 streams Sept. 4-5, up 61% from Sept. 2-3 (320,000). It also sold 2,000 downloads Sept. 4-5, up 638% from a negligible amount Sept. 2-3.
The concert performance of “My Hero,” the original of which hit No. 6 on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart in 1998, featured Hawkins’ son, Shane, on drums. It served as the penultimate song of the set, followed by frontman Dave Grohl performing “Everlong.”
Other streaming gains belong to “Times Like These,” a No. 5 hit on Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay in 2003, at 235,000 streams Sept. 4-5, up 50% from 156,000 Sept. 2-3; one-week Alternative Airplay No. 1 from 1999 “Learn to Fly” at 322,000, up 15%; and “Best of You,” a No. 1 on both Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay in 2005, with 303,000, a 17% boost.
Globally, the band also made sizable gains, accumulating 6.3 million on-demand streams on Sept. 4, up from 4.9 million Sept. 3, a 29% surge. Its catalog rose another 10% to 6.9 million on Sept. 5. Its two-day sum Sept. 4-5 of 13.2 million marked a 32% jump from 10 million Sept. 2-3. Additionally, the band’s digital song sales increased to 8,000 Sept. 4-5 from 2,000 Sept. 2-3, up 332%.
“Everlong,” a No. 3 Alternative Airplay hit in 1997, has led as the band’s most-streamed song since the concert (1.1 million Sept. 4-5), and is its top-streamed song regularly, leading all Foo Fighters tracks in the Aug. 26-Sept. 1 tracking week with 3.7 million official U.S. streams.
Concurrently, multiple Foo Fighters songs appear on the LyricFind U.S. and Global charts, which track lyric usages and searches. “Aurora” paces the group at No. 1 on LyricFind U.S. (up 8,902%, according to LyricFind), followed by “My Hero” (No. 4, up 2,170%), and both songs rank in the same spots on LyricFind Global.
Further gains for the band’s catalog are due to be reflected on the Billboard charts dated Sept. 17, reflecting the Sept. 2-8 tracking week.
The Sept. 3 concert, the first of two planned tributes, was held in honor of longtime Foo Fighters drummer Hawkins, who died March 25 at age 50. The 50-song set featured a score of special guests, including Paul McCartney, Liam Gallagher, Pretenders, Brian Johnson, Rush and Queen. A second concert is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Los Angeles.