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UMe

UMeThanks to his movie biography Rocketman, sales of Elton John’s greatest hits have blasted off.

Billboard reports that Elton has scored his 20th top 10 album, as his 2017 best-of collection Diamonds jumps from #23 to #7 on the chart on an 83 percent sales boost.

It seems people prefer Elton’s original versions of his hits, which are found on Diamonds, to the versions sung by Rocketman star Taron Egerton on the movie’s soundtrack: That album is only #50 on the Billboard chart.

While Elton now has 20 top 10 albums, other rock and pop legends have many more, including The Rolling Stones with a record 37, Barbra Streisand with 34, The Beatles and Frank Sinatra with 32 each, Elvis Presley with 27, Bob Dylan with 22, and Madonna with 21.  Elton is tied with Paul McCartney, who also has 20, including his solo albums and his albums with Wings.

Meanwhile, Elton’s duet with Egerton on the song “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” which plays over Rocketman‘s end credits, has debuted on Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart at #30.  It’s Elton’s 73rd entry on that chart, and he’s had more than any other artist.  Barbra Streisand is next, with 64.

Finally, four of Elton’s classic hits have re-entered Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart thanks to the movie: “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

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