Madonna beats Springsteen to top US chart
NEW YORK : Charting like it is 1985?
Music legends Madonna, 60, and Bruce Springsteen, 69, are taking fans on a trip down memory lane, respectively nabbing numbers one and two of the US top album tally.
Madonna's Madame X struck gold on the Billboard 200 chart, landing her ninth No. 1 album atop the list.
Springsteen's Western Stars raced in at second - marking the first time since 1985 that the Queen of Pop and The Boss are reigning over the album chart together.
For two weeks in January and February that year, Springsteen's Born In The USA held the top spot as Madonna's Like A Virgin came in second, before the seminal albums traded places in the two weeks that followed.
Though widely panned by critics, Madonna's latest effort - a mash-up of Latin beats, acoustic ballads and oddly inward-looking reflections on marginalised communities - soared to the top of the charts in part thanks to her bundling strategy.
The sales method is rampant in the industry and pairs albums with performance ticket or merchandise purchases to bolster sales.
Though the Queen held her own stateside, Springsteen's dreamy sonic portrait of the American West did beat out Madame X in both Australia and Britain. His second-place finish in the US marked his 20th Top 10 effort there. - AFP
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