The Empire TV musical drama on Fox has been compared to popular nighttime soaps like Dynasty , and the Lee Daniels- and Danny Strong-created Empire is winning more viewers and breaking all kinds of records since its premiere on Fox in January, 2015. With talented actors like Jussie Smollett and Bryshere Gray showing off their acting skills as well as their musical and rapping chops, as reported by the Inquisitr , it’s no wonder that Empire is breaking ratings records and experiencing successful cross promotion of music via iTunes and other outlets in ways that haven’t been done between the marriage of a TV show and musical drama in the hip-hop genre heretofore.
According to Entertainment Weekly , the Wednesday evening episode — an explosive Empire episode wherein Cookie slept with Lucious — climbed to 12.9 million viewers and leapt 6 percent in viewership. Empire continues to climb in ratings each of the six total weeks Empire has been shown thus far. Industry experts have stated that Empire ‘s historic, meteoric growth has “exceeded all Nielsen total viewer records to date.”
Another unprecedented action for the show is the manner in which the Empire cast ‘s music, as it is listed on iTunes, is packaged and presented seamlessly in the Empire show on Fox as an integral part of the storyline. These aren’t the type of promos seen on VH1 that accompany reality TV show breaks into commercials, or act as the background to a reality TV plot point. Nor are they the Glee mashups or American Idol recreated gems being hocked on iTunes, but Empire presents their musical creations as works in progress that show their birth and genesis on the show, and the finished products appear on the Empire soundtrack songs on iTunes very soon afterward, if not before.
As such, a look at the most popular Empire soundtrack songs show that the following Empire songs are the ones resonating with Empire viewers in terms of popularity, according to iTunes, even though some — like the Season 1 soundtrack of Empire , are still in pre-order status.
Keep Your Money (feat. Jussie Smollett)
Empire: Music From ‘Dangerous Bonds’ – Single
Good Enough (feat. Jussie Smollett)
Empire: Music From the Pilot – EP
Drip Drop (feat. Yazz and Serayah McNeill)
Empire: Music From ‘Dangerous Bonds’ – Single
I Wanna Love You (feat. Jussie Smollett)
Empire: Music From Out, Damned Spot – Single
No Apologies (feat. Jussie Smollett & Yazz)
Empire: Music From ‘The Outspoken King’ – EP
Money For Nothing (feat. Jussie Smollett and Yazz)
Empire: Music From Our Dancing Days – EP
Tell the Truth (feat. Jussie Smollett)
Empire: Music From ‘The Outspoken King’ – EP
Money For Nothing (feat. Jussie Smollett and Yazz)
Original Soundtrack from Season 1 of Empire
What Is Love (feat. V. Bozeman)
Empire: Music From the Pilot – EP
The Point of It All (feat. Anthony Hamilton)
Empire: Music From ‘Dangerous Bonds’ – Single
Although Sean Combs famously banned his son from Empire because he didn’t like the rights given away by musical artists, other might find that appearing on an Empire music soundtrack is just the boost or catalyst their career needed.
[Image via Empire on Fox]