‘Empire’ Soundtrack Reigns Supreme, Beats Madonna For No. 1 On Billboard

It’s not enough that everyone is talking about Empire the show, but now the soundtrack has hit stores, and it’s quickly conquering the Billboard charts. Now that we’re all on the edge of our seats waiting for the series finale, everyone knows that Empire is a huge force to be reckoned with in both mediums — television and music.

According to Billboard, the music is soaring just as high as Empire’s television ratings. The soundtrack, which includes 18 hit tracks from the FOX show debuted on March 15 at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, which surpassed Madonna’s brand new album “Rebel Heart.”

This is the first time a soundtrack with a television background has hit No. 1 since 2010. In 2010 the FOX show Glee released a soundtrack that also debuted at No. 1.

The fact that Empire is on top isn’t a surprise. According to Billboard, the forecasters predicted that it would be a close race to the top between Madonna and Empire.

Now that the numbers are in. It’s said that while Madonna’s album “Rebel Heart” was on track for a big debut, sales slowed down, while Empire’s soundtrack raced ahead of the competition at a steady pace.

The soundtrack features current singers in the industry, including Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Rita Ora, Juicy J, and Courtney Love, in addition to the show’s stars Jussie Smolett, Terrence Howard, Bryshere Y. Gray (who raps as Yazz), and Serayah, who plays Tiana Brown.

As for what fans can expect ahead of the season finale, the Inquisitr reported that showrunner Ilene Chaiken teased what’s in store. Last week’s episode was a big game changer for the Lyon family, but this week is going to cause a bunch of ripples in the family due to a secret that Lucious has.

Titled “Die But Once; Who I Am”, Chaiken said of the finale, “Be prepared for some things to happen in Lucious’ life that nobody ever predicted.”

It’s hard to guess what his secret might be, considering he already admitted that he might be the actual father of Jamal’s alleged daughter. One thing is for certain is that the finale, which will also guest star Snoop Dogg and Jennifer Hudson, will leave some huge questions unanswered, and it might even create some new questions that fans will ask all throughout the summer.

In the meantime you can listen to the soundtrack to hold you over until season 2. Here’s the track listing.

01.”Good Enough,” feat. Jussie Smollett
02. “What Is Love,” feat. V.Bozeman
03. “No Apologies,” feat. Yazz and Jussie Smollett
04. “Keep It Movin’,” feat. Serayah McNeil and Yazz
05. “Keep Your Money,” feat. Jussie Smollett
06. “Drip Drop,” feat. Yazz and Serayah McNeil
07. “Can’t Truss ‘Em,” feat. Yazz
08. “I Wanna Love You,” feat. Jussie Smollett
09. “Money For Nothing,” feat. Jussie Smollett and Yazz
10. “Walk Out On Me,” feat. Courtney Love
11. “You’re So Beautiful,” feat. Jussie Smollett and Yazz
12. “Conqueror,” feat. Estelle and Jussie Smollett
13. “Remember The Music,” feat. Jennifer Hudson
14. “Power Of The Empire,” feat. Yazz
15. “Shake Down,” feat. Mary J. Blige and Terrence Howard
16. “Nothing To Lose,” feat. Jussie Smollett
17. “Whatever Makes You Happy,” feat. Jennifer Hudson and Juicy J
18. “NY Raining,” feat. Charles Hamilton and Rita Ora

[Image via Fox]