Fast And Furious 7 Track Tribute To Paul Walker Tops Billboard
Wiz Khalifa is fast tracking Furious 7‘s soundtrack “See You Again” to the charts, outrunning some of the biggest hits of this season.
The soundtrack of the seventh instalment of Fast and Furious has parked itself at the top spot of the Billboard 200 just four weeks after it was released. Music Times reported that just last week, the Furious 7 soundtrack racked up 464,000 downloads, while YouTube witnessed the track amass a staggering 47 million views one week after it was posted on Wiz Khalifa’s page.
Just 32,000 combined chart sales under the Fast and Furious 7 soundtrack is reggae-pop artist Omi’s “Cheerleader,” as of April 15, according to Official Charts. At No. 3 is Dr Kucho! & Gregor Salto Feat. Ane Brun’s “Can’t Stop Playing,” with Jesse Glynne’s “Hold My hand” at No. 4. Right on the fifth spot is UK artist Lethal Bizzie for “Fester Skank FT Diztortion.”
While the soundtrack was meant to be a tribute to Paul Walker, who passed during the filming of Furious 7 in 2013, Universal Pictures’ president of music Mike Knoblock explains to MTV the cheerful nature of the song.
“Once it was clear that that’s the [film’s] structure — the cast saying goodbye to Paul’s character — we put it out to writers that the song had to be earnest and celebratory. We knew we didn’t want people leaving the theatre sad.”
Right on the celebratory mood, “See You Again” has placed Wiz Khalifa on the top of the charts for the second time, his first one as a guest feature on Maroon 5’s “Payphone.” The Fast and Furious track also features co-writer Charlie Puth, who debuts on his first UK Top 40.
Vin Diesel was not left out as well as he performed his own rendition of the Fast and Furious soundtrack during the 2015 MTV Movie Awards in memory of his fallen comrade.
Just like its soundtrack, the movie Furious 7 is also roaring to the box office leaderboards. Ten days after the Furious 7 premiered, the Guardian reported its earnings already reached an unbelievable £26.25 million. The earnings of the seventh in the Fast and Furious franchise has outgrossed the overall totals of its predecessors, and even did better than the most controversial movie of the year, Fifty Shades of Grey.
The seventh installment of the Fast and Furious is poised to remain at the top with not much of a competition until Avengers: Age of Ultron hits the theatres on April 23.
[Image courtesy of Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]
