A rare and historic double. Already number one in 2023 with “Carré”, rapper Werenoi once again has the best album sales of 2024 in France. According to the ranking communicated by the SNEP and revealed by The Parisianhis second opus “Pyramide” therefore sits at the top of the charts with 276,900 copies sold. A colossal success which allows him to establish himself a little more as one of the new indisputable superstars of rap. The 30-year-old artist also outranks one of his friends, second in the ranking of the most popular records of the year: PLK. By releasing his mixtape “Chambre 143” in three parts over several weeks, the rapper from Paris ensured explosive scores. It ended the year with 262,500 sales. The third step of the year is occupied by… Indochina ! Selling 176,600 copies in four months, the double album “Babel Babel” once again demonstrated the tremendous popularity of Nicola Sirkis' group.
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Surprise, the best international seller of the year is by… Billie Eilish! Celebrated around the world, “Hit Me Hard and Soft” has won over the public all year round and records 173,000 checkouts. She therefore outranks superstar Taylor Swift, ninth in the ranking and the only other international artist in the top. After a record start, his double album “The Tortured Poets Department” ultimately recorded 152,800 sales. Between the two American stars, three French names shine. Starting with Pierre Garnier: fifth, the winner of the “Star Academy” sparked a real phenomenon with his first album “Every second”, which convinced 172,700 curious people. Same for Zaho of Sagazan, which achieved the success of “La symphonie des éclairs”, sixth, with 158,000 new purchases. The 2024 Enfoirés show “On a 35 ans” generated 152,900 sales and climbed to eighth place. Finally, two rappers rule the roost: SDM, seventh with “A la vie à la mort” (153,300 units), then the record holder Jul with “Mise à jour” (137,000 sales), at the bottom of the top 10.
Santa and Julien Doré win
Note also that apart from Zaho by Sagazan, all the top 10 albums were released in 2024! In addition, “After Hours” by The Weeknd would have reached 10th step if the ranking took into account the albums from the back catalog. The Canadian singer's hit machine once again convinced 140,000 French fans. Among the great successes of the year, we can cite the best-of “Essentiels” by Slimane or “Héritage” by the duo Tayc and Dadju, both on the verge of 120,000 purchases. Ditto for Santa who succeeded in his seduction operation by selling more than 107,000 copies of his first solo album “Recommence-moi” carried by the hit of the same name which became the anthem of the “Star Academy”. Bestseller at the end of the year, “Imposteur”, the album of covers by Julien Doré, also generated 107,000 sales in a month and a half. Purecharts is able to reveal other sales figures to you. So, while Mylène Farmer sells 93,000 copies of the live album “Nevermore”, Gims creates a surprise: his mixtape “Le nord remembers”, including his hits “Spider” and “Sois pas tim”, exceeds 94,000 sales only digitally.
READ – From Billie Eilish to Justice, here are our 20 favorite albums of 2024!
Rap is still in the majority in the overall rankings, occupying nine places in the top 20. We can cite the great successes of the projects of SCH (115,000 supporters for “JVLIVS – Prequel”), Tiakola (his mixtape “BDLM” bringing together 115,000 admirers) , Booba (his return with “Ad Vitam Aeteram” is close to 100,000 sales) or the Bouss surprise (107,000 fans for “Depuis le temps”) while old records by PNL, Nekfeu and Damso continue to be successful. Not to mention the Jul phenomenon: in addition to “Update”, 122,000 copies of “Décennie” were sold, 114,200 for “La route est longue” but also 75,000 of the latest “Unstoppable”… in just three weeks! At the same time, Kendji Girac is having more difficulty making the test a reality: “Vivre…” has just exceeded the milestone of 65,000 units sold in three months. Same story for Clara Luciani, whose highly anticipated return with “Mon sang” is less impactful than hoped: 53,000 purchases were recorded.
Dua Lipa and Benson Boone seduce France
As for international stars, besides Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa is doing well. Her third album “Radical Optimism” exceeds 95,000 sales. A score still far from equaling “Future Nostalgia”, which is close to 500,000 checkouts, but which should intensify with its concerts planned in France. The return of Linkin Park is emulated and even a double: the best-of “Papercuts” and the new opus “From Zero” are around 78,000 sales. Ditto for the first records of the revelations Benson Boone (78,000 purchases) and Teddy Swims (83,000), buoyed by the immense success of their hits “Beautiful Things” and “Lose Control”. They do better than Ariana Grande, who brought together 73,000 fans with “Eternal Sunshine”. Further down, pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter (“Short N' Sweet”) convinces 61,000 curious people. On the other hand, the very popular groups Imagine Dragons and Coldplay slow down the pace: “Loom” and “Moon Music” barely exceed 50,000 sales. Similar score for the return event of The Cure with “Songs Of A Lost World”. For her part, Charli xcx sells 40,000 copies of “Brat”, which generated a global phenomenon this summer. Another event of recent months, Chappell Roan has not yet completely succeeded in its arrival in the charts: “The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess” has a little more than 15,000 purchases.
Between music and cinema, it’s crazy love!
Biopics have also boosted record sales. Thus, after the surprise success of the film “Bob Marley: One Love” (2 million spectators), the best-of “Legend” by the reggae icon totaled 117,000 checkouts. Amy Winehouse's “Back to Black” excited 87,000 music lovers after the eponymous film, while “Monsieur Aznavour” motivated 27,000 moviegoers to purchase the compilation “The Album of His Life – 100 Tracks”. Also note the great enthusiasm around the soundtrack of the phenomenon film “L'amour ouf”, which attracted more than 4.7 million spectators. The soundtrack featuring hits from Billy Idol, NTM and The Cure sold 25,000 copies.
Like every year, old albums continued to hit the charts. The rappers are in the lead as PNL sells 112,000 copies of “Deux Frères” while Ninho adds 114,000 sales to the tally of “Destin”, now sold more than a million copies. Gims saw the “Black Belt” counter start to rise again thanks to the viral success of the title “Où aller”: as a result, it sold another 67,000 copies. Dadju, for his part, sold 87,000 units of his records “Poison ou antidote” and “Gentleman 2.0”, also certified double diamond for more than a million copies ripped out. “Born to Die” Lana Del Rey or “Evolve” by Imagine Dragons have a loyal base and are around 78,000 purchases, just like the best-ofs by Elton John and Jean-Jacques Goldman, acclaimed more than 71,000 times. Unlike others, from Amir to Katy Perry through Thomas Dutronc, Sia or Soprano, who had much more difficulty convincing the public…
The 10 best-selling albums in France in 2024
1. Werenoi – “Pyramide” (276.900 ventes)
2. PLK – “Room 140” (262,500 sales)
3. Indochina – “Babel Babel” (176,700 sales)
4. Billie Eilish – “Hit Me Hard And Soft” (173.000 ventes)
5. Pierre Garnier – “Every second” (172,700 sales)
6. Zaho by Sagazan – “The symphony of lightning” (158,600 sales, cumulative: 211,200 sales)
7. SDM – “A la vie à la mort” (153,300 sales)
8. The Bastards – “We’re 35” (152,900 sales)
9. Taylor Swift – “The Tortured Poets Department” (152.800 ventes)
10. Jul – “Update” (137,000 sales)
