VMAS PERFORMERS GET A SOFT BOOST

Sunday’s MTV VMAs propelled Lady Gaga’s Chromatica back into the HITS Top 50, but that was expected, as the superstar stole the show with a 10-minute performance and handful of awards. Show-opener and winner, The Weeknd also earned a solid bump (+9%) in album sales. Perhaps most noteworthy is pre-show performers and nominees Lewis Capaldi, Tate McRae and Machine Gun Kelly receiving healthy boosts as well.

Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (Capitol) was the greatest gainer this week in the Top 50, up 17% this week. He performed “Before You Go” on the pre-show, which re-entered Spotify’s Top 50 for the first time since June.

Winner of Best Alternative, Machine Gun Kelly, also performed on the pre-show and appeared live to accept his award. His track “my ex’s best friend” f/blackbear (Bad Boy/Interscope) jumped inside Spotify’s Top 25 following his performance, where its held strong all week. The song hit new highs in streams and position at Spotify this week. The only artists ahead of MGK on Apple Music’s alternative chart are Capaldi and Taylor Swift.

Fellow MTV Push nominee and pre-show performer Tate McRae hit new peaks with her track “you broke me first” (RCA). It reached the Top 30 on Spotify Global with a new high of 12m worldwide streams for the week.