Adele's 'Skyfall' theme headed to Billboard charts

Adele's James Bond theme "Skyfall" finally made its debut after months of speculation that the British singer was confirmed for the spot -- along with hopes that she'd do anything at all this year.


The 24-year-old spent many weeks this year at the Nos. 1-3 slots on The Billboard 200 album sales chart with her album "21," but activity from her camp has been put on hold due to an extensive recovery period after throat surgery, scant appearances around her multiple Grammy wins and then the announcement that she was pregnant with her first child. She and her fiancee have been hush-hush about the baby's due date, but even after she gives birth, she's planning on an extensive holiday.

This is all to say: fans of Adele know that "Skyfall" is likely to be the only thing new from the singer for some time. And like many agree, this is the best James Bond anthem in years. It is also harmless, which all together helps prime the single to be extremely successful.

Clear Channel stations, in one of their new maneuvers to amp-up breaking singles, are playing "Skyfall" every hour on the hour at supporting radio formats (pop, adult pop and adult contemporary). It's stayed put at No. 1 on iTunes, fueled in part by its pre-sale gate-lift on Monday. According to Billboard, digital sales altogether are projected at a around 200,000 by the end of Sunday night. For the record, this week's No. 1 and No. 2 tracks (Maroon 5's "One More Night" and PSY's "Gangnam Style," respectively) had 294,000 and 181,000 in digital sales. So you have some idea where that puts Adele in regard to those points.

Sunday night is the cutoff for a chart and sales week, which might hurt Adele's "Skyfall" chances of reaching the tippy-top of Billboard's Hot 100 hits chart in its first week. (That chart is out next Thursday, with previews on Wednesday). So while it may not make it to No. 1 or the top 10 immediately, "Skyfall" still has a good chance of getting up there in it's second week, as it will have a full week of purchase and radio spins, in addition to whatever integration it will have in the James Bond movie's marketing and promotions, and then that Nov. 9 premiere...

The more popular a song is, the more it gets picked up, by terrestrial radio, streaming services, you name it. That is, until people burn out on it, which is what you can say about any ol' chart-topper. No matter how it fares, Columbia Records is probably drinking champagne all weekend. (Except for the interns, ya'll are working for college credit.)

In the meantime, Adele can be Number One in your hearts, all you lovers out there. You're gonna need something to fill the hole once "Gangnam Style" makes its exit.