John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ Returns to Charts Following Gal Gadot-Led Celebrity Cover
The 1971 classic ranks at No. 15 on Hot Rock Songs.
John Lennon‘s iconic 1971 ballad “Imagine” returns to Billboard‘s Hot Rock Songs chart dated March 28, sparked by a celebrity-helmed cover during the global coronavirus pandemic.
“Imagine” re-enters the tally at No. 15, surging by 7% to 1.3 million U.S. streams and 138% to 1,000 downloads sold in the tracking week ending March 19, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. (As with the Billboard Hot 100, older songs are allowed to enter the 50-position Hot Rock Songs chart if ranking in the top half and have a meaningful reason for their returns.)
“Imagine” concurrently returns to the Rock Digital Song Sales chart for the first time since December 2015, at No. 13.
The song’s latest bump in sales and streams was spurred by a video, posted March 19, that was helmed by Gal Gadot and features a variety of other celebrities singing the song, including Jimmy Fallon, John Mayer, Natalie Portman, Sarah Silverman and Sia (who shows her face), with its intention to boost morale during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Imagine,” which hit No. 3 for Lennon on the Hot 100 in November 1971, had last appeared on Hot Rock Songs, at No. 23, on the Feb. 24, 2018, list, after a quartet of vocalists (Ha Hyun-woo, Jeon In-kwon, Lee Eun Mi and Ahn Ji Young) performed it during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
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