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Sales of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” soar 38,400% after Grammys performance
Tracy Chapman performed her 1988 hit “Fast Car” for the first time in years at the Grammys on Sunday, sharing the stage with Luke Combs, who covered the song on a recent album. The surprise performance had an impact – sales of the original version spiked more than 38,000% after the Grammys, according to Billboard.
Chapman’s song made it back into the mainstream 35 after its original release when Combs included his own version on his 2023 album “Gettin’ Old.” The song even earned Chapman a Country Music Association award as Combs’ version won song of the year – making her the first Black songwriter to win the song of the year prize at the CMAs. She is the only person with a songwriting credit for the hit.
Chapman, who has kept private for years, wasn’t at the CMAs. But she decided to take the stage at the Grammys, which proved to be fruitful.
“Fast Car” was streamed 949,000 times in the U.S. streams on Feb. 5, the day after the Grammys, according to Billboard. That’s a 241% increase in one week. Sales of Chapman’s song also soared 38,400% to 14,000.
Combs’ was streamed 1.6 million times over the same period, a 37% increase. It also saw a 3,900% increase in sales to just over 6,000.
John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
When Chapman’s song was originally released, it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Combs released a live version of the song as a single in August 2023 that made it to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. As of Friday, it sits at no. 20 on the Hot 100 chart.
Billboard says it’s not impossible for Chapman’s version to re-enter the chart. But catalog songs have to do extremely well – making into the top half of the chart – to be eligible for re-entrance, per Billboard’s rules.
“Fast Car” was also popular when it was first released in 1988. Rolling Stone listed it as No. 165 on its list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2004. It has has been covered by several artists – in 2015 alone, two house covers of the song were released by Tobtok and Jonas Blue, with the latter hitting No. 1 on the top 40 dance singles chart in the U.S. and No. 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
At the CMAs, Combs explained his love for the song. “I never intended, I just recorded it because I love this song so much, it’s meant so much to me throughout my entire life,” he said during his acceptance speech. “It’s the first favorite song I had from the time I was 4 years old.”
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.