Madonna just keeps on pushing through the pain.
Sales of her “Rebel Heart” album, released March 10, suffered a sharp drop in its second week. Her 13th studio effort swiftly fell to No. 21 on the Billboard 200, down from No. 2 in its debut week.
The Material Girl’s previous album, “MDNA,” entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in 2012 and fell to No. 8 its second week.
Even in its third week, at No. 18, “MDNA” was ahead of where “Rebel Heart” is now.
Between the two releases, Billboard changed its chart-compilation methodology to what it calls multi-metric consumption.
The change is aimed at capturing a release’s popularity not only through physical CD sales but also through digital-track sales and on-demand streaming.
But even by this broader measure, “Rebel Heart” fell 78 percent — from 121,000 album equivalents in week one to 26,000 in week two, according to Nielsen Music.
Despite the steep drop in album sales, there was enough interest from her fans to add three more dates to her previously announced tour schedule.
Live Nation, producer of the 35-city tour, added second dates in Miami, Toronto and New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Tickets for the three new dates go on sale March 30, joining those on sale in the same cities since March 9.
The North American portion of the “Rebel Heart” tour opens in Miami on Aug. 29, and closes in Los Angeles on Oct. 27.