Empire Soundtrack Debuts No.1 on Billboard Charts, Trumps Madonna

Empire fans rejoice! The show's soundtrack has come out at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, besting Madonna's Rebel Heart, which premiered at No. 2.

The show's soundtrack was a dark horse up until the eleventh hour: experts predicted sales of around 25,000 units just a week before the show's soundtrack was released. After the album hit the market, that prediction rose 500 percent to 125,000 units, equaling Rebel Heart's forecasted numbers.

According to EW, Empire--via Columbia Records--has sold 130,000 copies as of March 15. Rebel Heart (The Live Nation/Interscope) disappointed a little, selling 121,000 and underselling its projection by 4,000 units.

The last time a soundtrack debuted at the top spot was in 2010, when Glee put three records No. 1.