A Grammy Win and/or Performance can increase Album Sales!

By: Edna Gundersen
USA TODAY (Thurs., Feb. 19, 2009; D1)

The 14% ratings spike was just the beginning. Now the afterburners kick in. Performers and winners are seeing sales leaps after appearing on the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards, chart fuel given greater thrust by this year's increase of 2 million viewers.

Best album Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, who swept five awards, enjoyed the biggest gain, selling 77,000 copies, up 715% over the week before, according to Nielson SoundScan. The duo jumps to No. 2 from No. 69.

The pair was blocked at Billboard's summit by Grammy performer Taylor Swift, whose Fearless sold 92,000 copies, a 44% increase, and climbed three notches to reclaim No. 1.

Coldplay, winner of best song for Viva La Vida, jumps to No. 8 from No. 31 with 62,000 copies, up 271%. And debut 19 by best new artist Adele rises 17 slots to No. 10 with 57,000, a 218% uptick.

Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, which generated four wins, added 27,000 copies, up 34%, to his 3 million total.

While noteworthy, those figures pale against post-Grammy yields in the music industry's healthier days. In 1999, Santana's Supernatural sold 364,000 copies, eclipsed four years later by Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, which sold 621,000 copies, the biggest surge ever.

Double winners Sugarland, John Mayer, Ne-Yo and Brad Paisley saw hikes ranging from 37% to 91%.

Jennifer Hudson's You Pulled Me Through boosted her album 112%, while Radiohead's 15 Step goosed In Rainbows 130%. The Rap Pack's Kanye West, T.I. and M.I.A. also advanced, as did performers Jamie Foxx, Carrie Underwood, the Jonas Brothers, Kenny Chesney, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Estelle.

Not everyone scored. Jay-Z, who joined the Rap Pack and Coldplay, did not resurface on the chart. Nor did Al Green, despite a performance and double wins. Yet Duffy, who briefly harmonized with Green at the podium, got a 41% bump.