Megadeth’s new single “I Don’t Care” debuts inside the top 10 on a Billboard chart, proving the band claims a huge fan base as the group prepares to say goodbye. LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 12: (L-R) Musicians David Ellefson, Dirk Verbeuren, Dave Mustaine, and Kiko Loureiro of musical group Megadeth attend The 59th GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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Early next year, metal band Megadeth will begin a long goodbye with the release of a new album. The group’s upcoming self-titled seventeenth full-length, which is expected to drop on January 23, will reportedly be the outfit’s last. The band will then tour, playing both classics and brand new material for what may be several years before finally saying goodbye to the moniker that has served it well for decades.
Before wishing Megadeth a fond farewell, the band collects a new hit in the United States this week. “In Your Feelings,” which serves as the second single from the forthcoming Megadeth album, debuts on multiple Billboard charts and even manages to become a top 10 bestseller, which is not a given when it comes to new material from a group that has been releasing music for more than four decades.
“I Don’t Care” Earns Megadeth A New Top 10 Hit
“I Don’t Care” starts its time on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart at No. 5. Megadeth has now scored five hits on Billboard’s ranking of the bestselling hard rock tunes across the nation on platforms like iTunes, four of which have cracked the top 10.
Megadeth Ties Its Own Record
“I Don’t Care” is now tied with “Wake Up Dead,” a collaboration with Lamb of God and Dave Mustaine – who is credited separately from the group – as the band’s third-highest-peaking hit on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. Megadeth earned its first champion in October as “Tipping Point” debuted at No. 1 and then quickly fell away. Several years ago, “We’ll Be Back” missed out on running the show by just a single spot. Megadeth’s only other win on the tally, “Soldier On!,” climbed as high as No. 17.
Megadeth Joins Skillet, Bad Omens and a Taylor Swift Cover
As four songs debut on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales ranking — which is a relatively large number considering the fact that the tally only features 10 spaces these days — the roster is led by Skillet, whose holiday tune “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” leads the charge. Bad Omens debut “Left for Good” at No. 2, while Our Last Night scores a successful smash with the band’s cover of Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” which begins its time at No. 6.
Megadeth Adds to the Band’s Chart Wins with New Single
Megadeth has also earned five stays on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, a tally which is compiled blending radio airplay, sales, and streaming data. On that list, “I Don’t Care” barely manages to find space, as it opens at No. 25, in last place.
Megadeth Hits a New Career Low
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER, 1994: (L-R) American guitarist Marty Friedman, American musician Dave Mustaine, American musician David Ellefson and American musician Nicholas Menza (1964-2016), of the American thrash metal band Megadeth, pose for a group portrait circa October, 1994 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images)
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“I Don’t Care” ranks as Megadeth’s lowest-peaking tune on that tally, taking that honor — if that is the right word — away from “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!” Megadeth has also placed on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart with “We’ll Be Back,” “Tipping Point,” and the previously mentioned “Wake Up Dead,” though unlike on the sales-focused roster, the band has yet to reach the top 10 with any of its releases.
Debuts on This Week’s Hard Rock Digital Song Sales Chart
As is the case on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, four tunes debut on the Hot Hard Rock Songs tally. Skillet and Bad Omens open inside the top 10, while Broadway favorite Christian Borle launches “Brighter,” under his own name, though it was written and recorded for Amazon series Hazbin Hotel, at No. 15.
Our Last Night’s reworking of Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” may be a bestseller in the genre, but it does not make it to the Hot Hard Rock Songs list, at least not yet, as it seems that while it sold enough copies to appear on one roster, it did not perform well enough on streaming platforms or radio to make it to the all-encompassing ranking.