Selena Gomez found herself at the centre of some drama last week after she posted videos on social media going to stores to buy several copies of her album Rare in an attempt to get it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
In videos posted to her Instagram story, Selena and her friends could be seen going from store to store and buying "as many albums as possible".
The situation caused some drama, since Selena's ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber had been criticised just a week earlier for using similar tactics to get his single "Yummy" to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
stan twitter dragged justin for promoting yummy but selena is out here buying copies of her own album to get it to #1...I HAVE TO LAUGH
Most people just questioned why the artists were so "desperate" for their music to reach a certain place on the charts when they are already accomplished in their careers.
What is going on with Selena and Bieber and why are they this desperate for a #1?!?! They’re already accomplished?? Like they have nothing to prove? WTF IS THIS NEW PHENOMENON OF BIG ARTISTS BEGGING FOR A #1 😭💀 https://t.co/dduP8cVI9a
The funny thing about Camila, Justin and Selena doing all that for a # 1 is that roddy ricch didn’t even have to do a quarter of the desperate things they’ve done and they’re supposed to be the bigger stars...
Justin and Selena competing to see who can be more desperate for a #1 hit is WILD 💀 like, Justin giving DIY payola ideas to his fans and Selena buying her own album at target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc 💀💀💀 no tienen vergüenza estos
But while "Yummy" debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, Selena's request had exactly the payoff she wanted, and it was announced yesterday that Rare had become her third No. 1 album on the Billboard chart.
The album sold an equivalent 112,000 copies — 53,000 of which were pure sales — and beat out Roddy Ricch's Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial by only 2,000 equivalent units.
It's safe to say Selena's fans are ecstatic that her campaigning — and their support — paid off, and got her the No. 1 she really wanted.
we ended the decade with selena getting her first number one and we started the new decade with selena becoming the first woman of the decade with a #1 album with #Rare... all with her most personal and special work yet... i'm proud
haters trying to bring down Selenators as we celebrate Selena's 3rd number one album by saying the number is "low" 😭 honey, years from now ain't nobody gonna remember the "first week number". You know what they gonna remember, the position 😏 Alexa, play RARE, Selena's #1 album.
SELENA SIMULTANEOUSLY HAVING THE NUMBER ONE SONG ON POP RADIO AND THE NUMBER ONE ALBUM ON BILLBOARD AND ROLLING STONE IS SO DAMN POWERFUL
But while Selena herself did celebrate the achievement with an Instagram post, she also referenced the drama and admitted she had been "embarrassed" to ask her fans to help her reach the No. 1 spot.
"I was a bit embarrassed asking so often for you to stream or buy my album," she wrote. "It felt inauthentic."
Congrats on the top spot, Selena!
