Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 01/04/2013 at 10:34 AM News

The Popdust Files: anne hathaway, charts, les miserables, sales, soundtracks

Sorry, Adam Lambert, we gotta talk about Les Miserables a little more. The hit film adaptation of the legendary musical is becoming so popular that even its soundtrack is on its way to runaway smash status. After debuting at just #33 on the charts a couple weeks ago, the soundtrack zoomed to #2 this week behind Taylor Swift’s Red, and with just about nobody in the world releasing an album this week (and Taylor’s New Year’s Eve performance probably not too likely to recruit a ton of new listeners), Billboard is forecasting that Les Mis (sorry, we’re going “s” over “z”) will likely grab the top spot last week.

Les Miserables would be the first movie soundtrack to top the charts since Hunger Games did back in April of last year, and the first movie musical soundtrack to go to #1 since Hannah Montana: The Movie back in early 2010. And in the meantime Anne Hathaway is on the board herself as a solo artist, for her version of “I Dreamed a Dream,” which debuts at #69 on the Hot 100 this week. Is Anne trying to work her way to an EGOT? She better watch out, co-star Hugh Jackman might beat her there—he’s already got the E and T, even.

[Billboard]