Bruce Springsteen may not have realized it at the time, but he made a very smart business decision when he wrote and recorded the single “Born in the USA.” The song was a massive hit when it was first released, but it has also become an annual best-seller as Americans buy up the song in droves every year around the Fourth of July.
2024 was no exception, with “Born in the USA” becoming a hit again. The song did well on streaming platforms over the holiday season, but not only did it return to the charts thanks to its sales totals. Billboard Although it didn’t chart highly, it was another big hit.
“Born in the USA” returns to the Rock Digital Song Sales chart this week, as the song returns to the list of the best-selling rock tracks in the country at No. 5, quickly climbing into the Top 10 once again.
According to Luminate, “Born in the USA” sold just under 1,950 copies in the past tracking period. Most of those purchases likely occurred on either July 3rd or July 4th, the final days of the period before the new week began on Friday, July 5th.
While the 1,950 copies isn’t “Born in the USA”‘s highest sales to date, it’s impressive for a song from decades ago — especially in today’s streaming-centric industry — and it’s up more than 600% from the previous week, when there was no national holiday to remind the world just how catchy the song is.
“Born in the USA” is one of the top 10 hits on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart. The single came very close to the throne as it was previously ranked at number 2 on the list. The rocker has only held one other throne before, as part of the supergroup Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes. And he won it just a few months ago.
Springsteen makes the highest-ranked comeback on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart this week, but “Born in the USA” isn’t his only popular return. Nickelback has three songs back on the list: “Rockstar,” “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph.” Machine Gun Kelly (now MGK) makes his lone debut at No. 6 with his cover of Zach Bryan’s “Sun to Me.”
“Born in the USA” was released as the third single from Springsteen’s album of the same name, which became one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums in rock history. The song peaked at number 9 on the Hot 100, making it one of seven songs from a full-length album to reach the top 10 on that chart.