Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' Digital Sales Rocket: Up '38,400 Percent' Following Grammys Performance

Folk rock songstress Tracy Chapman brought the house down when she and country superstar Luke Combs performed "Fast Car" onstage at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. That appearance has catapulted the song's popularity with a 241% jump in on-demand U.S. streams on Feb. 6, from a report in Billboard.

The digital song sales were an even bigger jump according to Billboard, up "38,400% from a negligible amount to nearly 14,000." In addition, Combs saw his version "rising 37% in streams to nearly 1.6 million and nearly 3,900% in sales to just over 6,000."

Chapman's increased presence on the charts had started even before the Grammy telecast. With Combs as the catalyst and champion for the song, "Fast Car" won Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards last November.

"I want to thank Tracy Chapman for writing one of the greatest songs of all time," Combs remarked at the podium upon accepting the first award. "I just recorded it because I love this song so much. It's meant so much to me throughout my entire life. It's the first favorite song that I ever heard since I was four years old."

Chapman was then awarded the CMA Song of the Year. Presenter Sara Evans read aloud Chapman's thank you. "I'm sorry I couldn't join you all tonight. It's truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Wow. Thank you to the CMAs, and a special thanks to Luke and to all of the fans of 'Fast Car.'"

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The popularity and emotional response that "Fast Car" has had since its introduction in 1988 cannot be overstated. The track was the lead-off single for Chapman's self-titled debut album, released to little fanfare in April of that year. But it was after a performance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988 at Wembley Stadium in London that saw her and the album skyrocket to a much wider audience.

Chapman garnered six nominations at the 1989 Grammy Awards and won for Best New Artist, Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Fast Car." The album was Number 1 on the Billboard 200 has been certified 6x Platinum as of 2001 by the Recording Industry Association of America. Combs' version, released in March 2023, has been certified 2x Platinum as of August 2023.

Combs' "Fast Car" remake was a huge crossover hit in 2023, receiving airplay not just on country radio but on Top 40 and AC stations — thus introducing Chapman, who has not released any new music herself since 2008, to a whole new audience. When Combs' version topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, Chapman became the first Black woman to ever score a country No. 1 hit with a solo composition. With her CMA victory, she made history again as the first Black songwriter, of any gender, to win Song of the Year since the CMA Awards debuted 56 years ago.