Bruce Springsteen’s Protest Song “Streets of Minneapolis” Earns No. 1 Sales Debut

Bruce Springsteen’s new protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” has topped the sales charts.

Despite only being available for two days out of the tracking week, it was the most-downloaded song in the US and topped the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart. As of the week ending Jan. 29, the song had been downloaded 16,000 times after being released Jan. 28.

“Streets of Minneapolis” is also Springsteen’s first No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales survey, as well as his first to break into the chart’s Top 20. The song also hit No. 4 on the Official Singles Downloads chart. In addition to its sales performance, it’s also done well on streaming, with 678,000 official streams in the U.S., 175,000 in airplay audience, and over five million views on YouTube, over three million of which came in its first day alone. The song is also popular internationally.

Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Minneapolis” Is a Collaborative Work With Ron Aniello and Wife Patti Scialfa

Bruce Springsteen worked with longtime collaborator Ron Aniello on “Streets of Minneapolis,” along with Patti Scialfa, his wife and member of his E Street Band. The song also features the E Street Band Choir. Springsteen wrote and recorded the song in a span of just a few days as a response to the recent deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

“It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” Springsteen wrote in a post on his website.

“Streets of Minneapolis” is Springsteen’s most recent politically charged song—he’s been vocal about social and political issues throughout his career, from the often misunderstood “Born in the U.S.A.” to more recent releases like 2017’s “That’s What Makes Us Great.” He played “Streets of Minneapolis” live for the first time during a surprise appearance at a benefit concert in Minneapolis that was organized by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.