Stats: Glee Cast: 45.2 million downloads & 7.9 million albums

The Glee cast made its first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 dated June 6, 2009, just after the show’s high-profile May 19 premiere following that season’s American Idol finale. The troupe’s signature song, its cover of Journey’s "Don’t Stop Believin’," which would epitomize the Glee characters’ trademark positivity in the face of underdog status throughout the series, launched at No. 4 with sales of 177,000 in its first week, according to Nielsen Music. At 1.4 million, it’s the cast’s best-selling song to-date.

Most famously, the Glee cast broke one of the more vaunted Billboard chart records: its 207 total entries on the Hot 100 are the most of any act in the list’s 56-year history. Lil Wayne ranks second with 125 and Elvis Presley places third with 108 (with his career having predated the Hot 100 by two years). (And, to fully clarify, Billboard credits all Glee singles to the cast, occasionally with featured acts, since that’s how the product has always read, per general Billboard charts department policy.)

And sales stats that can’t be disputed: the Glee cast has sold 45.2 million downloads. The ensemble’s sales honors extend to the Billboard 200, where it’s logged 14 top 10s, including three No. 1s. The Glee cast’s to-date U.S. album sales stand at 7.9 million.