PRINCESS DIANA

By Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles

The Dianafied version of Candle in the Wind is creating a windfall for ELTON JOHN. The singer pledged all proceeds from his new Candle single--which has shipped 4 million copies in the U.S. so far--to a charity named for the princess, but his older catalog is skyrocketing as well. In the week before DIANA's death, John's Love Songs sold 4,600 copies in the U.S.; the week after the funeral, it reached 17,000 and re-entered the Billboard Top-100 charts. During the same time, a Greatest Hits collection went from sales of 4,300 to 15,600 copies. John's musical eulogy also helped this week's opening show in North Carolina achieve the fastest sellout in an arena's history. According to John's spokeswoman, the "inadvertent and unintentional" upheaval started within hours after the funeral and "took on a life of its own." Says Ticketmaster president and CEO Fred Rosen: "People almost seem to want to touch her through him." Some industry experts estimate John may reap a potential $10 million in additional income as a result of his link to the princess.

--By Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles