On August 23 1997, Evita: Music from the Motion Picture (the highlights disc) debuted at #168 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart in the USA.
The highlights disc included 19 tracks from the film, and was released on July 29 1997 in North America to help promote the home video release. The single disc was released in select markets around the world in 1996 at the same time as the double disc complete soundtrack, but not in North America.
Evita: The Motion Picture Music Soundtrack featured all 34 tracks from the film, and was released on November 12 1996.
The highlights disc didn’t perform very well in the late summer of 1997 because it was released a full 8 months after the original release. No single was released to radio to promote it, and most die-hard fans had already secured an imported version of the single disc soundtrack the previous year. Why it was released at all in July 1997 remains a mystery. Why the single-disc set wasn’t released in North America in November 1996 is a better question. Why not release the double-disc set (expensive) and the single disc set (average price of a CD at the time) and appeal to the largest possible group of consumers? That was the approach around the world, but not in North America, we can’t help but wonder why? – Jay
Today In Madonna History 
Evita will forever remain a triumph for Madonna! Madonna has star quality and she remains a once-in-a-lifetime artist, icon and performer!
There were a lot of confusing releases during the late 90’s, especially with her single releases for the Ray of Light album. Someone at Maverick/Sire/Warner Bros. seemed to be asleep at the wheel when it came to releasing Madonna’s singles in sync with the radio promo and videos.
I know there were other factors that played into the decision as well, but I wonder if that further solidified her decision to split with Freddy DeMann before the launch of Ray Of Light?
Evita so many beautiful songs