Let’s start this week’s column with a pat on the back…for us. Not too long ago, we recorded our 1,000th post!! Yay us!! Now, back to the chart action.
Michael Buble makes an impressive bow at #1 on this week’s album chart with his new album, “Crazy Love”. It’s Buble’s second chart-topper, and it’s notable because “Crazy Love” was released on a Friday, which means that it rang up it’s total of 132,000 copies in only three days. Buble beats out rock legends KISS, who score the highest-charting album of their career with “Sonic Boom”. That Wal-Mart exclusive enters at the runer-up spot with 108,000 copies sold. It’s the band’s second-highest one week total of the SoundScan era.
Other notable debuts come from Toby Keith, whose new album enters at #3, the Backstreet Boys, who score their 7th consecutive Top 10 album at #9, and Bebe & Cece Winans, who return after a decade and a half off to land at #14 with their new album, “Still”. This week’s FAIL goes to Fat Joe. Despite allegedly making peace with Jay-Z while at the same time continuing his beef with 50 Cent, “Jealous Ones Still Envy 2” opens at an anemic #73, with just over 8,000 copies sold.
The real noise, however, is on the singles chart, where Britney Spears’ “3” debuts at #1. While it’s still climbing the airplay chart, it explodes onto the digital download chart at the top with 255,000 downloads sold this week. It’s the third #1 single of Britney’s career, and it’s also the first song to debut at #1 on the singles chart in three years, since Taylor Hicks’ “Do I Make You Proud”. It’s the first non-“American Idol” song to debut at the top this decade. While I must say that this song holds absolutely no appeal to me, I guess a congratulations are in order for Britney.
There’s some serious movement on the R&B singles chart this week as well, as several of the genre’s superstars make big jumps. Chris Brown’s “I Can Transform Ya” moves up to #18 in it’s third week on the chart, Usher’s “Papers” jumps from 60-17 in only it’s second week on the chart, and Michael Jackson’s “This is It” jumps onto the list at # 43 with only THREE HOURS of airplay in the tracking week. Looks for that to take a huge leap next week.
Also next week, look for the soundtrack to the “Twilight” sequel to make an impressive debut on the album chart, despite the fact that this is yet another Friday debut.
Oh, one more thing…congrats to Jay-Z, as “The Blueprint 3” becomes the 12th album to cross the million-sold threshold this week. Jay joins Taylor Swift’s “Fearless”, the “Hannah Montana” soundtrack, Eminem, Lady GaGa, The Black Eyed Peas, Nickelback, Kings of Leon, U2, the “Twilight” soundtrack and two Michael Jackson albums (“Number Ones” and “Thriller”) as the only albums to scan a million units so far in 2009.
Here are this week’s Top 20 albums, according to Soundscan.
1) Michael Buble “Crazy Love”
2) Kiss “Sonic Boom”
3) Toby Keith “American Ride”
4) Barbra Streisand “Love is the Answer”
5) Jay-Z “The Blueprint 3”
6) Luke Bryan “Doin’ My Thing”
7) Mariah Carey “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel”
8) Miley Cyrus “Time of Our Lives EP”
9) Michael Jackson “Number Ones”
10) Backstreet Boys “This is Us”
11) Breaking Benjamin “Dear Agony”
12) Paramore “Brand New Eyes”
13) Alice in Chains “Black Gives Way to Blue”
14) Whitney Houston “I Look to You”
15) Bebe & Cece Winans “Still”
16) Relient K “Forget & Not Slow Down”
17) Pearl Jam “Backspacer”
18) Taylor Swift “Fearless”
19) Harry Connick Jr. “Your Songs”
20) Miranda Lambert “Revolution”