J.Lo Unseats Jackson, Again
After a promising three-day holiday weekend during which album sales soared — or at least leapt with a bit of gusto — things turned south again this past week, as Jennifer Lopez’s remix album, J to tha Lo!, recaptured the Number One spot with sales of 102,000, according to SoundScan. Last week’s chart-topper, Alan Jackson’s Drive, fell to Number Three, with sales of 96,000. Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, the best-selling album of 2001, inched towards one milestone it has yet to reach in its seventy weeks of release: a week at Number One. Unfortunately for the album, which has sold 6.3 million copies thus far, this week features a new release by Alanis Morissette and the Grammy Awards, two happenings that will conspire to push it away from the top for yet another week.
After seven albums registered six-figure sales last week, J to tha Lo! was the only one to muster such sales this week. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin’s new live album, Rebirth of Kirk Franklin, was the week’s highest debut, landing at Number Four with sales of 91,000. For the next newcomer, one need scan down to Number Thirty-nine, where the Queen of the Damned soundtrack, featuring music composed by Korn’s Jonathan Davis and performed by Marilyn Manson, Static-X and others, landed with sales of 29,000. And in the gone-but-not-forgotten department, Joey Ramone’s posthumous solo record, Don’t Worry About Me, moved 12,000 copies to debut at Number 110).
Other action included Janet Jackson’s jump from Number 107 to Number Forty-nine with All for You, a 10,000 unit jump to 24,000, propelled by her recent HBO special. Craig David’s debut, Born to Do It (Number Thirty-six), sold 30,000 copies to top the 1 million mark, while Train’s Drops of Jupiter (Number Ninety-eight) and Jay-Z’s The Blueprint (Number 112) both topped 2 million in sales.
Next week’s charts are anybody’s guess. As some strong new blood, Morissette’s Under Rug Swept looks like a sure thing for the Number One spot. But U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Alicia Keys’ Songs in A Minor and India.Arie’s Acoustic Soul are all hovering in the Top Fifty, with sales in the 30,000 to 50,000 range and likely to pick up significant steam after tonight’s Grammy Awards.
This week’s Top Ten: Jennifer Lopez’s J to tha Lo!; Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory; Alan Jackson’s Drive; Kirk Franklin’s Rebirth of Kirk Franklin; Ludacris’ Word of Mouf; Creed’s Weathered; Nickelback’s Silver Side Up; Pink’s Missundaztood; Britney Spears’ Britney; and Puddle of Mudd’s Come Clean.