On the Charts: “Juno” Turns Oscar Nods Into Week’s Best-Selling Album
The Big News: After four weeks on the chart, the Juno soundtrack finally claimed the top spot, selling 64,381 copies to overtake Alicia Keys’ As I Am, which fell to two. The Moldy Peaches-heavy Juno disc received a push after the film and its star (Ellen Page), director and screenwriter were all nominated for Academy Awards, which means the nation’s best-selling record has a total-sales figure that can barely match most chart-toppers’ opening-week figures. Natasha Bedingfield, coming off the mega-hit “Unwritten,” watched her new album Pocketful of Sunshine debut at three. Mary J. Blige’s Growing Pains and Radiohead’s In Rainbows rounded out the top five.
Debuts: After Bedingfield, the big debut was Cat Power’s covers album Jukebox — its number twelve arrival marks her career-best debut. Other notable entries include the Drive-By Truckers’ Brighter Than Creations Dark at thirty-six, Breaking artist Black Mountain’s second album In The Future at 101 and jam band moe.’s Sticks and Stones at 119.
Last Week’s Heroes: John Legend and Raheem DeVaughn exited the top ten and introduced themselves to the top thirty. Rihanna‘s Good Girl Gone Bad surpassed a million copies sold after thirty-four weeks on the chart (current location: number forty-five).