Katy Perry Grabs Number One From Eminem
Katy Perry grabbed hold of the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 as her second album, Teenage Dream, sold 192,000 copies in its debut week. The other big debut arrived at Number Two: American Idol champ Fantasia’s third album, Back to Me, sold 117,000 copies. The two pushed Eminem‘s Recovery to Number Three, the album’s lowest position since its release eight weeks ago. (Usher’s Versus debuted at Number Four, selling 46,000 copies.)
Perry’s chart and sales numbers mark new career highs. But as Entertainment Weekly points out, Teenage Dream‘s sales were still disappointing, given that her songs “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream” — this week’s Number One digital single — have ruled the singles charts for weeks on end. The disc’s Number One debut falls well short of Recovery‘s (at 741,000 copies) and Drake’s Thank Me Later (447,000 copies), according to Nielsen SoundScan. Total album sales were down 12 percent compared to the same week in 2009.